Émile Armand Gibon (1813–1870) ( Commander of the Légion d'Honneur) was a French General born in

Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...

(Département du

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

. Because of his courage in action, he was admitted to the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

on August 12, 1845, and promoted Commander on May 29, 1849. He then served in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

and took part at the

Battle of Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) took place during the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septe ...

on September 20, 1854. Battalion Commander on February 9, 1855, in front of

Sebastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important Port of Sevastopol, por ...

he received a citation order to the Armée d'Orient and got awarded the rank of Officer of the Légion d'Honneur and Commander of the same Order on April 17, 1866. On 18 June 1859 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel at the 70th Infantry Regiment. He was then Nicknamed "The Intrepid" by the Chief of Staff as recalled ''Léon Guérin'' in his book "''Histoire de la Derniere Guerre de Russie''" (History of the Last Russian War). General Mac Mahon (Later Président of the French Républic 1873–1879) transferred him personally to the First Grenadier Regiment of the Imperial Guard, the elite regiment of the French Army. Colonel at the 25th Infantry Regiment on March 14, 1863, he fought during the 1870 War at

Rezonville Rezonville () is a former commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Rezonville-Vionville.St Privat, Servigny,

Woippy Woippy (; , ; ) is a French commune in the Moselle department, Grand Est, located near Metz. Woippy houses the 6th Régiment du matériel (6e RMAT). Woippy-Triage is the largest classification yard in France. Population See also * Commune ...

and Landonchamps where he served under General

Julius Richardson de Marguenat Julius (also known as Julien) Richardson de Marguenat (1812–1870) was a French Army Brigadier General born in Morton, Gloucestershire on 21 August 1812. In 1830, Julius Richardson joined the 13th PromotionFirmament Promotion 1830-1832 of the fam ...

. After the death of the later, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. On 7 October 1870 at the

Battle of Bellevue The Battle of Bellevue on 7 October 1870 was fought during the Franco-Prussian War and ended in a Prussian victory. The French forces under Marshal François Achille Bazaine attempted to break through the lines of the Prussians investing Metz ...

, he charged in front of the 25th and 26th Regiments and was gravely wounded in battle. Gibon was highly appreciated and trusted by his superiors, officers and soldiers for his bravery in action, competency in military tactics and very warm relationships with his men of all nationalities. He died from his wounds on October 19, 1870, and was buried at the Woippy cemetery.

Family

Emile Armand was from a family with long tradition of military officers. Son of a French Colonel Jean Gibon (1775–1842) (Commander of the Légion d’Honneur, Knight of the Empire and Commanding officer at the 37th and 41st Light Infantry Regiment) and Théodore Eléonore de Pestel. On January 7, 1861mariage
/ref> at the age of 47, Gibon married in Paris 7, a young 19-year-old English woman from Lancaster County named Hélene Ord. She gave him 3 children: #

Louis Charles Emile Gibon-Guilhem Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

(1862–1945). French Brigadier General. His son François Gibon-Guilhem will later become Chief of Staff of the North African-based

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

and in turn will become father of Charles Albert (1944) # Marie Marceline Gibon (1866–1938) who married Auguste Napoléon Emmanuel Lucien Colonna de Giovellina (1852–1939) on 11 January 1888. # Laure Helen Marguerite Gibon (1869–1957) who married Charles Louis Lacretelle (1859–1915), the nephew of Gibon's long-time friend General

Charles Nicolas Lacretelle Charles Nicolas Lacretelle (1822–1891) was a French general and statesman born in Pont-à-Mousson (Meurthe-et-Moselle, France) on 30 October 1822. Military career Charles Nicolas entered the Promotion de la Nécéssité at the French military ...

on 26 January 1891. From this marriage was born in

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

(Beaucouzé) Valérie Marie Lacretelle (1891–1982) who later married Arthur Gaillard de St-Germain in 1919 giving birth to their son Olivier in October 1921. From his first marriage with Monique Lorand, the Count Olivier Gaillard de Saint Germain (French Diplomat) had two children, Régine-Anne (1950) and Geoffroy Gaillard de Saint Germain born in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

(1957) and later 1 daughter Hélen from his second marriage with Daniele Doucet. The Gibon's branch of the general has since changed its name to Gibon-Guilhem and is still well represented in France. The general's latest descendant carrying his name was born in 2011. Gibon died on 19 October 1870.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibon, Emile Armand 1813 births 1870 deaths French generals People from Quimper Commanders of the Legion of Honour