Henri Edouard Claudel (13 January 1871 – 20 February 1956) was a French general.

Early career and First World War

Claudel became a

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 24 September 1911, before being assigned to the 3rd

Senegalese Tirailleurs The Senegalese Tirailleurs (french: Tirailleurs Sénégalais) were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army. They were initially recruited from Senegal, French West Africa and subsequently throughout Western, Central and Eastern Africa: t ...

regiment on 24 February 1913. He became a knight 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 ...

on 11 May 1913 and was promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

on 1 November 1914, at the same time receiving command of the 3rd Colonial Infantry Regiment. He was soon after (6 December) posted to command of the 33rd Infantry Regiment before assuming command of the 65th Infantry Brigade on 10 January 1915. On 31 August Claudel became Chief of Staff of the fortress region of

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

and on 11 October assumed the same role in the Eastern Army Group. He became second aide de camp to the General Staff of the French Army on 22 January 1916 and on 1 October was promoted to

Général de Brigade Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

, soon after (28 October) being made an officer of the Legion of Honour. Claudel held the position of second aide de camp to the General Staff of the armies of the north and north-east from 17 December 1916 to 2 May 1917. On 20 May he was placed in command of the 59th Reserve Infantry Division, a post he held until his promotion to

Général de Division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

and commander of the 17th Corps on 10 June 1918.

Post-war career

He remained with 17th Corps beyond the end of 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, ...

until 1 March 1919 when he was without posting until made commander of the French Army of the East on 20 May. He was released from this role on 8 April 1920, became a commander of the Legion of Honour on 16 June, and was without a position until 12 November when he became a member of the Advisory Committee on Colonial Defence. On 17 March 1922 he was placed in command of the troops in

French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now B ...

, a role he filled until 23 February 1924. On 17 October Claudel was made commander of the French Colonial Corps and from 3 June 1925 to 13 January 1936 was Inspector General of Colonial Troops, a post he held at the same time as chairing the Advisory Committee on Colonial Defence. He became a grand officer of the Legion of Honour on 21 December 1926 and from 5 December 1927 to 13 January 1936 (when he was placed on the reserve list) Claudel was a member of the Supreme Council of War. He received promotion to Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour on 30 December 1933.

Decorations

In addition to holding the rank of Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Claudel held many military awards and decorations. These included the prestigious

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

for leadership and the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') 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 first awa ...

, the Médaille Interalliée and Médaille commémorative de la guerre for service in the First World War. He also held the

Colonial Medal The Colonial Medal (french: "Médaille Coloniale") was a French decoration created by the "loi de finances" of 26 July 1893 (article 75) to reward "military services in the colonies, resulting from participation in military operations, in a colon ...

with clasps for

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

1925,

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre i ...

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

. Claudel was also recognised with awards from foreign governments including the

and commander of the Order of Leopold of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

of the United States and the Grand Cross of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite of Morocco.

References

*Files of the

Defence Historical Service In France, the Defence Historical Service (''Service historique de la défense'' or ''SHD'') is the archives centre of Ministry of Defence and its armed forces. It was set up by decree in 2005. The SHD consists of the "Centre historique des a ...

(13 Yd 1 176) {{DEFAULTSORT:Claudel, Henri 1871 births 1956 deaths French generals Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) French military personnel of World War I Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)