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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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
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= , source ...
manning the
Maginot Line The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the Minister of the Armed Forces (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, F ...
.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 List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, 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 relative ...
, 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, which covered the section of the
Maginot Line The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the Minister of the Armed Forces (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, F ...
along the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...
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 Wehrma ...
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