Georges Félix de Wimpffen

In 1778, whilst stationed near Bayeux, he attended the nobility's salons and there met Marie-Aimée Charlotte de Bailleul, heiress to the lordship of Saint-Germain-de-la-Lieue, who he married.

His fine defence of the French lines at Gibraltar gained him a pension of 1000 écus and the rank of maréchal de camp on 9 March 1788.

He joined the army at the opening of hostilities and was promoted to lieutenant general on 20 August 1792, commanding Thionville, the first town to which the Allies under the Prince of Hohenlohe laid siege.

Following the moves by the Girondins on 31 May, he offered them his sword in June 1793 and was put in command of the troops they were gathering in the department of Calvados, although he made no secret that he was more favourable to a constitutional monarchy than a republic.

Wimpffen had very few volunteers among his eight battalions and was forced to withdraw 500-600 men from Brittany, sending them under the royalist Joseph de Puisaye to meet the convention's troops.

This failure was almost fatal - the Convention put a price on his head and he abandoned his troops, returning briefly to Caen, where he realised further fighting was impossibly.