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 a direct subordinate of the Chief of the Defence Staff of the Armed Forces (Chef d'État-Major des Armées,C.E.M.A) and 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

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. Although the war essentially ended with the armistice in November 1918, the war-time organisation persisted until 1920.

1918–1939 During the interwar period, command of the French Army was divided between the Vice President of the Superior War Council and the Chief of the Army Staff. Marshal Philippe Pétain was Vice President from 1920 to 1931, when he was replaced by General Weygand. After Weygand retired in 1935 he was succeeded by Maurice Gamelin who held the two positions simultaneously.

Second World War On the outbreak of war the Chief of the Army Staff again became commander-in-chief.

1945–1962

Chef d'État-Major de l'Armée de Terre

See also

References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "L'armée française (1871–1914): Les chef de l'Etat major général". Military photos.com. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
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  4. 1 2 3 Ellis, John; Cox, Michael (2001). The World War I Databook. Aurum Press. ISBN 1-85410-766-6.
  5. "French Members of Arms Parley Are Now on Scene". The Atlanta Constitution. 8 November 1921. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
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  12. Institute for the Study of Conflict (1974). Annual of power and conflict. p. 14. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  13. "French General Chief of Staff". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. 4 September 1980. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  14. 1 2 John Vinocur (10 March 1983). "French general ousted for disputing cutback". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  15. "France and Vietnam: Turning a page in history". Orlando Sentinel. 11 February 1993. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  16. Wetterqvist, Fredrik (1990). French security and defence policy: current developments and future prospects. DIANE Publishing. p. 45. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  17. "French officials collect compatriots". Beacon Journal. 24 April 1995. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  18. Neil Baumgardner (20 March 2000). "Britain, France, Germany, Italy respond to Army vehicle request". Defense Daily. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  19. "French army chief of staff visits Morocco for exchange of expertise". BBC News. 5 March 2004. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  20. Katrin Bennhold (1 July 2008). "French Army chief resigns over shooting accident". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  21. 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. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
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