Alphonse Pierre Nudant was a French general who participated in World War I. He commanded several units throughout his service in the war, notably becoming part of the Chief of Staff of the French Fourth Army.

Biography

Nudant was born in Ladoix-Serrigny,

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or () is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.

in 1861. He entered service in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

in 1881 and after two years of service in the ranks as a volunteer in the 5th Artillery Regiment, he joined the

École polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

in 1883. In 1894 he was promoted to captain. In 1898, he was patented by the staff, ranked first out of 83 competitors. He was promoted to squadron leader in 1905. Two years later, he became assistant professor at the

École Supérieure de Guerre École or Ecole 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 * Éco ...

where he taught the staff several courses. It was there that he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1911. Nudant was promoted to colonel in June 1914 on the brink of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. On 2 August 1914 Nudant became part of the Chief of Staff of the Fourth Army. On 12 September 1914 he was temporarily appointed brigadier general before being confirmed on 25 November 1915. Being a first aide-major general, he then commanded the 70th Infantry Division before commanding the 33rd and 34th Army Corps and promoted to Divisional General on 26 June 1917, while retaining command until 27 March 1919. Nudant also participated in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

during his service with the 33rd Corps. He was then placed at the head of the 7th Army Corps until 1923 when Nudant retired from military service. He was given the Grand Officer of the

Legion of Honor 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. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

on 10 July 1920 and received the Distinguished Service Medal the same year. In 1919, he was the head of the Inter-Allied Armistice Commission in Spa, within which he led the Allied representations with, according to Paul Desgrées du Loû, “ authority and distinction”. He spent his entire retirement as a soldier at Saint-Jacut and died there on 17 January 1952 at his villa “Marguerite”.»

References

Bibliography

* Le général Nudant, '' Le Pays de France'', no. 241, 31 May 1919, p. 3 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nudant, Alphonse 1861 births 1952 deaths 19th-century French military personnel People from Côte-d'Or French Army generals of World War I French generals Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States) Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)