Armand Philippon Armand Philippon ( 27 August 1761 – 4 May 1836 ) , sometimes called Phillipon , was a French soldier during the French Revolution and the subsequent First French Empire . Despite enlisting in the army as a private soldier , Philippon rose to the rank of " Général de Division " during the Peninsular War , and was created Baron in 1809 . He was Governor of Badajoz between 1811 and 1812 , when he was captured by the British following the Battle of Badajoz . After his capture , Philippon was taken to the UK , but he broke his parole and returned to France and the Grande Armée before retiring from military service on 15 January 1814 . Biography . Philippon was born in Rouen on 27 August 1761 , and enlisted as a soldier in the Regiment of Lorraine on 15 April 1778 . He was promoted to Corporal on 16 April 1785 , Sergeant in November 1786 and Sergeant Major on 15 April 1790 . He received his commission on 9 August 1792 , when he was named Captain in the 7th battalion of Bec - d ' Ambès . He spent 1792 – 93 campaigning with the " Armée du Nord " , under the command of Generals Joseph Servan and Léonard Muller , before joining the " Armée des Pyrénées occidentales " under General Moncey . While serving on the Spanish border , Philippon distinguished himself by capturing a fort at Irursum , defended by 2 , 500 Spanish troops , with only 600 men . This act of bravery resulted in Philippon ' s promotion to Adjutant - General and provisional " Chef de brigade " . Philippon was transferred to the Army of the West in Year IV ( 1795 – 1796 ) , then posted to the Army of the Danube in Year VII ( 1798 – 1799 ) where he was given command of the 87th " demi - Brigade " . The years IX – XI ( 1800 – 1803 ) were spent campaigning in Grisons , Valais , Switzerland and Italy , and in October 1803 he became Colonel of the 54th Line regiment . After moving to the French Army of Hanover , Philippon was made a member of the Légion d ' honneur on 19 Frimaire Year XII ( November 1803 ) and an officer of that order on 25 Prairial ( 14 June 1804 ) . He served in Spain during the Peninsular War from 1808 , was created a baron in 1809 , and saw action with General Pierre Lapisse ' s division of Marshal Victor ' s I Corps at the Battle of Talavera and the Siege of Cádiz . Philippon ' s conduct at Cádiz resulted in his promotion to Brigadier General ( " Général de Brigade " ) on 25 June 1810 . Philippon took part in Marshal Soult ' s expedition into Extremadura in 1811 , and distinguished himself again at the Battle of the Gebora . Following the capture by the French of the important fortress town of Badajoz after the first siege of Badajoz , Philippon was named Governor of the town on 11 March 1811 , and he made his name defending the fortress through the second siege . While Sir William Beresford , the commander of the Allied Anglo – Spanish – Portuguese corps besieging Badajoz , was defending against Soult ' s attempt to relieve the siege at the Battle of Albuera , Philippon led a sally from Badajoz and destroyed much of the abandoned siege - works , and continued to offer resistance to Allies until the siege was lifted on 20 June . In recognition of his defence of Badajoz , Philippon was promoted to Major General ( " Général de Division " ) on 9 July 1811 , and he remained in command of the fortress ' s garrison . When the Allies returned to lay siege to the town in 1812 , Philippon ' s defences once more obstructed attempts to capture it . The obstructions he constructed made the breaches in the fortress ' s walls impregnable , and Badajoz was only captured following the unexpected success of a diversionary escalade . When the town fell to the Allies on 6 April , following the Battle of Badajoz , Philippon retreated to the outlying fort at San Cristóbal , across the Guadiana river , but was forced to surrender the following day . He was taken first to Lisbon , and then shipped to England where he took up residence in Oswestry . In July 1812 , however , he broke his parole , left Oswestry , and with the help of smugglers returned to France . Having returned to the Grande Armée in August 1812 , Philippon was given command of the 1st Division , 1 Corps on 23 March 1813 . In April of that year , he transferred to 11 Corps , and campaigned with Vandamme in Bohemia . It was Philippon ' s skilled manoeuvring following the Battle of Kulm that allowed the remnants of the Vandamme ' s army to retreat to Dresden , where Philippon was made prisoner along with Laurent Gouvion Saint - Cyr ' s Corps . Returning to France at the time of the First Restoration , Philippon was created a Knight of Saint Louis , retired from military service on 15 January 1814 , and died on 4 May 1836 .