Augustin Tuncq
Augustin Tuncq (27 August 1746 – 9 February 1800) was a French general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars. Born in Conteville, Somme, to a weaver’s family, he joined the royal army in 1762 and rose through the ranks, including a brief desertion in 1770. By 1789 he was a captain in the National Guard.
In 1793, during the War in the Vendée, Tuncq led forces around Luçon. He openly accused his commander, Jean Antoine Rossignol, of incompetence. Although Rossignol had him removed, Vendéan attacks forced a temporary return to command. With about 6,000 men he defeated a much larger army at the Battle of Luçon on 14 August and held Luçon and Chantonnay, earning a promotion to major general.
His success was short-lived. He was injured when he fell from his horse, and his division was defeated at Chantonnay on 5 September 1793. Rossignol used the setback to remove him again, and Tuncq was arrested on 12 September and sent to Paris for trial. He defended himself vigorously and was acquitted in 1794 after the Hébertists fell from power and Hébert was executed.
Reinstated, Tuncq served at Brest and later commanded the 15th Division in Amiens, though local authorities rejected him. He briefly sought retirement but was recalled on 4 March 1796 as a divisional commander in Ferino's Army of the Rhine and Moselle for the Rhine Campaign of 1796. He was arrested again on 7 March 1797, but the War Council acquitted him on 8 August and he was reintegrated on 9 September, serving with the 15th Division until 1799.
Tuncq died in Paris on 9 February 1800 from injuries from a riding accident. In 1797 he published papers about his Vendée experiences. He was married to Marie-Françoise Chefeville, and they had three children, including Brutus, who became a battalion chief.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 01:42 (CET).