Alphonse Joseph Georges
Encyclopedia
Alphonse Joseph Georges (Allier
- Montluçon
, August 15, 1875 – April 24, 1951) was a French
army officer. He was commander in chief of the North East Front in 1939 and 1940. Opposing the plan by supreme commander Maurice Gamelin
to move the best allied forces into the Low Countries
, he was overruled by his superior. Georges tried to allow as much initiative to his inferiors as possible to improve operational flexibility.
Alphonse Georges, the son of a blacksmith, was born at Montlucon, France on 19 August 1875. He entered St Cyr and graduated third in his class in 1897. He served in Algeria with a tirailleur regiment.
He served in the French Army during the First World War and was seriously wounded while leading his battalion in 1914. He was then assigned to the general staff of the army where he remained for the rest of the war.
In 1918 Georges served under General Ferdinand Foch as operations chief. He was also chief of staff under General Henri-Philippe Petain in French Morocco
during the Riff Wars and as a division commander in Algeria (1928–32).
Georges was appointed to the Supreme War Council in November 1932. Based now in Paris he survived an assassination attempt in Marseilles on 9 October 1934. He was seriously wounded but recovered and was expected to succeed General Maxime Weygand as head of the French Army in 1935. However, the prime minister Edouard Daladier, thought he was too right-wing and appointed Maurice Gamelin instead.
Georges was appointed as Gamelin's deputy but the two men did not get on and they had a fraught relationship. On the outbreak of the Second World War Georges became commander of all French field armies. Gamelin and Georges assured Daladier that France had the greatest army in the world and was shocked when the front was broken at Sedan, and according to the then captain Andre Beaufre
in his memoirs , when the front was broken, the feeling was that everything was lost and Georges broke down crying at his HQ . On 17 May 1940 Gamelin and Georges were sacked and General Maxime Weygand returned as head of the French Army.
After Henri-Philippe Petain took power Georges refused to play any significant role in the new government. Winston Churchill wanted Georges to become commander of French forces in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia after the invasion of North Africa in February 1942. However, President Franklin D. Roosevelt insisted that this post should go to General Henri Giraud.
In January 1943 Henri Giraud and Charles De Gaulle became co-presidents of the French Committee of National Liberation (NCNL). Georges was appointed minister without portfolio but it was not long before like Giraud he was ousted by De Gaulle. Alphonse Georges died in 1951.
Allier
Allier is a department in central France named after the river Allier.- History :Allier is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Auvergne and Bourbonnais.In 1940, the government of Marshal...
- Montluçon
Montluçon
Montluçon is a commune in central France. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's préfecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as Montluçonnais...
, August 15, 1875 – April 24, 1951) was a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
army officer. He was commander in chief of the North East Front in 1939 and 1940. Opposing the plan by supreme commander Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gustave Gamelin was a French general. Gamelin is best remembered for his unsuccessful command of the French military in 1940 during the Battle of France and his steadfast defense of republican values....
to move the best allied forces into the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, he was overruled by his superior. Georges tried to allow as much initiative to his inferiors as possible to improve operational flexibility.
Alphonse Georges, the son of a blacksmith, was born at Montlucon, France on 19 August 1875. He entered St Cyr and graduated third in his class in 1897. He served in Algeria with a tirailleur regiment.
He served in the French Army during the First World War and was seriously wounded while leading his battalion in 1914. He was then assigned to the general staff of the army where he remained for the rest of the war.
In 1918 Georges served under General Ferdinand Foch as operations chief. He was also chief of staff under General Henri-Philippe Petain in French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
during the Riff Wars and as a division commander in Algeria (1928–32).
Georges was appointed to the Supreme War Council in November 1932. Based now in Paris he survived an assassination attempt in Marseilles on 9 October 1934. He was seriously wounded but recovered and was expected to succeed General Maxime Weygand as head of the French Army in 1935. However, the prime minister Edouard Daladier, thought he was too right-wing and appointed Maurice Gamelin instead.
Georges was appointed as Gamelin's deputy but the two men did not get on and they had a fraught relationship. On the outbreak of the Second World War Georges became commander of all French field armies. Gamelin and Georges assured Daladier that France had the greatest army in the world and was shocked when the front was broken at Sedan, and according to the then captain Andre Beaufre
André Beaufre
André Beaufre was a French general. Beaufre ended World War II with the rank of colonel....
in his memoirs , when the front was broken, the feeling was that everything was lost and Georges broke down crying at his HQ . On 17 May 1940 Gamelin and Georges were sacked and General Maxime Weygand returned as head of the French Army.
After Henri-Philippe Petain took power Georges refused to play any significant role in the new government. Winston Churchill wanted Georges to become commander of French forces in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia after the invasion of North Africa in February 1942. However, President Franklin D. Roosevelt insisted that this post should go to General Henri Giraud.
In January 1943 Henri Giraud and Charles De Gaulle became co-presidents of the French Committee of National Liberation (NCNL). Georges was appointed minister without portfolio but it was not long before like Giraud he was ousted by De Gaulle. Alphonse Georges died in 1951.