A younger brother and thus likely destined for a career in the church, he had to flee Paris in 1794 (aged 6) due to his mother's activities in attempting to arrange for the escape of queen Marie-Antoinette.

Pursued by gendarmes come to arrest her, she, Louis-Victor-Léon and his brother Louis managed to escape, though his 10-year-old sister Cornélie was not so lucky - chased by the authorities, and on her own, she died of exhaustion after 3 days wandering Paris.

Forced to leave France, the countess of Rochechouart left her two young sons in a house in Caen owned by a couple who exploited the situation.

Thus the two brothers were generously housed by a citizen of that town until revolutionary French troops entered it in 1798 and forced them to flee once more.

Her implication in plots to restore the monarchy lost her her fortune, brought her many political problems and leave several refuge countries.

Aged 11, Louis-Victor-Léon de Rochechouart thus decided to embark for Hamburg to join the émigré regiment commanded by his uncle the duke of Mortemart and intended for Portugal.

The régiment de Mortemart was sent to Portugal to support an operation by the Portuguese army on its frontiers, faced with a French advance.

He participated in the capture of Minsk, then at Berezina, where he witnessed the tragic crossing of the river by the French army.

Only the decrees of Fortune, putting all foresight to waste, were able to accomplish this great disaster.Made colonel then major-general, he fought in the subsequent German campaign at the battles of Lützen, Dresden, Kulm and Leipzig.

[1] At the start of 1814 he crossed the Rhine with the Russian army, setting foot in France for the first time in 10 years.

First, in November 1815, he took support to general Daumesnil, besieged at Fort de Vincennes by occupying Prussian troops.

General Rochechouart also accompanied Ney's final hours and wrote a moving account of them in his memoirs, concluding "Here is a great lesson in learning well how to die".