Antoine-Marie-Benoit Besson (1876–1969) was a French military officer. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was a general commanding the Third Army Group stationed along the

river Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sourc ...

manning the

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force the ...

.Georg Zivkovic Army- and Navy-leaders of the world: 1971 - Page 158 1940 6. Armee: Besson, Antoine-Marie-Benoît AG. lX.-X. 1939

Military career

World War I: 1914–1918

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 ...

, Besson commanded the 4th Zouaves Regiment.

Interwar period: 1918–1939

In the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

, he commanded the 58th Brigade, the 15th Infantry Division and the 16th Army Corps.

World War II: 1939–1940

In September 1939, he commanded the 6th Army deployed in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. In October 1939, he took command of the

French 3rd Army Group Army Group 3 ( 3 A 3 was a French Army formation during the Second World War, stationed along the river Rhine manning the Maginot line. It was responsible for manning the southern end of the Maginot Line, along the River Rhine and controlled one ...

, which covered the section of the

along the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

and the Swiss frontier. He and his command surrendered after 25 June as German

Panzer This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht, ...

units had reached the Swiss border and cut off the Maginot Line from the rest of France.

Sources

M Romanych & M Rupp, Maginot Line 1940, Battles on the French frontier, Osprey Publishing, page 13

References

French military personnel of World War I French military personnel of World War II French generals 1876 births 1969 deaths École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) {{France-mil-bio-stub