Edmé-Martin Vandermaesen

General Michaud gave him command of the grenadiers of the division and sent him to capture the town of Brumpt, where a violent engagement occurred; Vandermaesen was wounded by a gunshot in the leg.

Besieged in Kehl with the French Army, Vandermaesen conducted a number of sorties; under orders from Decaen, he retook advanced positions captured by the Austrians.

He embarked at Brest on 15 ventôse an XI (6 March 1803), bound for Pondicherry, but with another war with England breaking out, the French division diverted to Isle de France (Mauritius).

Vandermaesen was put in charge of the division, and was promoted in the Legion of Honour on 5 germinal an XII (26 March 1804); as second to the governor of Mauritius, he commanded the troops garrisoned there and in Isle Bourbon.

In command of 10,000 men of the rearguard, he found that the Bidassoa River had risen too high for his soldiers to cross at the fords.

The only bridge in the area was guarded by a company of British riflemen defending loopholed buildings while the gunpowder of the French was soaked by a heavy rain.

Though the French suffered heavy casualties, the rest of the column escaped the trap due largely to a British error.