Gaston-Henri Billotte (10 February 1875 – 23 May 1940) was a French military officer, remembered chiefly for his central role in the failure of 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 Force ...
to defeat the
German invasion of France
France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans.
* the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...
in May 1940. He was killed in a car accident at the height of the battle.
Military career
World War I: 1914–1918
Billotte graduated from the
Saint-Cyr military academy in 1896 and joined the infantry.
In
World War I
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 ...
he served as a brigade commander and as an officer of the General Staff.
Interwar period: 1918–1939
In 1919 and 1920 he was head of the French Military Mission in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. He served the rest of the 1920s and 1930s in colonial posts, in
French Syria,
French Tunisia
The French protectorate of Tunisia (french: Protectorat français de Tunisie; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في تونس '), commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial Empire era, ...
,
French Morocco and
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
, where he was Commander-in-Chief from 1930 to 1932. He was promoted to general in 1927. In 1933 Billotte returned to France, where he served as a Member of the
Supreme War Council, President of the Consultative Committee for Colonial Defence and Military Governor of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.
World War II: 1939–1940
When
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
broke out in September 1939, Billotte was 64 and close to retirement, but he was appointed Commander in Chief of the 1st Army Group based in northern France adjacent to the
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
border. When the
Germans
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, pop1 = 72,650,269
, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
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attacked on 10 May, Billotte's forces advanced into Belgium under the agreed
Allied plan, on the assumption that the Germans would repeat their
invasion of Belgium in World War I, attacking through Belgium into northern France, and then advance on Paris. According to the
Manstein Plan
The Manstein Plan or Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb) also known as Operation Sichelschnitt (german: Sichelschnittplan, from the English language, English term sickle cut), was the Military operation plan, war plan of the German Army (Wehrmacht), ...
, the German attack in Belgium was a feint designed to draw the Allied forces northwards, while the real German assault was aimed at the
Ardennes sector further south. Like all the Allied commanders, Billotte failed to discern the German plan.
On 12 May Billotte was given the task of co-ordinating the operations of the French, Belgian and British armies in Belgium. He lacked the staff and the experience for this task, and is reported to have burst into tears when informed of it. He failed to co-operate with the British commander,
General Lord Gort, and the Belgian commander,
King Leopold. By 15 May Billotte's morale was "at rock bottom." After a meeting with Gort on 18 May, he remarked to a British officer: "I'm shattered and I can't do anything against these
Panzers
Nazi Germany developed numerous tank designs used in World War II. In addition to domestic designs, Germany also used various captured and foreign-built tanks.
German tanks were an important part of the Wehrmacht and played a fundamental role du ...
."
On 20 May the British government, alarmed at the situation, sent the
Chief of the Imperial General Staff
The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial G ...
, General
Edmund Ironside
Edmund Ironside (30 November 1016; , ; sometimes also known as Edmund II) was King of the English from 23 April to 30 November 1016. He was the son of King Æthelred the Unready and his first wife, Ælfgifu of York. Edmund's reign was marred by ...
, to confer with Gort and Billotte. Ironside later wrote: "I found Billotte and
Blanchard all in a state of complete depression. No plan, no thought of a plan. Ready to be slaughtered. Defeated at the head without casualties... I lost my temper and shook Billotte by the button of his tunic. The man is completely beaten." Ironside effectively took over the co-ordinating role from Billotte and organised an
unsuccessful attack southwards towards
Arras in the hope of checking the German advance.
Finally realising the threat posed by the rapid German advance from the Ardennes towards the sea, the French commander-in-chief, General
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.
Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educated at the Saint-Cyr military academy in Paris. After graduating in 1 ...
, ordered Billotte to withdraw his forces southwards. At a meeting in
Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...
on 21 May, Weygand found Billotte depressed and pessimistic, "heavily marked by the fatigues and anxieties of the past two weeks." After leaving this conference, Billotte was severely injured when his staff car was involved in an accident, and died after two days in a coma. The British general
Henry Pownall
Lieutenant General Sir Henry Royds Pownall, (19 November 1887 – 10 June 1961) was a senior British Army officer who held several important command and staff appointments during the Second World War. In particular, he was chief of staff to the ...
(Gort's Chief of Staff) said: "With all respect, he's no loss to us in this emergency."
[Jackson, pg. 88]
Billotte's son
Pierre Billotte also graduated from ''
École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr'' in 1926; joined the
Free French
Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
movement and had a distinguished military and political career in postwar France.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Billotte, Gaston
1875 births
1940 deaths
French generals
French military personnel of World War I
French military personnel killed in World War II
Road incident deaths in France
Military governors of Paris
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)
Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Companions of the Order of the Bath
Recipients of the Virtuti Militari
French Army generals of World War II