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