Pierre Roques
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Pierre Auguste Roques (28 December 1856 – 26 February 1920) was a French general and creator of the French air force.


Biography

Born to a modest family in
Marseillan, Hérault Marseillan (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Hérault Departments of France, department in southern France. As of , the population of Marseillan is . The port of Marseillan is a protected heritage site, and the altar and organ in th ...
, his lively intelligence earned him a study grant that allowed him to prepare for the entrance examinations 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 ...
. He entered the École Polytechnique in 1877 and became a friend of
Joseph 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 (World War I), Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 19 ...
. Having chosen the military engineering branch of the army he was commissioned as an officer in 1879 (at that time, more engineering than military). During his colonial campaigns, he created a vast number of structures (railways, bridges, roads) in
Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...
,
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 ...
and, above all, in
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. According to historians, this island owes a large part of its infrastructure to Roques. By 1906, Roques had been promoted to the rank of ''général de brigade''. As Director of Engineering, Roques was preoccupied from 1906 with the management of the new air service. He was the founder and organiser of French military aviation, and was appointed the Permanent Inspector of Military Aeronautics in 1910. The 1911 aeroplane contest in
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 ...
- the world's first - was intended to allow the French military to evaluate and buy 'scientifically' its first aeroplanes. Roques decided the ''établissements d'aéronautique'' (aeronautical establishments) should be called ''escadrilles'' (squadrons) and ''aéroplanes'' should henceforth be called ''avions'', after the name chosen by
Clément Ader Clément Ader (; 2 April 1841 – 3 May 1925) was a French inventor and engineer who was born near Toulouse in Muret, Haute-Garonne, and died in Toulouse. He is remembered primarily for his pioneering work in aviation. In 1870 he was also one o ...
for his own aircraft and in homage to this visionary engineer with whom he corresponded regularly. It was also Roques who initiated the ''carnet de vol'' (pilot's log book) system, still in use today. The names introduced by Roques quickly came to be generally accepted as part of the French
lexicon A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word () ...
. At the outbreak 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 was the commanding general of the 12th Corps. By January 1915 he had become the commander of the First Army. Roques was appointed Minister of War in March 1916 after it had been ensured that the Commander-in-Chief Joffre, who had been criticised by the previous incumbent General Gallieni, had no objection to his appointment. Roques was sent on a fact-finding mission to
Salonika Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
after Britain, Italy and Russia had pushed for the dismissal of Sarrail, the theatre commander. To the surprise of Prime Minister Briand and Joffre, Roques returned recommending that Sarrail's forces be built up to thirty divisions ready for an attack on Bulgaria. He did not specifically praise Sarrail, but recommended that Sarrail no longer report to Joffre. Coming on the back of the disappointing results of the Somme campaign and the defeat of Romania, Roques’ report further discredited Briand and Joffre and began the political manoeuvres which led to Joffre's removal. On 13 December Briand formed a new government, replacing Roques with Lyautey.Doughty 2005, p320-1 Subsequently, Roques served briefly as the commander of the Fourth Army and then as the Inspector General of Works and Organization for the French Army until February 1919. His war service exhausted him and he died at
Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthie ...
in 1920. Buried initially in his native Marseillan, his remains were transferred to the
Hôtel des Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides (; ), commonly called (; ), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old soldi ...
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 ...
.


Awards

*1912 - Grand Officier de la Légion d'honneur *1916 - le Grand Croix de la Légion d'honneur *1920 - Médaille militaire - Épée d'honneur de la ville de Marseillan


References


Books

* * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Roques, Pierre Auguste 1856 births 1920 deaths People from Marseillan, Hérault French Air Force generals French Army generals of World War I École Polytechnique alumni Aviation in France French aviation pioneers Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Ministers of war of France 19th-century French military personnel