Charles Nicolas Fabvier

Charles Nicolas Fabvier  was a French philhellene, General and commander of the tactical Greek army during the Greek War of Independence. He was born at Pont-à-Mousson and studied in the École Polytechnique of Paris before he joined the Artillery regiment of Napoleons armies in Germany. He participated in many of the Napoleonic wars. He participated in the 1805 Ulm Campaign and in the battle of Dürenstein. In 1807, he was part of the French military mission to the Ottoman Sultan Selim III, assigned with shoring up the defenses of Constantinople. Fabvier then joined the diplomatic mission of General Charles Mathieu Gardanne. In 1809, he returned to Europe through Russia, and served for a brief period as a volunteer in the Polish army.

On 1810 he was sent 1t Persia to organize the Persian army and to combat British and Russian influence in the region. At the age of 30 he was a colonel and was awarded the title of Brigadier of the Legion of Honor and was raised to colonel of the General Staff and made baron de l'Empire. After Bourbon Restoration and the fall of Napoleon on 1815 he continued to serve in the royal French army until 1820 were he was discharged like most of Napoleons officers and took refuge in England.

On 1823 he went to Greece under the pseudonym De Borel in to assist Greeks in the War of Independence. He returned to England to recruit more volunteers and when he was finally back on 1825 he was appointed head of the small Greek regular army, with which he participated in several battles and reorganized the fortification of Navarino.

In the beginning of 1826 he took part in the battle of “Haidari” were he was defeated and on November of the same year managed to break the Siege of Acropolis with his 530 men and deliver war supplies to the besieged. He stayed there until May when he made a treaty. On the summer 1827 he took part in the campaign of Chios which was stopped after the reaction of the European allies.He also took part in the French Morea expedition escorting the tactical French army by offering his knowledge of the area. On 1828 after a dispute with Kapodistrias he left Greece and returned to France. There he took part in the July Revolution and was named military commander of Paris. In 1831, he resigned his commission and retired with the rank Lieutenant General. In 1845 he was elected to the National Assembly of France where he remained until he retired in 1851. On 1848 He was appointed ambassador in Constantinople and later Denmark.

During the Third National Assembly at Troezen he was named Greek citizen and was offered by King Otto himself the decoration of The Order of the Redeemer also known as the Order of the Savior. When he died a three day morning period was declared in Greece.