Fernand Gambiez (27 February 1903 – 29 March 1989) 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 and military historian who fought 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 ...

, the First Indochina War and the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

. During the Algerian War, Gambiez was commander-in-chief of the French Army in Algeria. Gambiez was born in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, graduated from Saint Cyr in 1925. He served with the Foreign Legion in Morocco before studying at the Superior War School in 1935. He was a captain in command of a company during 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 ...

. He trained and commanded a Choc battalion in 1943, taking part in the fighting to liberate Corsica in 1944. Gambiez served as chief of staff to the French commander-in-chief Henri Navarre during the First Indochina War, including the Battle of Dien Bien Phu where one of his sons died. He was promoted to

Général de corps d'armée An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a general officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the General officer#French Revolutionary system, French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. Nor ...

in 1958, commander of the Oran Corps in 1959, Inspector General of the Infantry in 1960 and finally commander-in-chief of the French Army in Algeria in 1961. He was arrested by the rebellious generals during the Algiers putsch in April 1961. He was the director of the French military history commission from 1969 to 1989. He was also elected member of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques in 1974.

Works

* ''L'Épée de Damoclès, la guerre en style indirect'' (1967). With Colonel Maurice Suire. * ''Histoire de la première guerre mondiale'' (2 volumes, 1968). With Colonel Maurice Suire. * ''Libération de la Corse'' (1973)

References

* Nicole Pietri et Jacques Valette (eds), ''Les guerres du général Gambiez'', Esprit du Livre, 2009.

External links

* Review of the book ''Les guerres du général Gambiez'' with a short biography

1903 births 1989 deaths People from Lille French military personnel of World War II French military personnel of the First Indochina War French military personnel of the Algerian War French generals École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Officers of the French Foreign Legion {{France-mil-bio-stub