Antoine-Marie-Benoit Besson (September 14, 1876 – July 23, 1969) was a French military officer. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a general commanding the Third Army Group stationed along the

river Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Const ...

manning the

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ...

.Georg Zivkovic Army- and Navy-leaders of the world: 1971 - Page 158 1940 6. Armee: Besson, Antoine-Marie-Benoît AG. lX.-X. 1939

Military career

World War I: 1914–1918

During

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 ...

, Besson commanded the 4th Zouaves Regiment.

Interwar period: 1918–1939

In the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, he commanded the 58th Brigade, the 15th Infantry Division and the 16th Army Corps.

World War II: 1939–1940

In September 1939, he commanded the 6th Army deployed in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. In October 1939, he took command of the French 3rd Army Group, which covered the section of the

along the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and the Swiss frontier. He and his command surrendered after 25 June as German

Panzer {{CatAutoTOC, numerals=no Words and phrases Germanic words and phrases Words and phrases by language la:Categoria:Verba Theodisca ...

units had reached the Swiss border and cut off the Maginot Line from the rest of France.

Sources

M Romanych & M Rupp, Maginot Line 1940, Battles on the French frontier, Osprey Publishing, page 13

References

French military personnel of World War I French Army generals of World War II French generals 1876 births 1969 deaths École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) 19th-century French military personnel {{France-mil-bio-stub