René-Henri Olry (28 June 1880 – 3 January 1944) was a French

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 ...

and commander of the Army of the Alps () during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

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 ...

Biography

Early life

Olry was born on 28 June 1880 in

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

in the

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (; ; West Flemish: ''Nôord-Nauw van Kales'') was a former regions of France, administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new Regions of France, region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The son of Albert Olry, himself a '' polytechnicien'', Olry 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 1900. Upon graduating, he joined the 21st Artillery Regiment and was appointed the rank of

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 ...

on 10 October 1904.

Military career

During 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 ...

, Olry served in the Second Army at the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

under the command of then-general

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

. He left for

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 ...

in 1917 as part of the French expeditionary force and participated in combat near the Piave River, and in 1918 assumed command of the 283rd Artillery Regiment. His conduct during the war earned him five citations. Olry became secretary of the Supreme Council of National Defense () in 1922 and served with the French military mission to Greece until 1928, when he was promoted 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 ...

of the 309th Artillery Regiment. He was promoted again in 1932 to the rank of brigadier general and in 1935 to Divisional General (a rank equivalent to major general) with command of the 29th Infantry Division, which he led until 1937. He later became commander of the 15th Army Corps in the southern

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. On 5 December 1939 Olry assumed command of the Army of the Alps. When Italy invaded France in June 1940, he commanded 190,000 men on the Alpine Line. Faced with an Italian force of 450,000, Olry's troops successfully stopped the Italian advance and then proved a tough opponent for the German troops which joined the battle. The performance of the French army in this theatre was far more successful than on the rest of the front and preserved some areas of France from occupation.

Final years and death

During the interim period following the French surrender Olry served as an inspector general. He was then appointed to command the 1st Divisional Group of the French Armistice Army: comprising four divisions in the non-occupied south. In June 1942 he reached retirement age and took up residence on his family estate in the

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...

region of

Mansle Mansle () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Charente Departments of France, department in southwestern France. It is about 20 km north of Angoulême on the main Route nationale 10, N10 road. On 1 January 2023, it was merged into ...

. Olry died on 3 January 1944 in

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture. Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...

Decorations

Olry was awarded the

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 ...

, the highest military decoration in France, at ''Officier'' rank (''see Légion d'honneur#Classes and insignia'') in 1920 and became a ''Commandeur'' of the Légion d'honneur in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olry, Rene 1880 births 1944 deaths People from Lille French generals French military personnel of World War I French Army generals of World War II École Polytechnique alumni Commanders of the Legion of Honour 19th-century French military personnel