General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Jean Victor Allard (12 June 1913 – 23 April 1996) was the first

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

to become Chief of the Defence Staff, the highest position in the

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

, from 1966 to 1969. He was also the first to hold the accompanying rank of general.

Military career

Allard served as an officer in the Régiment de Trois-Rivières prior to

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 ...

. After the outbreak of war in 1939, he was attested to the Canadian Active Service Force and promoted to the rank of major. When the active component of his regiment was redesignated to become an Anglophone armoured unit, he requested a transfer to the infantry and became the Deputy Commanding Officer of Régiment de la Chaudière in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In December 1943, he became the Commanding Officer of the Royal 22^e Régiment in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He was in command of the

6th Canadian Infantry Brigade The 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Canadian Army that fought during World War I and World War II. Raised in 1915, it formed part of the 2nd Canadian Division and fought on the Western Front during World War I bef ...

at the end of the war in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, in the rank of brigadier (now brigadier-general). He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on three occasions, the first in April 1944, and the second time being in March 1945. He was the Canadian

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

after the war until 1948 when he was appointed Commander for the East Quebec Area. During the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, he commanded the

25th Canadian Infantry Brigade The 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade was Canada's primary combat-formation intending to be sent as part of the British Commonwealth Forces Korea. Originally composed of three infantry battalions and two armoured squadrons, several individual unit ...

from April 1953. He signed the truce at Panmunjon on Canada's behalf on 27 July 1953. He became commander of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade in 1954 and Commander of the Eastern Quebec Area in 1956. In 1958 he was made Vice-Chief of the General Staff. As a major-general, he commanded the British 4th Division from 1961 to 1963, as part of the

British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...

(BAOR). In 1964 he was made Chief of Operational Readiness. As a lieutenant-general, he was Commander, Mobile Command from 1965 to 1966, comprising the Canadian land forces in Canada and, at that time, the close air support forces, as well. In July 1966, Allard was promoted to full general. From 1966 to 1969, he was Chief of the Defence Staff. In 1985, he published his memoirs, with English translation in 1988 ''The memoirs of General Jean V. Allard'', written in cooperation with Serge Bernier.Jean V. Allard. ''Mémoires du Général Jean V. Allard''. Ottawa, Les Éditions de Mortagne, 1985.

Honours

The Général-Jean-Victor-Allard Building, the home of the

Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School The Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School (CFLRS) is located at the Saint-Jean Garrison in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. It conducts basic training and professional development programs for officers and non-commissioned members, traini ...

, was named in honour of General Allard.

References

External links

Jean Victor Allard FondsCanada's 25 Most Renowned Military Leaders
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