Général Victor-Constant Michel (30 January 1850 – 8 November 1937) was a French General officer. He led the French Army in 1911, but following his opposition to the French strategy for war with Germany was replaced by General

Joseph Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroupi ...

in July 1911. In August 1914, he was the Military governor of Paris, but was replaced later that month by General Joseph Gallieni.

Early career

Michel was born in the village of

Auteuil Auteuil may refer to: Places * Auteuil, Oise, a commune in France * Auteuil, Paris, a neighborhood of Paris ** Auteuil, Seine, the former commune which was on the outskirts of Paris * Auteuil, Quebec, a former city that is now a district within ...

(now part of the

16th arrondissement of Paris The 16th arrondissement of Paris (''XVIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''seizième''. The arrondissement includes part of the Arc de T ...

), the son of a policeman. He attended the

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 ...

from 1867 to 1869. On 1 January 1870, he entered the École d'état-major (Staff College), but the Franco-Prussian War made him leave school in October 1870 to join the 13th Army Corps and he served at the Siege of Paris as a lieutenant. In November 1870, he was assigned to the 3rd Division of the 2nd Army of Paris as a lieutenant. During the

Battle of Villiers The Battle of Villiers, also called the Battle of Champigny, was the largest of the French sorties from besieged Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. Background After news reached Paris of the French defeat at the battle of Le Bourget and th ...

on 30 November 1870, he was wounded in the face. After the war, Michel was part of the forces that suppressed the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defende ...

. Michel was appointed

Chevalier 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 Napoleon B ...

in May 1871. He returned to Staff College becoming a Captain on 31 December 1873, he joined the headquarters of the 1st Infantry Division in February 1878, and the staff of 15th Corps in April 1880. In February 1882, he joined the staff of General Billot, then Minister of War. In January 1883, he joined the staff of the

Military governor of Paris The Military governor of Paris is a post within the French Army. He commands the garrison of Paris and represents all the military based in Paris at high state occasions. He is also responsible (subordinate to the President of France) for organiz ...

. He was appointed Battalion Chief of the 1st Infantry Regiment in April 1884, then the 43rd Infantry Regiment, he joined the staff of the 1st Corps in 1886, and the War College in 1888. Appointed Lieutenant-Colonel in 1890, he then returned to the 43rd Infantry Regiment. On December 13, 1893, he was appointed to the staff of the deputy head of the new Minister of War, General

Mercier Mercier is French for ''notions dealer'' or ''haberdasher'', and may refer to: People * Agnès Mercier, French curler and coach * Annick Mercier (born 1964), French curler * Amanda H. Mercier (born 1975), American Judge *Armand Mercier, (1933–2 ...

. Appointed Colonel on 26 February 1894, he received the command of the 67th Infantry Regiment. Appointed Brigadier on 28 December 1897, he commanded the 10th and then 22nd Infantry Brigades. Appointed

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 ...

on 30 December 1902, he assumed command of the 42nd Infantry Division. On 26 March 1906, he was given command of the 2nd Army Corps and made Inspector of Reserve Regiments. General Michel was appointed to the Superior War Council on 22 December 1907, which was largely concerned with strategic planning.Cole, 1979.

Chief of Staff and Plan XVII

Michel was highly successful in training reservists, a goal that especially appealed to the Republican political element in France. They succeeded in pushing him to the top level. Michel was appointed Vice President High Council of War on 10 January 1911, making him Commander in Chief designate of the French Army. However, the more conservative elements to largely dominated the senior ranks of the French army were deeply suspicious of the Republicanism of the reservists, and believe they would be inferior soldiers. They distrusted Michel's competence. Soon after taking office Michel reviewed the current French Army mobilization and war plan in the event of a war with Germany. Under the current Plan XVI French planners predicted the main German offensive to come in

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

with a secondary attack through south-eastern Belgium and Luxembourg towards Mézières. Plan XVI specified the response: a French offensive to retake

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 ...

through two lines of advance, one on the right between the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a singl ...

and the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A ...

below

Toul Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Climate Toul ...

the other, on the left, north of a line

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 ...

–

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

. Michel correctly predicted the main elements of the German

Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan (german: Schlieffen-Plan, ) is a name given after the First World War to German war plans, due to the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium, which began on ...

. He argued that the major German offensive would probably come through central Belgium, because of the obstacle of French defences in

, the terrain in eastern Belgium and German railway building. At a meeting of the Superior War Council on 19 July 1911 he presented these views and proposed a new strategy to be called Plan XVII--a defensive strategy of deploying a large defensive force on a line Verdun-

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Na ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

to counter the anticipated German offensive. Michel's plan called for 1,290,000 men to defend against the expected German invasion through Belgium. There would be 770,000 men in two "Mass of Maneuver" formations along the Belgian border, backed by a reserve of 220,000 men centered around Paris. The third Mass Maneuver, of 300,000 men, would be along the German border. In order to field an army of this size French reserve units would need to be integrated with the active army immediately on mobilisation. Although Michel was prescient in predicting the German plans, his appreciation of artillery was deficient, and France entered the war with a severe weakness in long-range artillery tubes and shells. Michel's proposal was met with hostility by conservatives in the government and Army. They were alarmed at Michel's dependence on the use of reserves, which would enhance the political power of the Republicans. They denied that Germany would be aggressive and violate the neutrality of Belgium, which supposedly was guaranteed by Great Britain as well as friends. They complained that Michel's approach was strategically too defensive and ran against the offensive spirit of the French Army. The War Minister

Adolphe Messimy Adolphe Marie Messimy (31 January 1869 – 1 September 1935) was a French politician and general. He served as Minister of War in 1911–12 and then again for a few months during July Crisis, the outbreak of and first three weeks of the First Wor ...

stood opposed. On 28 July 1911 Messimy replaced Michel with General Joffre and dismissed Michel from the Supreme War Council. The new

Plan XVII Plan XVII () was the name of a "scheme of mobilization and concentration" that was adopted by the French (the peacetime title of the French ) from 1912 to 1914, to be put into effect by the French Army in the event of war between France and G ...

drafted by

that was now adopted. It rejected Michel's ideas and emphasized a massive French attack in Lorraine. General Michel was then appointed

where he would not have responsibility for strategy.Kiesling, pp. 97–98.

World War I

Despite his vindication as to German intentions, General Michel's service in World War I was short – less than a month. On 26 August 1914, War Minister Messimy dismissed him as military governor of Paris, and replaced him with General Joseph Gallieni. He did not receive any command for the remainder of the conflict.

Later life

Michel retired to

Meulan Meulan-en-Yvelines (; formerly just ''Meulan'') is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It hosted part of the sailing events for the 1900 Summer Olympics held in neighboring Paris, and would ...

, where he died on 8 November 1937.

Early career

Chief of Staff and Plan XVII

World War I

Later life

See also

References

Further reading