René Prioux
Encyclopedia
René Jacques Adolphe Prioux (April 11, 1879 – June 16, 1953) was a general of the French Army
who served in both world wars. A cavalry
officer of great talent, Prioux rapidly rose through the officer ranks and commanded the Cavalry Corps
of the First Army during the Battle of Belgium
in May 1940. He was captured by the Germans and spent two years as a prisoner of war
. Repatriated in 1942, Prioux came to be seen as a strong supporter of the Vichy regime
and was consequently removed from a position of authority in the French Army by Charles de Gaulle
, the leader of the Free French, after the landings in French north Africa
by U.S. and British forces in November 1942.
, Prioux joined the 6th Dragoon
Regiment
on August 9, 1897. Subsequently attending Saint-Cyr
military academy, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 6th Chasseurs Regiment on October 1, 1899. Promoted to lieutenant two years later, he was successively assigned to the 21st Chasseurs Regiment (January 24, 1907), the staff of the 19th Army Corps (October 22, 1908), and the staff of the 1st Brigade of Algerian Cavalry on October 22, 1910. He was promoted to captain on March 27, 1911 and was assigned to the 3rd Regiment of Chasseurs of Africa
on Christmas Day in 1911, before being placed on special duties in March, 1914.
The outbreak of the First World War found him assigned to the headquarters of the French Army. He moved rapidly through several positions in the next year, serving on the staff of the 34th Army Corps (November 7, 1914) and then the staff of the Army of the Vosges, the 7th Army, and with the Belgian Army
. Assigned to the staff of the 36th Army Corps on May 22, 1915, Prioux became a squadron commander on April 9, 1917 and was then assigned to the 5th Dragoon Regiment on February 18, 1918. After serving on the staff of the 164th Infantry Division, Prioux was assigned as the chief of staff of the 52nd Infantry Division on February 10, 1919.
Serving with French Army headquarters in Morocco in 1919, he attended the École Supérieure de Guerre (War College) in September 1919 and was subsequently assigned to duties as an instructor at the École Supérieure de Guerre in 1921. By January 1923, he was in charge of the school's cavalry studies and was then promoted to lieutenant-colonel on December 25, 1923. On August 21, 1925, he became the commander of the 8th Spahis Regiment, which he commanded until March 1926. While on orders to report to the 11th Cuirassiers Regiment, he took part in the French military mission to Poland in 1929, of which he became commander in 1931. On August 12, 1932, Prioux was promoted to Brigadier-General.
In October 1932, Prioux was assigned as the commander of cavalry in Tunisia
. By March 1936, Prioux was promoted to Major-General and had been assigned as the Chief of Cavalry at the Ministry of War. Commanding the 7th Military Region in Besançon
in February 1938, he was assigned as the Inspector-General of Cavalry on February 1, 1939 while still commanding the 7th Region until May 1939.
With the start of the Second World War, Prioux was assigned as the commander of the Cavalry Corps
on September 2, 1939. He led this unit into Belgium
after the German invasion of France and the Low Countries
, meeting and severely retarding the advance of the German XVI (motorized) Corps
at the battles of Hannut
and Gembloux
. Following the accidental death of General Billotte, Prioux took command of the French First Army
on May 26, 1940, and, with much of the First Army, was taken prisoner of war three days later. The Germans allowed him to return to Vichy France
in April 1942, where he was placed in the reserves in May and promoted to the rank of général d'armée in September 1942. He later served on the staff of General Henri Giraud
, and was among those named for ouster by Charles de Gaulle
, the leader of the Free French.
While the Vichy regime existed, Prioux promulgated antisemitic guidance to senior leaders of the Vichy French forces and was considered an enthusiastic supporter of the Vichy regime. After the Allies landed in French north Africa
and the Vichy regime collapsed, Prioux was not assigned to any position of significance in the French Army and spent the remaining ten years of his life in relative obscurity.
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...
who served in both world wars. A cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
officer of great talent, Prioux rapidly rose through the officer ranks and commanded the Cavalry Corps
Cavalry Corps (France)
The Cavalry Corps was a French mechanized army corps established in 1939 and inactivated in 1940 after the defeat of France by Germany. Commanded by General René Prioux, the Cavalry Corps advanced into Belgium in May 1940 and imposed significant delay on the advance of the German XVI Corps...
of the First Army during the Battle of Belgium
Battle of Belgium
The Battle of Belgium or Belgian Campaign formed part of the greater Battle of France, an offensive campaign by Germany during the Second World War...
in May 1940. He was captured by the Germans and spent two years as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. Repatriated in 1942, Prioux came to be seen as a strong supporter of the Vichy regime
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
and was consequently removed from a position of authority in the French Army by Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, the leader of the Free French, after the landings in French north Africa
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
by U.S. and British forces in November 1942.
Biography
After working as a volunteer for four years for the mayor of BernayBernay
- Communes :*Bernay, Eure, in the Eure département*Bernay-en-Champagne, in the Sarthe département*Bernay-en-Ponthieu, in the Somme département*Bernay-Saint-Martin, in the Charente-Maritime département...
, Prioux joined the 6th Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
Regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
on August 9, 1897. Subsequently attending Saint-Cyr
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is the foremost French military academy. Its official name is . It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr . Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory"...
military academy, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 6th Chasseurs Regiment on October 1, 1899. Promoted to lieutenant two years later, he was successively assigned to the 21st Chasseurs Regiment (January 24, 1907), the staff of the 19th Army Corps (October 22, 1908), and the staff of the 1st Brigade of Algerian Cavalry on October 22, 1910. He was promoted to captain on March 27, 1911 and was assigned to the 3rd Regiment of Chasseurs of Africa
Chasseurs d'Afrique
The Chasseurs d'Afrique were a light cavalry corps in the French Armée d'Afrique . First raised in the 1830s from regular French cavalry posted to Algeria, they numbered five regiments by World War II...
on Christmas Day in 1911, before being placed on special duties in March, 1914.
The outbreak of the First World War found him assigned to the headquarters of the French Army. He moved rapidly through several positions in the next year, serving on the staff of the 34th Army Corps (November 7, 1914) and then the staff of the Army of the Vosges, the 7th Army, and with the Belgian Army
Belgian Army
The Land Component is organised using the concept of capacities, whereby units are gathered together according to their function and material. Within this framework, there are five capacities: the command capacity, the combat capacity, the support capacity, the services capacity and the training...
. Assigned to the staff of the 36th Army Corps on May 22, 1915, Prioux became a squadron commander on April 9, 1917 and was then assigned to the 5th Dragoon Regiment on February 18, 1918. After serving on the staff of the 164th Infantry Division, Prioux was assigned as the chief of staff of the 52nd Infantry Division on February 10, 1919.
Serving with French Army headquarters in Morocco in 1919, he attended the École Supérieure de Guerre (War College) in September 1919 and was subsequently assigned to duties as an instructor at the École Supérieure de Guerre in 1921. By January 1923, he was in charge of the school's cavalry studies and was then promoted to lieutenant-colonel on December 25, 1923. On August 21, 1925, he became the commander of the 8th Spahis Regiment, which he commanded until March 1926. While on orders to report to the 11th Cuirassiers Regiment, he took part in the French military mission to Poland in 1929, of which he became commander in 1931. On August 12, 1932, Prioux was promoted to Brigadier-General.
In October 1932, Prioux was assigned as the commander of cavalry in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
. By March 1936, Prioux was promoted to Major-General and had been assigned as the Chief of Cavalry at the Ministry of War. Commanding the 7th Military Region in Besançon
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
in February 1938, he was assigned as the Inspector-General of Cavalry on February 1, 1939 while still commanding the 7th Region until May 1939.
With the start of the Second World War, Prioux was assigned as the commander of the Cavalry Corps
Cavalry Corps (France)
The Cavalry Corps was a French mechanized army corps established in 1939 and inactivated in 1940 after the defeat of France by Germany. Commanded by General René Prioux, the Cavalry Corps advanced into Belgium in May 1940 and imposed significant delay on the advance of the German XVI Corps...
on September 2, 1939. He led this unit into Belgium
Battle of Belgium
The Battle of Belgium or Belgian Campaign formed part of the greater Battle of France, an offensive campaign by Germany during the Second World War...
after the German invasion of France and 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....
, meeting and severely retarding the advance of the German XVI (motorized) Corps
XVI Army Corps (Germany)
The XVI Corps was a corps in the German Army during both world wars.The original XVI Army Corps was formed in Metz in 1891 and fought in the First World War on the western front. The XVI Corps ended the war under command of the 3rd Army....
at the battles of Hannut
Battle of Hannut
The Battle of Hannut was a Second World War battle fought during the Battle of Belgium which took place between 12 and 14 May 1940 at Hannut, Belgium...
and Gembloux
Battle of Gembloux (1940)
The Battle of Gembloux was a battle fought between French and German forces in May 1940 during the Second World War....
. Following the accidental death of General Billotte, Prioux took command of the French First Army
French First Army
The First Army was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War.-First World War:...
on May 26, 1940, and, with much of the First Army, was taken prisoner of war three days later. The Germans allowed him to return to Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
in April 1942, where he was placed in the reserves in May and promoted to the rank of général d'armée in September 1942. He later served on the staff of General Henri Giraud
Henri Giraud
Henri Honoré Giraud was a French general who fought in World War I and World War II. Captured in both wars, he escaped each time....
, and was among those named for ouster by Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, the leader of the Free French.
While the Vichy regime existed, Prioux promulgated antisemitic guidance to senior leaders of the Vichy French forces and was considered an enthusiastic supporter of the Vichy regime. After the Allies landed in French north Africa
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
and the Vichy regime collapsed, Prioux was not assigned to any position of significance in the French Army and spent the remaining ten years of his life in relative obscurity.
Decorations
- Chevalier de la Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
7 November 1914 - Officier de la Légion d'honneur 28 December 1921
- Croix de GuerreCroix de guerreThe Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
1939-1945 - Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur 30 December 1936
- Grand Officier de la Légion d'honneur 4 June 1940
- Commandeur avec étoile de l'Ordre de Polonia Restituta March 1933
External links
Source and notes
This article was created by translating the French Wikipedia article "René Prioux" as it existed on March 6, 2010.- Angelo Tasca, David Bidussa, and Denis Peschanski. La France de Vichy. Milano: Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, 1996.
- (GUF) État-Major de l'Armée de Terre. Guerre 1939 - 1945. Les Grandes Unités Françaises. Volume 1. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1967.