Bourbaki, Charles Denis Sauter

Bourbaki, Charles Denis Sauter shärl dənēˈ sōtāˈ bo͞orbäkēˈ [key], 1816–97, French general of Greek ancestry. In the Algerian campaigns and the Crimean War he gained one of the highest military reputations in Europe. Offered the Greek throne (1862), he declined. In the Franco-Prussian War, put in command of the Army of the East by the provisional government, he failed to raise the siege of Belfort and was pursued to Switzerland, where his troops were disarmed and interned (Feb. 2, 1871).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: French History: Biographies