Débelle (also spelled Debelle without the accent) was a French general who participated in the first assault on crete-a-pierrot during the leclerc-expedition of 1802, sustaining a grave wound in the opening attack.
His fate concentrates into a single vignette the dynamics of the first failed French approach to the fort: overconfidence, catastrophic casualties, and the paradox that Black soldiers of the French colonial force carried a wounded white general to safety through the very river that...
TimelineAcross the historical record.
- 1802
Leclerc Expedition
expedition — the campaign of which this attack was one episode
- 1802-03-04
Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot
crete-a-pierrot — the full siege context, March 4–24, 1802