Fernand Louis Armand Marie de Langle de Cary (4 July 1849 – 19 February 1927) was a French 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 ...

. He commanded the Fourth Army when the war began.

Early life

Fernand Louis Armand Marie De Langle De Cary (1849-1927) was born at Lorient July 4, 1849, entered the St. Cyr military school in 1867 and left at the head of his class in 1869, being commissioned to the Chasseurs d'Afrique. He participated in the

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 ...

, during which he was wounded and given a medal for bravery. After the war he received army staff training and served for a time as a professor at the French military academy. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1900 and given the command of a cavalry brigade in Algeria.In 1912, he was made a member of the Conseil Supérieur de la Guerre which carried with it the command of an army in war.

World War I

Commands

At the outbreak of

in August 1914, de Langle de Cary was placed in command of the Fourth Army. In concert with General Pierre Ruffey and his Third Army and General Charles Lanrezac and his Fifth Army, he was ordered by

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 (World War I), Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 19 ...

to attack the Germans advancing south through the heavily forested and ravined Ardennes. They were badly outnumbered by the Germans facing them attacking from above and were defeated with very heavy losses in the Battle of the Ardennes but managed to withdraw and form a line of defense strong enough to halt the German counter-offensive. Unlike Ruffey and Lanrezac, Langle de Cary was not relieved of his command. He continued at the head of the Fourth Army (though its strength was greatly reduced for the benefit of

Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general, Marshal of France and a member of the Académie Française and French Academy of Sciences, Académie des Sciences. He distinguished himself as Supreme Allied Commander ...

's newly created Sixth Army) in the Marne and Aisne operations and in the trench warfare fighting of 1915. He commanded the French forces in the Second Battle of Champagne, another failed and costly French offensive ordered by Joffre.

Verdun blame and forced retirement

Nevertheless, de Langle de Cary replaced Edouard de Curieres de Castelnau as commander of the Central Army Group in December, 1915, when Castelnau was promoted to be Joffre's second-in-command. In this capacity, de Langle de Cary became responsible, among other duties, for overseeing the defensive readiness of Verdun. The German attack erupted onto Verdun in February, 1916, and the fears that he had expressed earlier about conditions there proved to be only too well founded, thus the army command was radically reorganized by Joffre who wanted more aggressive commanders, and Langle was replaced by

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 ...

, officially on grounds of his age, 66 (the official retirement age being 65). He had only been in command two months.

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

entered the war on the side of the Allies in August 1916. De Langle de Cary was Joffre's first choice to head the French military mission there, but the suggestion was rejected by the French Minister there, Charles de Saint Aulaire. Instead,

Henri Mathias Berthelot Henri Mathias Berthelot (7 December 1861 – 29 January 1931) was a French general during World War I. He held an important staff position under Joseph Joffre, the French commander-in-chief, at the First Battle of the Marne, before later commandin ...

was appointed. De Langle de Cary was retired (removed from the officer Active List) the following year. He died on 19 February 1927.

Notes

External links

Books

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Langle De Cary, Fernand De 1849 births 1927 deaths Military personnel from Lorient French generals French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War French Army generals of World War I Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)