Rubuta ci gaba ga wannan sakin layi - Aikinsa na soja ya fara ne lokacin da ya shiga aikin soja a 1777. A lokacin juyin juya halin Faransa ya tashi cikin sauri a matsayin Laftanar Kanar. Ya sami ci gaba zuwa "général de brigade" a 1793 kuma ya yi yaƙi a yakin Fleurus (1794). A matsayin wani ɓangare na Sojojin Danube, ya kuma yi yaƙi a yakin Ostrach
da kuma yakin Stockach (1799). A matsayin "général de division" ya yi yaƙi a ƙarƙashin Jean Victor Marie Moreau a Yaƙin Hohenlinden (1800), ya sami nasarar riƙe gefen hagu.