General Jean Herault is the secondary antagonist of the Bernard Cornwell short story Sharpe's Skirmish. He is a French cavalry officer in 1812.
Biography[]
General Herault was a French hussar who, at the age of thirty, considered a rising star in the French army. He had led a cavalry charge at the Battle of Albuera which had destroyed a British battalion, and was made commander of all the cavalry of Marshal Soult's Army of the South. He was one of the few French officers who managed to cultivate a relationship with the Spanish peasantry, gaining a network of informers.
Herault consulted with Major Pierre Ducos, who wanted to divert the British from their pursuit of the French army that had been defeated in Salamanca. Herault planned to lead a raid behind British lines which hinged on capturing the bridge at San Miguel de Tormes. Ducos believed the nearby fortress was garrisoned by two Spanish battalions who wouldn't be expecting an attack. Herault worried that his advance on the fortress would be spotted by partisans in time for the garrison to be reinforced. He thus sacrificed three hundred infantry by having them march towards Avila, anticipating that the partisans would believe that was his target and intercept and kill them. He would then lead the main force through the mountains and capture San Miguel de Tormes. From there, he would sent out men to attack multiple targets before disappearing into the mountains: The British would turn back but not know where to concentrate their forces.
Herault had intended to attack the fortress at dawn with his full force but their horses were too exhausted. He thus sent his old company, commanded by Captain Pailleterie, on ahead with their best horses to capture the fortress and hold it until he arrived with the main force later in the day.
However, when Herault arrived, the fortress was still in allied hands, with Captain Richard Sharpe, temporarily billeted there with his company, having taken charge of the defence. Herault deployed his dragoons in skirmish line to hold back the riflemen, while he led a group of lancers in the charge across the bridge. However, Sharpe arranged for the bridge to be covered in broken glass from wine bottles. The glass halted the horses' charge, with the French driven back by gunfire. Herault, leading the charge from the front, ended up trapped under his wounded horse. Sharpe dragged him out from under it, wounding him on the broken glass, and took him prisoner without much resistance as allied cavalry arrived to reinforce their position and deter further attack.
