Charles Noguès (13 August 1876 – 20 April 1971) was a French general. He graduated from the

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

, and he was awarded the Grand Croix of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

in 1939.

Biography

On 20 March 1933, he became commander of the

19th Army Corps (France) The 19th Army Corps ( 19e Corps d'Armée) was a corps of the French army. In December 1870, the Tours delegation created the 19th Army Corps which was formed in Alençon. It was recreated by decree of the JO of August 13, 1874, it brought togeth ...

, the French Army's forces in

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

. During

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 served as Resident-General in Morocco and Commander-in-Chief in French North Africa. Noguès was appalled by news that the French government was seeking an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

with Germany. On 17 June 1940 he telegraphed to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

, where the government was then situated: "The whole of North Africa is appalled. The troops beg to continue the struggle if the government has no objection. I am ready to take responsibility for this attitude with all the risks that it entails," i.e. asking for a hint to carry on fighting. However, he did not approve of General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

's call from London on 18 June to carry on fighting, telling the British liaison officer that he thought de Gaulle's attitude "unseemly" and forbidding the North African press from publishing de Gaulle's appeal.Lacouture 1991, pp. 229–230 Noguès accepted the armistice on 22 June, partly (he claimed) because Admiral

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 ...

would not let him have the French fleet to continue hostilities against the Axis powers. He eventually agreed under pressure from

Maxime Weygand Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II. Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educated at the Saint-Cyr military academy in Paris. After graduating in 1 ...

's emissary General

Louis Koeltz Louis Marie Koeltz (Besançon, 30 September 1884 – Paris, 27 May 1970) was a French Lieutenant General in World War II. Biography Of Alsatian origin, Koeltz was born in Besançon, as his father, a brigadier in the gendarmerie, chose to leav ...

, telegraphing Weygand: "it covers me with shame". In 1940, ''Résident Général'' Charles Noguès implemented antisemitic decrees coming from Nazi-controlled Vichy government excluding Jews from public functions. Sultan Mohammed V refused "Vichy’s plan to ghettoize and deport Morocco’s quarter of a million Jews to the killing factories of Europe;" however, the French government under Noguès did impose some antisemitic laws against the sultan's will. Leon Sultan, of the

Moroccan Communist Party The Moroccan Communist Party was a political party in Morocco. The party was established in November 1943 on the basis of the individual communist groups that had been active in Morocco since 1920. Great Soviet EncyclopediaМарокканска� ...

, for example, was

disbarred Disbarment, also known as striking off, is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking their law license or admission to practice law. Disbarment is usually a punishment for unethical or criminal conduc ...

. Nogues was critical of movements in Morocco for reforms in colonial administration. Nogues was of the belief that Moroccan reformers pursued independence and would not be satisfied with liberal reforms in France's colonial administration. When the Allies landed in North Africa on 8 November 1942, he ordered the troops under his command to resist, until the conclusion three days later of the ceasefire, ordered by Admiral Darlan. In June 1943, he resigned from his position as Resident General of France in Morocco. Replaced by

Gabriel Puaux Gabriel Puaux (May 19, 1883 in Paris – January 1, 1970 in Kitzbühel, Austria) was a French diplomat and politician. Biography Puaux, son of the Protestant pastor Frank Puaux, earned a bachelor's degree in addition to his postgraduate educa ...

, he retired to Portugal. In 1947, he was sentenced in absentia to 20 years of forced labor. Charles Noguès returned to France in June 1954 where he became a prisoner, but was released immediately after.

References

Book

* Lacouture, Jean. ''De Gaulle: The Rebel 1890–1944'' (1984; English ed. 1991),

External links

*
1876 births 1971 deaths People from Hautes-Pyrénées École Polytechnique alumni French collaborators with Nazi Germany French military personnel of World War II French generals Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur {{France-mil-bio-stub