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Lieutenant-general Baron Jules-Marie-Alphonse Jacques de Dixmude (24 February 1858 – 24 November 1928), often known as General Jacques, was a
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
military figure of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and colonial advocate.


Congo Free State

He founded
Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...
(Kalemie) in the Congo in 1892. Jacques was known for contributing to the brutality of the Congo Free State rule. After hearing that native Congolese forced laborers were severing vines instead of tapping them as ordered, he wrote to one of his subordinates: "Decidedly these people of nongoare a bad lot. They have just been and cut some rubber vines...We must fight them until their absolute submission has been obtained, or their complete extermination...Inform the natives that if they cut another single vine, I will exterminate them to the last man."


Military career


Congo Arab war

From 1886–1892, the Society of Missionaries of Africa had founded catholic missions at the north and south ends of Lake Tanganyika. Léopold Louis Joubert, a French soldier and armed auxiliary, was dispatched by Archbishop
Charles Lavigerie Charles Martial Allemand Lavigerie (31 October 1825 – 26 November 1892) was a French cardinal, archbishop of Carthage and Algiers and primate of Africa. He also founded the White Fathers. A Catholic priest who became a bishop in France, Laviger ...
's Society of Missionaries of Africa to protect the missionaries. The missionaries abandoned three of the new stations due to attacks by
Tippu Tip Tippu Tip, or Tippu Tib (1832 – June 14, 1905), real name Ḥamad ibn Muḥammad ibn Jumʿah ibn Rajab ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al Murjabī ( ar, حمد بن محمد بن جمعة بن رجب بن محمد بن سعيد المرجبي), ...
and
Rumaliza Muhammad bin Khalfan bin Khamis al-Barwani () (born c. 1855), commonly known as Rumaliza, was an Arabs, Arab trader of slaves and ivory, active in Central Africa, Central and East Africa in the last part of the nineteenth century. He was a member ...
. By 1891 the
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
i slavers had control of the entire western shore of the lake, apart from the region defended by Joubert around Mpala and St Louis de Mrumbi. The anti-slavery expedition under captain Jacques—financed by the
Belgian Anti-Slavery Society The Belgian Anti-Slavery Society (french: Société antiesclavagiste de Belgique, nl, Antislavernijmaatschappij van België) was a 19th-century organization, with the goal of putting an end to the Arab slave trade in the African continent. The ''B ...
—came to the relief of Joubert on 30 Oktober 1892. When the Jacques expedition arrived Joubert's garrison was down to about two hundred men, poorly armed with "a most miscellaneous assortment of chassepots, Remingtons and muzzle-loaders, without suitable cartridges". He also had hardly any medicine left. Captain Jacques asked Joubert to remain on the defensive while his expedition moved north. On 3 January 1892, captain Jacques' anti-slavery expedition founded the fortress of
Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...
on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, and tried to put an end to the slave trade in the region.
Rumaliza Muhammad bin Khalfan bin Khamis al-Barwani () (born c. 1855), commonly known as Rumaliza, was an Arabs, Arab trader of slaves and ivory, active in Central Africa, Central and East Africa in the last part of the nineteenth century. He was a member ...
's troops surrounded Albertville on 5 April and besieged the outpost for 9 months. Eventually Rumaliza's forces had to retreat because of the arrival of the ''Long-Duvivier-Demol'' Anti-Slavery expedition, a relief column sent from Brussels at captain Jacques's aide. In 1894 he returns to Belgium, he serves as a colonial official in the Congo Free State from 1895 to 1898 and finally returns to the Congo Free State in 1902 to work on the railway line that connects Bas-Congo to Katanga.


World War I

Jacques was promoted to major in the Belgian army in 1908, lieutenant colonel in 1913 and colonel in 1914 as he took command of the 12th regiment. He obtained the rank of major general in 1915 and became a three-star general in 1916, taking command of the 3rd army division. Because of his exceptional service during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he was made Baron and received several decorations.


Title, honours and arms

Jacques was promoted to the rank of
lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in 1916 and was made a baron in 1919 by HM King Albert I. In 1924 he was allowed to add "de Dixmude" to his last name.


Commemoration

"General Jacques" is commemorated by several streets, statues, and monuments around Belgium, including the "Boulevard Général Jacques" in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
as well as others in
Nivelles Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monst ...
,
Chaudfontaine :''Chaudfontaine is also a brand of mineral water, owned by The Coca-Cola Company.'' Chaudfontaine (; wa, Tchôfontinne) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Chaudfontaine had a total pop ...
and
Verviers Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also ...
and numerous statues. A
bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
of Baron Jacques is included as part of the
Liberty Memorial The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri was opened in 1926 as the Liberty Memorial. In 2004, it was designated by the United States Congress as the country's official war memorial and museum dedicated to World War ...
in Kansas City.


Honours

* : ** Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold with Palm, 1919. ** Commander of the Order of the Crown ** War Cross * : Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion * : Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Saint Anne The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...
* : Grand Officer of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
* : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George * : Knight Grand cross of the Order of the Star of Karađorđe with swords * : Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus * Distinguished Service Medal * Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 * Silver Medal of Military Valor


Arms


References


External links

*
Archive Jules Jacques de Dixmude
Royal Museum for Central Africa * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacques De Dixmude, Jules Marie Alphonse 1858 births 1928 deaths People from Stavelot Belgian generals City founders Congo Free State officials Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor Walloon people Barons of Belgium Belgian Army generals of World War I Belgian abolitionists