Louis Archinard (11 February 1850 – 8 May 1932) 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 at the time of the Third Republic, who contributed to the colonial conquest of

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

. He was traditionally presented in French histories as the conqueror and "''Pacifier''" of

French Sudan French Sudan (; ') was a French colonial territory in the Federation of French West Africa from around 1880 until 1959, when it joined the Mali Federation, and then in 1960, when it became the independent state of Mali. The colony was formall ...

(today

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

). Archinard's campaigns brought about the end of the Tukulor Empire. He also spent a large amount of energy fighting Samory Toure. Archinard was succeeded as military commander of the Sudan in 1893 by Eugène Bonnier, who left from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

on 5 August 1893 to take up his new command. Bonnier had no instructions and decided to follow Archinard's advice, use his own judgement and seize Timbuktu. He was killed on 15 December 1893 by a force of Tuaregs. In 1897 Archinard was reassigned to

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. In

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 in August 1914 the 1er Group of Reserve Divisions, and in 1917-1918 the Polish Legion in France.

Decorations

Légion d'honneur 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 ...

**Knight (25 August 1881) **Officer (9 July 1889) **Commander (11 July 1903) **Grand Officer (30 December 1908) **Grand Cross (11 July 1914) *

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' (, "Military Medal") is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

(6 July 1919) * Croix de guerre 1914-1918 * Médaille Interalliée 1914–1918 * Commemorative medal of the 1870–1871 War. * Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1914–1918 * Médaille Coloniale with "Soudan" bar.

References

Sources

*E. Réquin, Archinard et le Soudan, Éditions Berger-Levrault, 1946 *Martine Cuttier, Portrait du colonialisme triomphant - Louis Archinard 1850-1932, Éditions Lavauzelle, 2006 -
A. S. Kanya-Forstner, The Conquest of the Western Sudan
(Cambridge University Press, 1969). Chapter VII. The `Total Conquest' of the Sudan, 1888-93. *O'Toole, Thomas E., ''Historical Dictionary of Guinea'', (Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1987) p. 18 *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Archinard, Louis 1850 births 1932 deaths People from Le Havre French colonial governors and administrators Colonial governors of French Mali People of French West Africa People of the French Third Republic 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) French generals