Hoche
LAZARE (hōsh), a French soldier; born in Montreuil, a faubourg of Versailles, June 25, 1768. Enlisting at 16, he rapidly obtained promotion by his courage and capacity, and was given in 1793 the command of the Army of the Moselle, for his defense of Dunkirk against the Duke of York. Here he tried to cut off the communication between the Prussians and Austrians, and, though foiled by the superior forces of the Duke of Brunswick, yet managed to drive the Austrians out of Alsace. His next important service was putting an end to the civil war in La Vendée. He commanded the unfortunate expedition for the conquest of Ireland (1796), when the ships were scattered by storms.
Soon after he was placed in command of the Army of the Sambre and Meuse.
On April 18, 1797, he crossed the Rhine at Neuwied, and had defeated the Austrians in several battles, when an ar- HOCHHEIM mistice was concluded between the Archduke Charles and Bonaparte at Leoben. Died, Sept. 18, 1797.