Mardochée Valabrègue ( – ) was a French soldier and the successor of

Général is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level offic ...

Alexandre Percin as Chief of Staff for

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

Louis André Louis Joseph Nicolas André (28 March 1838, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Côte-d'Or – 18 March 1913, Dijon) was France's Minister of War from 1900 until 1904. A Freemason and fiercely loyal to the Third Republic, he was militantly anti-Catholic and ...

Biography

Valabrègue was born in 1852 in

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the ...

to Isaac Valabrègue and Debora Elodie Mendez. He was admitted to the

École polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

in 1871, training for the artillery. In 1878, he served with the 23rd Artillery Region and became in charge of the manufacture of munitions in

Tulle Tulle (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Corrèze, in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle- ...

. He became Captain in 1878 and Officer of Ordnance for

Georges Boulanger Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...

in 1886. A brilliant officer 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 ...

, he was noted in 1895 as being "of exceptional intelligence, perfect conduct in service, well-honed knowledge both military and general, great aptitude for service in the general staff... such as these are in the resume of the qualities of alabrègue" Later, when he was publicly

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Pierre Rocolle Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translatio ...

wrote that "there is nothing which proves the claim of the

anti-Semites Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

that there was a correlation between the Dreyfuss affair and the flattering promotions which... they received." Promoted to squadron leader in 1889, he became

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 ...

in 1902, when he was commander of the

École d'application de l'artillerie et du génie École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

. In 1903 he became chief of staff for the 11th Artillery Regiment, where he was appreciated enough to be named chief of staff for General André in 1904, then

Maurice Berteaux Henri Maurice Berteaux (3 June 1852 – 21 May 1911) was the Minister of War in France from November 1904 to November 1905, and from 2 March 1911 until his accidental death on 21 May 1911. Biography Berteaux was born at Saint-Maur-des-Fossés ...

in 1905.Annuaire de l'Armée française pour l'année 1905 at Gallica He was named Brigadier General in 1905, commander of the

École de Guerre École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

in 1907, Divisional General in 1908, commander of the 12th Infantry Division and of the garrison at

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

from October 10, 1908, to March 14, 1911, commander of the 3rd Army Corps in 1911, and finally member of the

Conseil Supérieur de la Guerre The Conseil supérieur de la guerre (, ''Superior War Council'', abbr. CSG) was the highest military body in France under the Third French Republic, Third Republic. It was under the presidency of the Minister of War (France), Minister of War, althou ...

in 1914, when

Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre , (; 12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for re ...

was Chief of Staff. At the onset of the

First World War 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 a group of reserve divisions in the Fifth Army of General

Charles Lanrezac Charles Lanrezac (31 July 1852 – 18 January 1925) was a French general, formerly a distinguished staff college lecturer, who briefly commanded the French Fifth Army at the outbreak of the First World War. His army, originally intended to stri ...

. Valabrègue's divisions were dissolved on September 30, 1914, when Lanrezac was sacked by Joffre. He then became inspector for camps and infantry depots until 1917, when he retired into the reserves. He died on March 26, 1934, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Sources

*Bruno Besnier, ''L'affaire des fiches : un système d'État (1900-1914)'', La Roche-sur-Yon : Master I d'histoire, 2005. *Serge Doessant, ''Le général André, de l'affaire Dreyfus à l'affaire des fiches'', Editions Glyphe, Paris, 2009, 416 p.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valabregue, Mardochee 1852 births 1934 deaths École Polytechnique alumni French Army generals of World War I 19th-century French Jews Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour People from Carpentras Recipients of the Order of the Dragon of Annam Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun 19th-century French military personnel