What nickname did Dutch soldiers give General David Hendrik Chassé?

Dutch soldiers nicknamed General David Hendrik Chassé “Generaal Bajonet.”

The name means “General Bayonet” and reflected Chassé’s reputation for aggressive close-combat tactics. At Waterloo, that reputation became especially memorable when he ordered Colonel Hendrik Detmers’s brigade to charge the advancing French Imperial Guard after Dutch horse artillery had opened fire on its flank.

Chassé was a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars who had served in both Dutch and French formations during his career. By 1815 he commanded the Dutch-Belgian 3rd Division in Wellington’s allied army. His counterattack at Waterloo helped disrupt the Imperial Guard’s assault and enhanced the association between his name and bayonet fighting.

The nickname is sometimes translated into English as “General Bayonet” or rendered in French as “Général Baïonnette.” Those are translations or variants, not different identities. “Marshal Forwards” is associated with other military figures, while “Iron Duke” was Wellington’s famous nickname.