General Jean Baptiste Philippe Théveney (in some works spelt "Théveny") (5 November 1866 – 7 January 1960) was a French army officer. His father was a cavalry officer and Théveney was educated at the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Infanterie before being commissioned as an infantry officer. He served in a number of staff and regimental appointments in France before joining the 1st Foreign Regiment of the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

and seeing active service in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. Théveney followed the regiment to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

where it was involved in the Zaian War against the

Berbers Berbers, or the Berber peoples, also known as Amazigh or Imazighen, are a diverse grouping of distinct ethnic groups indigenous to North Africa who predate the arrival of Arab migrations to the Maghreb, Arabs in the Maghreb. Their main connec ...

. Théveney spent much of his military career in Morocco, fighting in many battles and being

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

several times. He served briefly against the German Army on the Western Front before returning to Morocco within a year. He led the operation that brought to an end the Zaian War in 1921 and remained in Morocco, participating in the

Rif War The Rif War (, , ) was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several ...

in 1926. Théveney was a grand-officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and holder of the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

and the Spanish Moroccan Peace Medal.

Early life

Théveney was born at 05.00 on 5 November 1866 in Tarascon,

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

in France. His father was the then 29-year-old Ernest Théveney, a chevalier of the

and first lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Lancers and his mother was 34-year-old Hyacinthe Léonille Allard, wife of Ernest. He was named after his maternal grandfather Jean Baptiste Allard. Jean Baptiste Théveney married Marie Thérése Berthe Coudere on 26 December 1887, they had no children.

Initial military career

On 30 October 1884 he volunteered for service in the French Army and was accepted as an officer-candidate at the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Infanterie. On 1 April 1885 he was promoted to 1st class officer-candidate, then

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

on 22 August and

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

on 3 November. Théveney left the Ecole on 1 October 1886 and was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the 63rd Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in that regiment on 12 July 1890 and to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

on 5 October 1892. Théveney was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 11 July 1896 and transferred to the 105th Infantry Regiment. He became a

staff officer 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, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large milita ...

with the XIII Corps on 3 February 1897 and returned to the infantry on 9 April 1903 when he joined the 121st Infantry Regiment. From 11 July 1905 he was aide de camp of the 18th Brigade and then, from 25 December 1906, that of the 10th Division. Théveney studied at the staff college from 16 November 1907 until posted to the 63rd Infantry Regiment on 24 October 1908. Théveney was promoted to chef de bataillon (roughly equivalent to major) of the 50th Infantry Regiment on 25 December 1908. He transferred to the 47th Infantry Regiment on 24 June 1909; the 9th Infantry Regiment on 25 September 1909 and the

24th Infantry Regiment The 24th Infantry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army, active from 1869 until 1951, and since 1995. Before its original dissolution in 1951, it was primarily made up of African American soldiers. History The 24th Infantry Regiment (on ...

on 25 January 1910. On 29 December 1910 Théveney was appointed chevalier of the Legion of Honour. He returned to the 1st Infantry Division as a staff officer on 23 February 1912 and on 26 April 1913 was appointed chef du bataillon in the 1st Foreign Regiment of the

, seeing active service in

from 17 May 1913.

Zaian War

On 22 February 1915 Théveney was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and assumed command of the Foreign Legion's 1st Marching Regiment. The regiment was transferred to Morocco on 15 May and took part in the Zaian War against Berber tribesmen opposed to the French protectorate. Théveney was appointed commander of the Sultan of Morocco's Order of Ouissam Alaouite on 8 August 1915. On 19 December 1915 he assumed command of the Fes groupe mobile (a mobile

combined arms Combined arms is an approach to warfare that seeks to integrate different combat arms of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects—for example, using infantry and armoured warfare, armour in an Urban warfare, urban environment in ...

unit unique to Morocco). He was

on 7 August 1916 for his bravery and endurance in this command, achieving "brilliant" results on campaign despite the poor terrain and heavy enemy fire. Théveney transferred to fight the Germans on the Western Front on 6 January 1917, taking command of the 408th Infantry Regiment on 20 January. He was mentioned in dispatches again (on 25 August 1917) for his effective leadership of that unit during French offensives made within days of his assumption of command. Théveney's work was recognised with his appointment as an officer of the Legion of Honour on 14 April 1917. He returned to Morocco on 20 July 1917. Resident-General Hubert Lyautey soon promoted Théveney to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and placed him in command of the Tadla-Zaian territory. He was soon commended again, mentioned in dispatches on 20 December 1917 for his defence of the Rhorm El Alem post, in which he repelled two fierce assaults with minimal losses and displayed calmness under fire. Théveney took command of the

Meknes Meknes (, ) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid dynasty, Almoravids as a military settlement, Mekne ...

military subdivision on 28 January 1918 before taking control of the Fes subdivision on 13 April 1919. He returned to the Tadla-Zaian command on 6 August and was again mentioned in dispatches (on 30 November 1919) for operations from 5 to 7 October in which he commanded an ''ad hoc'' formation of troops attempting to resupply Khénifra and was opposed by numbers of the Ait Affi tribe which he defeated comprehensively. Théveney was mentioned in dispatches again in March 1921 for establishing effective French control of the front extending from Zafan to El Bordj during a 7-month campaign in which he was said to exhibit superb military skill. Lyautey ascribed a large portion of the success on the Zafan front in 1920 to Théveney. He was promoted to général de brigade on 2 April 1921 and, returning to the Fes command on 15 July, subsequently led a French column which eliminated the last pocket of resistance in the Tadla-Zaian and brought about the end of the Zaian War.

Subsequent career

Théveney was appointed commander of the Legion of Honour on 12 July 1923. He was once more mentioned in dispatches on 28 July 1923 as commander of the

subdivision for his work in the Spring offensive in the Moulouya Valley. He was praised for his men's fast marching, which enabled them to drive the enemy before them. He participated in the

in northern Morocco as commander of a division and again was mentioned in dispatches, on 5 September 1926, for his cool-headedness and expert knowledge of African warfare. Théveney was appointed grand-officer of the Legion of Honour on 25 December 1935 by recommendation of the Minister of War, at which point he had ceased active service and was in the army reserve. Théveney also held the

and the Spanish Moroccan Peace Medal. He died on 7 January 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theveny, Jean French generals French military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour 1866 births 1960 deaths Officers of the French Foreign Legion École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni People from Tarascon