The Chief of the Army Staff (french: Chef d'état-major de l'armée de terre, CEMAT) is the military head of 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 ...

. The chief directs the army staff and acts as the principal advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff on subjects concerning the Army. As such, they ensure the operational preparedness of their service branch, express their need for military and civilian personnel, and are responsible for maintaining the discipline, morale and conduct of their troops. Special responsibilities can be assigned to them in relation to nuclear safety. The chief does not have a fixed term, nor an attached rank. In practice, however, a term has never exceeded five years and all chiefs since the late 1950s have been five–stars generals (OF–09). They are assisted in their duties by the Major General of the Army who will deputise if needed. General Pierre Schill is the current chief and has been serving since 22 July 2021.

History

Creation

The office was originally created on 8 June 1871 as Chief of the General Staff of the Army. Following the fall of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930s ...

, the central administration of the Ministry of War was reorganized. The Chief of Staff had full control of the operations of the army, military engineering services, military justice, and general resources such as the historic and geographic departments. The Chief reported directly to the Minister of War. However, under some governments, the position was given a lesser importance and was attributed to a ''Général de brigade'', the lowest of the two flag officer ranks existing at the time in the

. In normal circumstances, it was filled by a ''Général de division''.

First World War

In times of war, the Chief of Staff of the

took charge of general headquarters (

Grand Quartier Général (1914–1919) The (abbreviated to GQG or in spoken French) was the Headquarters, general headquarters of the French Army during the First World War. It served as the wartime equivalent of the and had extensive powers within an area defined by the French ...

(GQG)). During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the leader of the French Armies was variously referred to as

generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

or commander-in-chief. In the closing years of the First World War I, the establishment of the Supreme War Council in 1917 led to overall command being held by General

Ferdinand 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 Ar ...

, and by mid-1918

Chief

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 ...

was subordinate to Foch. Although the war ended with the armistice in November 1918, the war-time organisation persisted until 1920.

Interwar

During the interwar period, command of the French Army was divided between the vice president of the Superior War Council and the chief of the general staff of the Armies. Marshal

was vice president from 1920 to 1931, when he was replaced by General Weygand. After Weygand retired in 1935 he was succeeded by Gamelin who held the two positions simultaneously.

Second World War

The position was abolished during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

and not reestablished until the end of the war.

Postwar

The modern-day office of Chief of Staff of the Army was created in 1951. The Chief is placed under the authority of the Chief of the Defence Staff and is member of the Chiefs of Staff committee.

Office holders

Third Republic

Fourth Republic

Fifth Republic

References

Notes

{{Chief of the army by country, state=collapsed French Army French military staff

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...