François Paul Anthoine (28 February 1860 – 25 December 1944) was a

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 ...

general during the

First World War 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 ...

. When the Great War began, Anthoine was General Castelnau's Chief of Staff ( Second Army). Anthoine played an important role in

Robert Nivelle Robert Georges Nivelle (15 October 1856 – 22 March 1924) was a French artillery general officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion and the First World War. In May 1916, he succeeded Philippe Pétain as commander of the French Second Army in th ...

's ill-fated campaign in spring 1917. Anthoine was eventually promoted to command French Fourth Army in March 1917 then

French First Army The First Army (french: 1re Armée) was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War. First World War On mobilization in August 1914, General Auguste Dubail was put in the ch ...

in June 1917. At the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

in autumn 1917, Anthoine and the First Army participated in the attacks on the northern flank of the salient and guarded the BEF's northern flank from enemy attack across the

Yser Canal The Ieperlee (or ''Ypres-Ijzer Canal'') is a canalized river that rises in Heuvelland in the Belgian province of West Flanders and flows via the city of Ypres (Ieper) into the Yser at Fort Knokke. The river is long. Its name is derived from ''ie ...

Herbert Plumer Field Marshal Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer, (13 March 1857 – 16 July 1932) was a senior British Army officer of the First World War. After commanding V Corps at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, he took command o ...

's Second Army was given a parallel task, attacking the southern flank of the salient and guarding the BEF's southern flank. Anthoine then served as chief of staff to Petain, French commander in chief, but was dismissed as he was thought “too pessimistic” after the near catastrophe of the

Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne (french: 3e Bataille de l'Aisne) was a battle of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in ...

in May 1918.Greenhalgh 2014, p.313 After this disgrace, François Anthoine died many years later in 1944.

References

External links

Colour picture of Gen. Anthoine
from 1917
Biography of Gen. Anthoine
in French 1860 births 1944 deaths French generals French military personnel of World War I Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Grand Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) People of the Tonkin campaign Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) {{France-mil-bio-stub

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Further reading

External links