War of the Pyrenees In 1792, Sauret served in the
Army of the Alps. During 1793–1795, he fought in the
Army of the eastern Pyrenees against
Spain and earned rapid advancement. In October 1793 he was elevated to the rank of
general of brigade. In December he was wounded in the left leg at the battle of
Villelongue-dels-Monts and received promotion to
general of division. During Dugommier's offensive, Sauret led his troops in the French victory at the
Battle of Boulou on 30 April and 1 May 1794. His troops, including the brigades of
Jean-François Micas,
Louis Pelletier,
Jean-Jacques Causse,
Jean Simon Pierre Pinon, and
Claude Perrin Victor, participated in the
siege of Collioure, which began the day after Boulou. On 26 May, the 7,000-man Spanish garrison surrendered, while the French
Émigrés escaped in fishing boats. The Spanish surrender of the
Fort de Bellegarde in September allowed Dugommier to plan an invasion of Catalonia that fall. Sauret commanded the left wing at the
Battle of the Black Mountain, where Dugommier ordered him to mount a feint attack on 17 November. Dugommier was killed by a Spanish artillery shell on the 18th, and his successor Pérignon reinforced Sauret. After four days of fighting, the French army broke through the fortifications, which were manned by Spanish, Portuguese, and French Émigré soldiers. The Spanish commander
Luis Firmin de Carvajal, Conde de la Union died defending the Notre-Dame-Del-Roure redoubt on 20 November and his army took to its heels. where he was wounded twice. His command included the brigades of Victor, Causse,
Joseph Magdelaine Martin,
Robert Motte,
Théodore Chabert, and
François Gilles Guillot, plus a small division under
Jean Baptiste Beaufort de Thorigny. Pérignon and Sauret vigorously pressed the siege operations despite severe winter weather. Heavy guns were mounted on Mont Puy-Bois in order to take the
Castillo de la Trinidad, a key
outwork, under fire. The Spaniards abandoned the badly damaged
Castillo on 1 January. On the night of 3 February, the fleet of
Federico Gravina evacuated the garrison before a threatened French assault could take place.
Italian campaign In the spring of 1796, Sauret was transferred to the
Army of Italy, then commanded by Bonaparte. He became involved in fighting during the first Austrian attempt to raise the
Siege of Mantua. At the end of July, his 4,500-man division defended the west side of
Lake Garda with the brigades of
Jean Guieu and
Jean Rusca. Bonaparte felt this force was adequate to defend the area because he believed the mountain roads were too poor to sustain major operations. When
Peter Quasdanovich's 18,000-strong Austrian Right Column descended from the north, Sauret's troops were not only badly outnumbered, but also unready. On 29 July, the brigades of
Peter Ott and
Joseph Ocskay seized the towns of
Gavardo and
Salò, forcing Sauret to pull back to
Desenzano del Garda with the loss of 500 men and two cannons. However, Guieu and 400 soldiers barricaded themselves in Salò's Palazzo Martinengo and refused to give up. The following day,
Johann von Klenau surprised
Brescia, cutting Bonaparte's supply line to
Milan. Reacting to the loss of his base of operations, the French army commander began shifting his main strength to face Quasdanovich, while Augereau observed the main Austrian army under
Dagobert von Wurmser. On 31 July, Sauret marched to Salò, defeated Ocskay's troops in a fight lasting several hours, and rescued Guieu and his men. Though, he quickly pulled back to
Lonato del Garda, the defeat prompted Quasdanovich to regroup his troops at Gavardo. Sometime during 1 August, Sauret was injured and Guieu took command of the division. After an intricate series of actions, the
Battle of Lonato on 3 August resulted in the defeat and withdrawal of Quasdanovich. Sauret's division, still under Guieu, observed the retreat of the Austrian Right Column and missed the
Battle of Castiglione on 5 August. ==Later career==