Baptiste Pierre Bisson Baptiste - Pierre - François Bisson , was born 16 February 1767 at Montpellier , France and died 26 July 1811 , at Mantua in the Kingdom of Italy , joined the French army and rose rapidly in rank during the French Revolutionary Wars . He served as a division commander in the Grande Armée of Emperor Napoleon in 1805 and 1807 , playing a leading role at the Battle of Friedland . He was captured by Tyrolean rebels in 1809 . Known as a gourmand , he became very fat before dying prematurely . His surname is one of the Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe . Revolution . Bisson was born on 16 February 1767 at Montpellier in the south of France in what later became the department of Hérault . On 23 May 1793 , while a chef de bataillon ( major ) , he led 60 grenadiers and 50 dragoons in the heroic defense of a village . On 19 September 1794 , he was elevated in rank to chef de brigade ( colonel ) of the 26th Demi - Brigade . On 23 May 1796 , he tranferred to command the 43rd Line Infantry Demi - Brigade . He led the 43rd at the Battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800 . During the engagement his demi - brigade fought as part of Jacques - Antoine de Chambarlhac de Laubespin ' s division . Recognizing his intelligence and courage , Napoleon promoted Bisson to general of brigade on 5 July 1800 . Empire . On 1 February 1805 , Bisson was named general of division . At the beginning of the War of the Third Coalition , he led an infantry division in Marshal Louis - Nicolas Davout ' s III Corps . Command of the division passed to Marie - François Auguste de Caffarelli du Falga , who led it at the Battle of Austerlitz after Bisson was badly wounded during the pursuit at the passage of the Traun River . He became a Grand Officer of the Légion d ' honneur on 25 December 1805 . At the end of the War of the Fourth Coalition , Napoleon recalled Bisson to command one of Marshal Michel Ney ' s VI Corps infantry divisions . At the Battle of Guttstadt - Deppen on 5 and 6 June 1807 , he led the 25th Light Infantry Regiment and the 27th , 50th , and 59th Line Infantry Regiments . He also directed his division at the Battle of Friedland on 14 June 1807 . At 5 : 00 PM , Napoleon ordered the attack to begin and Ney ' s corps advanced with his two divisions formed in mass . With Jean Gabriel Marchand ' s division on the right and Bisson ' s on the left , the French pressed back the Russians opposing them . However , as Ney ' s corps advanced deep into the enemy positions , it ran into intense artillery fire which caused heavy losses . When the Russian reserve cavalry counterattacked , the soldiers of both Marchand and Bisson headed for the rear in confusion . At this moment , Napoleon brought up Claude Victor - Perrin ' s I Corps and it smashed the Russian left flank . As their enemies recoiled , Ney ' s men rallied and returned to the assault , helping to drive the Russians from Pravdinsk ( Friedland ) around 8 : 00 PM . Napoleon appointed Bisson a Count of the Empire in 1808 . By this time in his career , Bisson gained a reputation as a hard drinker . The beginning of the War of the Fifth Coalition found him leading a column of 2 , 050 conscripts from Italy to Bavaria over the Brenner Pass . The Tyrolean Rebellion broke out all around him . The rebels soon forced Bisson to surrender with his trapped soldiers and the eagle of the 3rd Line Infantry Regiment near Innsbruck between 11 and 13 April 1809 . Bisson was a tall man but he also became extremely obese . He became renowned both for his bravery and for an astonishing capacity for eating and drinking . One observer claimed he could finish off eight bottles of wine for lunch while conversing pleasantly and issuing orders to his troops . Bisson died at Mantua in northern Italy on 26 July 1811 . His name is inscribed on Column 16 of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris .