André Georges Corap (, 15 January 1878 – 15 August 1953) was a General in the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

who fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He commanded the 9th Army during the battle of France in 1940.

Early life

Corap was born in Pont Audemer, Normandy. His father was a tailor.

Military career

In 1898 he graduated from

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto ...

and joined the French Army. He commanded colonial troops in Algeria and Morocco. In 1905, he was admitted to the

Collège interarmées de défense In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

First World War

In 1914, he was a captain in the Zouaves. He spent most of the war working as a staff officer for Generals

Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Arto ...

and Petain.

Interwar

He fought in the

Rif War The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several de ...

, capturing the leader of the insurgents,

Abd el-Krim Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (; Tarifit: Muḥend n Ɛabd Krim Lxeṭṭabi, ⵎⵓⵃⵏⴷ ⵏ ⵄⴰⴱⴷⵍⴽⵔⵉⵎ ⴰⵅⵟⵟⴰⴱ), better known as Abd el-Krim (1882/1883, Ajdir, Morocco – 6 February 1963, Cairo, Egypt) ...

. Corap was promoted to Brigadier General in 1929 and Major General in 1933. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1935 and given command of 2nd Military Division in 1937.

World War II

In 1939, at the outbreak of war, he was given command of the 9th Army. The 9th Army was placed to cover the Ardennes during the German Blitzkrieg in 1940. Corap was held responsible for the German breakthrough by the French high command and relieved from his post on 19 May 1940. He was retired into the reserves on 1 July 1940.

Sources

* This article is translated from French Wikipedia
who's who in 20th century warfare

page from the unofficial website of Ecole supérieure de guerre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corap, Andre 1878 births 1953 deaths French generals French military personnel of World War I French military personnel of World War II École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni