Fyodor Fyodorovich Palitzin (; – 19 February 1923), also spelled Palitsyn, was an

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

general who commanded the Russian Expeditionary Force in France. Palitzin attended the Pavel Military School until 1870, when he moved on to the General Staff Academy. Upon graduation in 1877 he served in the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

. He was appointed chief of the Main Directorate of the General Staff in June 1905, where he played a role in the military reforms until his resignation in 1908: he disagreed with the subordination of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

to the Ministry of War. However, he retained his seat on the Military Council Initially 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 served on the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-c ...

. Following the removal of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia from overall command of the

, Palitzin was reassigned to the Caucasus Army, whence he was then sent to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to lead the Russian Expeditionary Force in France.

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