Charles Huntziger (; 25 June 1880 – 11 November 1941) was a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

general during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was born at

Lesneven Lesneven (; br, Lesneven) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It lies northeast of Brest, about from the English Channel in the middle of the Leon plateau. History Lesneven has its origins in the i ...

(

Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.

), in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

of a family which settled in the region, after the Prussian invasion of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

during the 1870 Franco-Prussian war . He graduated from Saint-Cyr in 1900 and joined the colonial infantry. During

, he served in the Middle Eastern theatre. He was chief of staff of operations of the Allied Expeditionary Force. In 1918, he participated in the development of General

Louis Franchet d'Espèrey Louis Félix Marie François Franchet d'Espèrey (25 May 1856 – 8 July 1942) was a French general during World War I. As commander of the large Allied army based at Salonika, he conducted the successful Macedonian campaign, which caused t ...

's Vardar Offensive against

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n forces which would lead to Allied victory and the signing of the

Armistice of Mudros Concluded on 30 October 1918 and taking effect at noon the next day, the Armistice of Mudros ( tr, Mondros Mütarekesi) ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I. It was signed by th ...

in October 1918. In 1924, during the interwar period, he was assigned to the French concession in Tianjin. In 1933, Huntziger was named commander-in-chief of the troops in the French Mandate of Syria. He participated in the negotiations for the cession of the

Sanjak of Alexandretta The Sanjak of Alexandretta ( ar, لواء الإسكندرونة '', '' tr, İskenderun Sancağı, french: Sandjak d'Alexandrette) was a sanjak of the Mandate of Syria composed of two qadaas of the former Aleppo Vilayet ( Alexandretta and Antio ...

, then part of French Syria, to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. He joined the Superior Council of War in 1938. At the outbreak of

, he initially commanded the Second French Army, then the Fourth Army Group in the Ardennes. He fought in the Battle of France with the Second Army. On 16 June 1940, Premier

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

's new Cabinet decided upon an armistice. The armistice negotiations were led, on the French side, by Huntziger, who without success attempted to lessen the harsh terms of the armistice. Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P50284, Compiègne, Waffenstillstandvertrag, Huntziger

Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P50284, Compiègne, Waffenstillstandvertrag, Huntziger

After the 25 June armistice, Huntziger became the

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

's commander-in-chief of land forces. He became

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

on 6 September 1940, serving until 11 August 1941. He was one of the signatories of the anti-Semitic

law on the status of Jews __NOTOC__ The Law of 3 October 1940 on the status of Jews was a law enacted by Vichy France. It provided a legal definition of the expression ''Jewish race'', which was used during the Nazi occupation for the implementation of Vichy's ideologica ...

of 3 October 1940 (excluding nine Jewish generals from the army) together with

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occ ...

, Raphaël Alibert, Marcel Peyrouton,

Paul Baudouin Paul Baudouin (19 December 1894 – 10 February 1964) was a French banker who became a politician and Foreign Minister of France for the last six months of 1940. He was instrumental in arranging a cessation of hostilities between France and Germa ...

, Yves Bouthillier, and

François Darlan Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan (7 August 1881 – 24 December 1942) was a French admiral and political figure. Born in Nérac, Darlan graduated from the ''École navale'' in 1902 and quickly advanced through the ranks following his service ...

. He died on 11 November 1941, when his aircraft crashed near

Le Vigan, Gard Le Vigan (; oc, Lo Vigan) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Le Vigan is located at the south of the Massif Central and near the Mont Aigoual, in the Arre valley. The ...

. He had been on an inspection tour in North Africa and tried to land at Vichy Airport in bad visibility, and with obsolete radio equipment.Williams, 2005, p.397. His funeral was on 15 November 1941 at the cathedral of Vichy. Huntziger is buried in Passy Cemetery, Paris. His widow was the first recipient of the Vichy regime's

Order of the Francisque The Order of the Gallic Francisque () is an order and medal which was awarded by the Vichy Regime, the Nazi-aligned government of France during World War II. The order was created by the ''arrêtés'' of 26 May 1941, the law of 16 May 1941 and ...

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Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntziger, Charles 1880 births 1941 deaths Burials at Passy Cemetery People from Finistère People of Vichy France École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France Secretaries of State for War (France) French Army generals of World War II French military personnel of World War I Generalissimos Jewish French history Members of the Académie Française Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni High Commissioners of the Levant Order of the Francisque recipients Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Honorary Companions of the Order of the Bath Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George French anti-communists French collaborators with Nazi Germany French Ministers of War and National Defence 20th-century French military personnel Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)

See also

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