Chief of Staff of the French Army

Chief of Staff of the French Army
Chef d'État-Major de L'Armée de Terre
Incumbent
Général d'armée Jean-Pierre Bosser
since 1 September 2014
French Army
Reports to Chief of the Defence Staff
Formation 1874
First holder Jean-Louis Borel
Deputy Major Général de de l'Armée de Terre
Website L'Armée de Terre

The Chief of Staff of the French Army (French: Chef d'état-major de l'Armée de terre (CEMAT) is the highest rank officer in the chain of command of the French Army. The chief of staff (CEMAT) is assisted by the Major General of the French Army (French: Major général de l'Armée de terre). The CEMAT title has been in use since 1962; prior to that the position for the general in charge of France's army was referred to as Chief of Staff of the Army (French: Chef d'État-Major de l'Armée, CEMA).[1]

Chief of Staff of the Army

1874–1914; Chef d'État-Major de l'Armée

First World War

In times of war, the Chief of Staff of the French Army took charge of general headquarters (Grand Quartier Général (1914–1919) (GQG)). During the First World War, the leader of the French Armies was variously referred to as generalissimo or commander-in-chief. In the closing years of the First World War I, the establishment of the Supreme War Council in 1917 led to overall command being held by General Ferdinand Foch, and by mid-1918 French Army Chief Philippe Pétain was subordinate to Foch. Although the war 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 general staff of the Armies. 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 Gamelin who held the two positions simultaneously.

№ Chef d'État-Major de l'ArméeTook officeLeft officeTime in officeRef
19
Buat, EdmondGénéral de division
Edmond Buat
(1868–1923)		192019232–3 years[5]
20
Debeney, Marie-EugèneGeneralissimo
Marie-Eugène Debeney
(1864–1943)		1923193016–17 years.
21
Weygand, MaximeGénéral d'armée
Maxime Weygand
(1867–1965)		193019310–1 years[6]
22
Gamelin, MauriceGénéral d'armée
Maurice Gamelin
(1872–1958)		1931September 19397–8 years.

Second World War

On the outbreak of war the Chief of Staff of the French Army again became the Chief of the general staff headquarters of the French Armies.

Chief of the general staff headquarters of the French Army

  • général d'armée Jean Le Vot : (10 May 1953 – 17 July 1962)
  • général d'armée Louis Le Puloch (18 July 1962 – 2 April 1965)[10]
  • général d'armée Emile Cantarel (3 April 1965 – 31 March 1971)[11]
  • général d'armée Alain de Boissieu (May 1971 – February 1975)[12]
  • général d'armée Jean Lagarde (1975 – 4 September 1980)[13]
  • général d'armée Jean Delaunay (4 September 1980 – 10 March 1983)[14]
  • général d'armée René Imbot (10 March 1983 – 1985)[14]
  • général d'armée Maurice Schmitt (1985–1987)[15]
  • général d'armée Gilbert Forray (1987–1991)[16]
  • général d'armée Amédée-Marc Monchal (1991–1996)[17]
  • général d'armée Philippe Mercier (1996–1999)
  • général d'armée Yves Crene (1999–2002)[18]
  • général d'armée Bernard Thorette (2 September 2002 – 15 July 2006)[19]
  • général d'armée Bruno Cuche (16 July 2006 – 1 July 2008)[20]
  • général d'armée Elrick Irastorza (2 July 2008 – 31 August 2011)[21]
  • général d'armée Bertrand Ract-Madoux (1 September 2011 – 31 August 2014)
  • général d'armée Jean-Pierre Bosser (1 September 2014 – present)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Zeller, André (1974). Dialogues avec un général. Presses de la Cité. p. 14.
  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.
  3. ↑ Tucker, Spencer; Mary Roberts, Priscilla (2005). World War I: encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. pp. 616–617. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  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.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ Paul W. Ward (5 July 1944). "De Gaulle Visit To Cover 5 Days". The Sun. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "Parliamentary approval of Defence Programme". Keesing's Record of World Events. Keesing's Worldwide, LLC. 11: 20921. August 1965. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  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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