Henri Gouraud (soldier)

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Henri Joseph Eugène Gouraud (November 17, 1867–September 16, 1946) was a French general, best known for his leadership of the French Fourth Army at the end of the First World War. Born in la Rue de Grenelle, Paris, an infantryman, he graduated from St. Cyr in 1890. Like many of his generation, his principal experience before the war was abroad in colonial service. As commander of the French forces committed in the Dardanelles Campaign of 1915 (Battle of Gallipoli) he lost his right arm. From July of 1917 until the end of the war he commanded the Fourth Army on the Western Front, where he gained distinction for his use of elastic defense during the Second Battle of the Marne.

After the war, Gouraud served from 1919 to 1923 as representative of the French Government in the Middle East. He was the top military during Franco-Turkish war. During this time he presided over the creation of the State of Greater Lebanon on September 1, 1920, and led the occupation of Syria.

In 1923, he returned to France, where was the Military Governor of Paris from 1923 to 1937. He also served on the Supreme Allied War Council from 1927 until his retirement in 1937. General Gouraud died in Paris in 1946.

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