Prince Louis Napoléon Achille Charles Murat (25 August 1872 – 14 June 1943), also known as Napoléon Akhilovich Murat (in Russian: Наполеон Ахилович Мюрат), was a French-Georgian military officer. A member of the House of Murat and direct descendant of Caroline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon, he was first commissioned in the French Army but spent most of his military career in the Imperial Russian Army, rising to the rank of major general.
Murat began his military career in the French Army in 1891, and attended the École de cavalerie, Saumur.[6] He served with the 25th Dragoon Regiment during the French conquest of Madagascar, where it was mistakenly reported that he had died from malaria.[7] He became a lieutenant in 1899[6] when he was with the 14th Hussars Regiment,[8] and later joined the 9th Cuirassier Regiment. Laws passed in France in the early 1900s meant that, as a member of a former ruling house, his opportunities for progression within the French Army became limited and he resigned his commission.[9][3]
In 1912, Murat resigned from the Russian Army to command a force of volunteers and mercenaries under the flag of Bulgaria during the First Balkan War.[12][14] After spending time in Argentina, where he bred horses for an oil tycoon, he rejoined the Imperial Russian Army at the outbreak of World War I, commanding the Ingush Regiment of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division, also known as the Savage or Wild Division. Fighting in the Carpathians, he suffered severe frostbite to his legs, that ultimately resulted in double amputation some years later. He also commanded the 12th Dragoon Regiment Starodubovskogo and served in the Ministry of War.[15] He rose to the rank of major general.[16][17] During the Russian Civil War he fought with the White Armies.[4][3]
^Marquise de Fontenoy (20 May 1904). "Letter of Marquise de Fontenoy". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. 6. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Late gossip of foreign capitals". The Washington Post. Washington, District of Columbia. 20 May 1904. p. 6. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ab"Prince Napoleon Murat...". Evening Standard and St. James Gazette. London, England. 26 October 1912. p. 1. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Prince Napoleon in war against Turks". The Washington Post. Washington, District of Columbia. 6 November 1912. p. 6. Retrieved 21 February 2022 – via Newspapers.com.