From the rank of a regular of the
chasseurs de Cévennes, he worked his way up through his courage and character to the rank of a division general and
adjutant of
Napoleon Bonaparte. As a lieutenant, his reputation grew through his impetuousness as well as the wounds he received in battle. He was made
aide-de-camp of
Louis Desaix, who named him captain and took him to
Egypt, where Rapp distinguished himself at
Sediman, capturing an enemy battery. For that, he was given a squadron and later a brigade by Napoleon. After the Egyptian campaign, Rapp remained under the command of Desaix until the latter's death at
Marengo on 14 June 1800. He then became aide-de-camp of Napoleon, then the
First Consul, a post he held until 1814. Under this title, he was charged with many confidential missions by Napoleon in the
Vendée,
Switzerland and
Belgium. In 1803 he was promoted to brigadier general and in December 1805, he led a memorable attack at
Austerlitz, when he charged at the head of two squadrons each of the
Mounted Chasseurs and the
Mounted Grenadiers of the Guard and the
Guard Mameluks and decimated the
Chevalier Guards of the Russian Imperial Guard. Promoted to division general, he later fought at
Jena on 14 October 1806 and was wounded at
Golymin. . Rapp stayed in the line of fire: at
Essling, he led the front of his fusiliers of the
Garde impériale and carried the day; during the signing of the
Treaty of Schönbrunn, he averted a planned attempt on Napoleon by the young
Friedrich Staps. Being fluent in German, Rapp acted as a translator for Staps as Napoleon personally interrogated Staps. In Russia, he was wounded by four bullets at the
Battle of Borodino on 5–7 September 1812. He saved Napoleon's life a second time by repelling an attack of
Don Cossacks near
Maloyaroslavets and was again wounded at the passage of the
Berezina, fighting alongside
Ney in the rear guard. As governor of
Danzig, Rapp
held the town for a year with
X Corps after the
Grande Armée left Russia. During the
Hundred Days, Rapp rallied to Napoleon and was given command of
V Corps, consisting of about 20,000 men. It was used to observe the border near
Strasbourg, and to defend the
Vosges. Ten days after the
Battle of Waterloo (in which his corps took no part), he met some Coalition forces near Strasbourg and defeated them at the
Battle of La Suffel. After the Waterloo Campaign, he offered his resignation several times, but was reinstated. Later, Rapp became a deputy of the
department of Haut-Rhin and was appointed as treasurer of
Louis XVIII in 1819. == Death ==