Gustave Besnard (11 October 1833,

Rambouillet Rambouillet (, , ) is a subprefecture of the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its centre. In 2018, the commune had a population of 26,933. Rambouillet lies ...

– 15 July 1903, Château du Rohu near

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

) was a French admiral and ''

Ministre de la Marine The Ministry of the Navy (french: Ministère de la Marine) was a section of the French government – apart from the Ministry of War – that was in charge of the French navy and colonies. The ministry combined the administration of the navy, t ...

''.

Biography

Portrait of Captain Gustave Besnard 1883

From the time he joined the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

as a cadet at the ''

École Navale École 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 * École, Savoi ...

'' in 1849, until his retirement date in 1898, Besnard served 50 years in the

. After graduating from the ''

'' in 1852, Besnard progressed rapidly in rank and commanded twelve warships (

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s, light cruisers, heavy cruisers) between 1867 and 1892, in all parts of the world (Mediterranean, North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Indochina, China). He held a number of prestigious shore positions such as Navy Chief of Staff (1881), Head of Navy Personnel (1887–1889), ''

Préfet Maritime A maritime prefect ( French: ''Préfet maritime'') is a servant of the French State who exercises authority over the sea in a particular region under French jurisdiction, known as a maritime arrondissement (''Arrondissement maritime''). His admini ...

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

'' (1893–1895).Vice-amiral Charles Touchard, ''Notice sur la carrière du Vice-amiral Besnard'', Paris, Imprimerie E. Desfossés, 1923, 10 p. After this long and distinguished career in the

, Besnard served as , the French equivalent of

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

, between 1895 and 1898. In this position of , Besnard was responsible for the overall strategic direction of the French Navy. He directed naval support for the conquest of Madagascar (1895). He secured from Parliament the necessary credits to keep the fleets of the

at operational strength and at immediate readiness. He won Parliament approval for setting up overseas Navy bases and strongpoints in many parts of the world: in particular the arsenal of

Bizerte Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...

(

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

). During Besnard's time as , there are two schools of thought: the young school - ''

Jeune École The ''Jeune École'' ("Young School") was a strategic naval concept developed during the 19th century. It advocated the use of small, heavily armed vessels to combat larger battleships, and the use of commerce raiders to cripple the trade of the r ...

'' - is in favor of a fleet with a lot of light units such as torpedo boats. The opposite theory emphasizes that sea power is based on the large ships which decide battles, such as battleships and cruisers. Besnard was clearly in favor of the latter theory. Speaking on the occasion of budget debates at the French Parliament between 1895 and 1898, Admiral Besnard pushed forward naval armaments programs in which battleships and cruisers represented over 80% of total funds. He confined torpedo boats to their normal role in coast defense.

References

Sources

* Vice-amiral Charles Touchard, ''Notice sur la carrière du Vice-amiral Besnard'', Paris, Imprimerie E. Desfossés, 1923, 10 pages * Archives Nationales, Base LEONORE, Cote LH/221/57 * Service Historique de la Défense, Vincennes, Cote SHD MV 87 GG2/1 * Félix Faure, ''Journal à l'Élysée (1895-1899)'', Paris, Éditions des Équateurs, 2009, page 333 * Frédéric Saffroy, ''« Clémenceau et la stratégie navale - le torpilleur contre le cuirassé'' », Cols Bleus Marine Nationale, 1er juin 2018 * Journal Officiel de la République Française, Lois et décrets, 30 mars 1897, ''Tableau des constructions neuves annexé à la Loi de finances du 29 mars 1897'', pages 1888–1912. {{DEFAULTSORT:Besnard, Armand 1833 births 1903 deaths People from Rambouillet École Navale alumni French Naval Ministers French Navy admirals Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War