Edmond Alphonse Léon Buat (17 September 1868 – 30 December 1923) was a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

, who served as Chief of the Army Staff from 25 January 1920 until his death.

World War I

In World War I, Buat commanded first the 121st Infantry division and then the 2nd Army Corps. In January 1917, he became the head of the General Reserve of the Artillery. From February 1918, he commanded successively the 33rd Infantry division, the 17th Army Corps and from 12 June, the 5th Army.

Chief of Staff

Buat was appointed Chief of the Army Staff on 25 January 1920, and attended the first meeting of

Conseil supérieur de la guerre The Conseil supérieur de la guerre (CSG, Superior War Council) was the highest military body in France under the Third Republic. It was under the presidency of the Minister of War, although vice presidents presided in his absence and took care of ...

following the armistice on 31 January. When asked by

Alexandre Millerand Alexandre Millerand (; – ) was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 20 January to 23 September 1920 and President of France from 23 September 1920 to 11 June 1924. His participation in Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet at the sta ...

whether the French Army had the capacity to occupy the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

he replied that this would only be possible by mobilising the reserves.

Death

He was buried in the

Cemetery Miséricorde Cemetery Miséricorde is one of the major cemeteries in Nantes, France. It is located in the Hauts-Pavés - Saint-Félix district. It was opened in 1793 and over 10,000 graves have been placed their between then and 2010. Gallery Cimetière Mis� ...

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. On 10 July 1927 Petain, Alexandre Millerand and Ragueneau attended the inauguration of a monument to Buat in Nantes.

Publications

He wrote several books on military history specialising in artillery tactics: * ''Un voyage d'état-major de corps d'armée'', (with General Henri de Lacroix), Paris, R. Chapelot, 1908. * ''Étude critique d'histoire militaire. 1809, de Ratisbonne à Znaïm'', deux volumes, Paris, R. Chapelot, 1909, republished Paris, Teissèdre, 2008.
''L'Artillerie de campagne : son histoire, son évolution, son état actuel'', Paris, Félix Alcan, coll. «Nouvelle collection scientifique», 1911.
* ''Les Méthodes de tir de la batterie d'infanterie'', M. Imhaus et R. Chapelot, 1911, new edition, 1912. * ''Procédés de commandement du groupe de batteries sur le champ de bataille'', Paris, R. Chapelot, 1912. * ''La Lutte d'artillerie et les méthodes de tir de la contre-batterie'', Paris, M. Imhaus et R. Chapelot, 1912. * ''La Concentration allemande d'après un document trouvé dans un compartiment de chemin de fer'', Paris, R. Chapelot, 1914 (published anonymously) * ''L'Armée allemande pendant la guerre de 1914-1918, grandeur et décadence, manœuvres en lignes intérieures'', Paris, Chapelot, 1920 (German translation: ''Die Deutsche Armee im Weltkriege, ihre Grösse und ihr Verfall, ihr Manöverieren auf der inneren Linie. Herausgegeben und übersetzt von Hans Krause'', Munich, Wieland Verlag, 1921). * ''Ludendorff'', Paris, Chapelot, 1921. *
La Prise de Loivre par le 3e Battalion du 133e (16 avril 1917)
', Paris, Chapelot, 1922. * ''Hindenburg et Ludendorff stratèges'', Paris, Berger-Levrault, 1923. His journal, ''Journal du général Edmond Buat 1914-1923'' was published posthumously by the French Ministry of Defense in 2015.

Promotions

* April 14, 1916:

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

on a temporary basis * December 29, 1916:

Divisional General Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

on a temporary basis * December 31, 1916: Brigadier-General confirmed * September 24, 1918: General of division confirmed

References

External link

Service records
of General Buat {{DEFAULTSORT:Buat, Edmond 1868 births 1923 deaths French generals French military personnel of World War I École Polytechnique alumni Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Grand Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)