Charles Huntziger (; 25 June 1880 – 11 November 1941) was a

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 ...

general 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 ...

and

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 ...

Biography

He was born at Lesneven ( Finistère), in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

of a family which settled in the region, after the Prussian invasion of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

during the 1870

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. He graduated from Saint-Cyr in 1900 and joined the colonial infantry. During

, he served in the Middle Eastern theatre. He was chief of staff of operations of the Allied Expeditionary Force. In 1918, he participated in the development of General

Louis Franchet d'Espèrey 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 ...

's Vardar Offensive against German and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n forces which would lead to Allied victory and the signing of the Armistice of Mudros in October 1918. In 1924, during the

interwar period 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 was assigned to the French concession in Tianjin. In 1933, Huntziger was named commander-in-chief of the troops in the French Mandate of Syria. He participated in the negotiations for the cession of the Sanjak of Alexandretta, then part of French Syria, to

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. He joined the Superior Council of War in 1938. At the outbreak of

, he initially commanded the Second French Army, then the Fourth Army Group in the Ardennes. He fought in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

with the Second Army. On 16 June 1940, Premier

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

's new Cabinet decided upon an armistice. The armistice negotiations were led, on the French side, by Huntziger, who without success attempted to lessen the harsh terms of the Armistice of 22 June 1940 (that was a de facto Capitulation). After the 25 June armistice, Huntziger became the

Vichy government Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

's commander-in-chief of land forces. He became

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

on 6 September 1940, serving until 11 August 1941. He was one of the signatories of the anti-Semitic law on the status of Jews of 3 October 1940 (excluding nine Jewish generals from the army) together with

, Pierre Laval, Raphaël Alibert, Marcel Peyrouton, Paul Baudouin, Yves Bouthillier, and François Darlan. He died on 11 November 1941, when his aircraft crashed near Le Vigan, Gard. He had been on an inspection tour in North Africa and tried to land at Vichy Airport in bad visibility, and with obsolete radio equipment.Williams, 2005, p.397. His funeral was held on 15 November 1941 at the cathedral of Vichy. Huntziger is buried in Passy Cemetery, Paris. His widow was the first recipient of the Vichy regime's Order of the Francisque.

Notes

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntziger, Charles 1880 births 1941 deaths 19th-century French military personnel People from Lesneven Ministers of war and national defence of France Government ministers of Vichy France High commissioners of the Levant Generalissimos Jewish French history Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Members of the Académie Française French collaborators with Nazi Germany French fascists French military personnel of World War I French Army generals of World War II French Army personnel killed in World War II Order of the Francisque recipients Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 2nd class Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Honorary companions of the Order of the Bath Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States) Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France Burials at Passy Cemetery Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1941