Chief of Staff of the French Army
The Chief of Staff of the French Army (French: Chef d'État-Major de l'Armée de Terre, CEMAT) is the professional head of the French Army. The current Chief of Staff of the French Army has been General Jean-Pierre Bosser since 1 September 2014. The CEMAT title has been in use since 1962; prior to that the position for the general in charge of France's land forces was referred to as Chef d'État-Major de l'Armée.[1] The modern form of a general staff for the French Army emerged in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, with Louis Alexandre Berthier being Chief-of-Staff for the Grand État-Major Général (Army General Headquarters) of Napoleon's Grand Armée.
French Army Chiefs of Staff
Chef d'État-Major de l'Armée
- 1874–1914
- Jean-Louis Borel (1874–1875)
- Henri Gresley (1875–1877)
- Marie-Joseph François de Miribel (1878–1879)
- Léopold Davout d'Auerstaedt (1879–1880)
- Omer Arsène André Blot (1880–1881)
- Achille Ernest Vuillemot (1882–1883)
- de Cools (1884–1885)
- Savin de Larclause (1886–1887)
- Haillot (1888–1890)
- Marie-Joseph François de Miribel (1891–1893)[2]
- Raoul Le Mouton de Boisdeffre (1894–1898)[2]
- Paul Marie Brault (1899–1901)[2]
- Jean Marie Pendezec (1901–1905)[2]
- Jean Jules Brun (1905–1909)[2]
- Édouard Laffon de Ladebat (1909–1911)[2]
- Auguste Dubail (1911)[2]
- Joseph Joffre (28 July 1911 – 2 August 1914)[3]
First World War
In times of war, the army chief of staff took charge of general headquarters (GQG: Grand Quartier Général). During the First World War, the leader of the French armies was variously referred to as supreme general (generalissimo) or commander-in-chief. In the closing years of the war, the establishment of the Supreme War Council in 1917 led to overall command being held by French general Ferdinand Foch, and by mid-1918 French army chief Pétain was subordinate to Foch.
- Joseph Joffre (August 1914 to December 1916)[4]
- Robert Nivelle (December 1916 to May 1917)[4]
- Philippe Pétain (May 1917 to 1918)[4]
1918–1939
- Edmond Buat (1921)[5]
- Maxime Weygand (1931–1935)[6]
- Louis Colson (1938)[7]
Second World War
1945–1962
- Paul Henri Romuald Ely (1954)[10]
Chef d'État-Major de l'Armée de Terre
- Louis Le Puloch (18 July 1962 to 2 April 1965)[11]
- Emile Cantarel (3 April 1965 to 31 March 1971)[12]
- Alain de Boissieu (May 1971 – February 1975)[13]
- Jean Lagarde (1975– 4 September 1980)[14]
- Jean Delaunay (4 September 1980 – 10 March 1983)[15]
- René Imbot (10 March 1983 – 1985)[15]
- Maurice Schmitt (1985–1987)[16]
- Gilbert Forray (1987–1991)[17]
- Amédée-Marc Monchal (1991–1996)[18]
- Philippe Mercier (1996–1999)
- Yves Crene (1999–2002)[19]
- Bernard Thorette (2 September 2002 – 15 July 2006)[20]
- Bruno Cuche (16 July 2006 – 1 July 2008)[21]
- Elrick Irastorza (2 July 2008 – 31 August 2011)[22]
- Bertrand Ract-Madoux (1 September 2011 – 31 August 2014)
- Jean-Pierre Bosser (1 September 2014 – )
See also
- Chief of the Defence Staff (French: Chef d'État-Major des Armées, CEMA)
- Chief of Staff of the French Air Force (French: Chef d'État-Major de l'Armée de l'Air, CEMAA)
- Chief of Staff of the French Navy (French: Chef d'État-Major de la Marine, CEMM)
- Chief of Army Staff
- Chief of staff#Military
References
- ↑ Zeller, André (1974). Dialogues avec un général. Presses de la Cité. p. 14.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "L'armée française (1871–1914): Les chef de l'Etat major général". Military photos.com. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- ↑ Tucker, Spencer; Mary Roberts, Priscilla (2005). World War I: encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. pp. 616–617. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ellis, John; Cox, Michael (2001). The World War I Databook. Aurum Press. ISBN 1-85410-766-6.
- ↑ "French Members of Arms Parley Are Now on Scene". The Atlanta Constitution. 8 November 1921. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
- ↑ "MACARTHUR RECEIVES HIGH FRENCH HONOR; Chief of Staff of Our Army Is Made Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor". The New York Times. 17 September 1931. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
- ↑ Taylor, Telford (1980). Munich: the price of peace. Vintage Books. p. 728. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ↑ Paul W. Ward (5 July 1944). "De Gaulle Visit To Cover 5 Days". The Sun. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ↑ M. Johnston, Andrew (2005). Hegemony and culture in the origins of NATO nuclear first-use, 1945–1955. Macmillan Publishers. p. 73. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ↑ Bruce Frankum, Ronald (2007). Operation Passage to Freedom: the United States Navy in Vietnam, 1954–1955. Texas Tech University Press. p. 7. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ↑ A. Beer, Francis (1969). Integration and disintegration in NATO: processes of alliance cohesion and prospects for Atlantic community. Mershon Center for Education in National Security, Ohio State University Press. p. 91. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ↑ "Parliamentary approval of Defence Programme". Keesing's Record of World Events (Keesing's Worldwide, LLC) 11: 20921. August 1965. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
- ↑ Institute for the Study of Conflict (1974). Annual of power and conflict. p. 14. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ↑ "French General Chief of Staff". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. 4 September 1980. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 John Vinocur (10 March 1983). "French general ousted for disputing cutback". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ↑ "France and Vietnam: Turning a page in history". Orlando Sentinel. 11 February 1993. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ↑ Wetterqvist, Fredrik (1990). French security and defence policy: current developments and future prospects. DIANE Publishing. p. 45. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ↑ "French officials collect compatriots". Beacon Journal. 24 April 1995. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ↑ Neil Baumgardner (20 March 2000). "Britain, France, Germany, Italy respond to Army vehicle request". Defense Daily. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ↑ "French army chief of staff visits Morocco for exchange of expertise". BBC News. 5 March 2004. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ↑ Katrin Bennhold (1 July 2008). "French Army chief resigns over shooting accident". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
- ↑ Rocco DeFilippis (4 December 2009). "Commandant of the Marine Corps awarded French Legion of Honour by French Army Chief of Staff". United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 10 July 2011.