André-Gaston Prételat
Encyclopedia
André-Gaston Prételat was a general in the French Army
.
to Tangier
. During the First World War he was the chief of staff of 70th Division (1915) and then of XXIII Corps
(1916), before becoming the commanding officer of the 159th Regiment and Deputy Chief of Staff to Gouraud's French Fourth Army (1917), and finally Chief of Staff of the Fourth Army. After the Armistice, he became chief of staff of the Army of Alsace (1918), the troops occupying the Alsace Lorraine (annexed by France from Germany).
from 1919 to 1923, then as chief of staff to general Gouraud for 4 years from 1923. He next held three posts as General Officer Commanding
, first of First Division (1927 to 1930), then of the Eleventh Military Region (1930), and finally of the Paris Military Region (aka the Second Military Region, from 1930 to 1934). From 1934 to the outbreak of the Second World War he was Member Supreme of the 19-strong War council.
In 1938 he was commander-designate of the French Second Army
, and in that role he held exercises that year which revealed that the Ardennes
were impossible to defend; although his prediction as to the time it would take Germany to breach defenses was off by only three hours of the time it actually took on May 1940, he was accused of pessimism. He pointed out security weaknesses in the defensive forticiations of the north-east border of France in December 1938 and attempted to address these with improvements he planned in April 1939, but efforts had scarcely been undertaken when the war began in September 1939.
in the Saar on 8 September. The offensive was halted only 4 days after it had begun on order of French chief of staff Maurice Gamelin
, and Prételat withdrew the Second Army Group to behind the Maginot Line
, in the north-eastern sector of the French northern front, to where they would remain until the outbreak of the Battle of France
on 10 May 1940.
At first, Prételat withheld his troops, which were inadequate in number to the task at hand, but by the second week Prételat had reinforced units directly facing the German offensive in the northwest with 20 of his 30 divisions. On 26 May, in fear that German forces would overwhelm exhausted groups to his west, Prételat sought and was refused permission to retreat. His troops remained in place until collapse was imminent, when, on 12 June, they were ordered to withdraw. They were shortly surrounded by German troops in spite of their resistance, continuing their efforts for a short time even after the French surrender of 22 June 1940.
It was Prételat's last engagement in the war.
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
.
1910-1918
His first post, from 1910 to 1912, was as military attachéMilitary attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
to Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
. During the First World War he was the chief of staff of 70th Division (1915) and then of XXIII Corps
XXIII Corps
XXIII Corps can refer to:*XXIII Corps *XXIII Corps *XXIII Corps *XXIII Russian Corps...
(1916), before becoming the commanding officer of the 159th Regiment and Deputy Chief of Staff to Gouraud's French Fourth Army (1917), and finally Chief of Staff of the Fourth Army. After the Armistice, he became chief of staff of the Army of Alsace (1918), the troops occupying the Alsace Lorraine (annexed by France from Germany).
1918-1939
During the inter-war years he returned to the French colonies, acting as chief of staff in the LevantLevant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
from 1919 to 1923, then as chief of staff to general Gouraud for 4 years from 1923. He next held three posts as General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
, first of First Division (1927 to 1930), then of the Eleventh Military Region (1930), and finally of the Paris Military Region (aka the Second Military Region, from 1930 to 1934). From 1934 to the outbreak of the Second World War he was Member Supreme of the 19-strong War council.
In 1938 he was commander-designate of the French Second Army
Second Army (France)
The Second Army was a Field army of the French Army during World War I and World War II. The Army became famous for fighting the Battle of Verdun in 1916 under Philippe Pétain.-World War I:*General de Curières de Castelnau...
, and in that role he held exercises that year which revealed that the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
were impossible to defend; although his prediction as to the time it would take Germany to breach defenses was off by only three hours of the time it actually took on May 1940, he was accused of pessimism. He pointed out security weaknesses in the defensive forticiations of the north-east border of France in December 1938 and attempted to address these with improvements he planned in April 1939, but efforts had scarcely been undertaken when the war began in September 1939.
1939-1940
Prételat openly opposed entering the war with Germany along with one other member of the War Council, but nevertheless did send the French Second Army Group on what he feared would be an underpowered offensive against the German Siegfried LineSiegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
in the Saar on 8 September. The offensive was halted only 4 days after it had begun on order of French chief of staff 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....
, and Prételat withdrew the Second Army Group to behind the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
, in the north-eastern sector of the French northern front, to where they would remain until the outbreak of the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
on 10 May 1940.
At first, Prételat withheld his troops, which were inadequate in number to the task at hand, but by the second week Prételat had reinforced units directly facing the German offensive in the northwest with 20 of his 30 divisions. On 26 May, in fear that German forces would overwhelm exhausted groups to his west, Prételat sought and was refused permission to retreat. His troops remained in place until collapse was imminent, when, on 12 June, they were ordered to withdraw. They were shortly surrounded by German troops in spite of their resistance, continuing their efforts for a short time even after the French surrender of 22 June 1940.
It was Prételat's last engagement in the war.