Henri-Nicolas Frey was a French major general of the

Troupes coloniales The ''Troupes coloniales'' ("Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' ("Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the military forces of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900 these troops were de ...

. He led the French troops at the Battle of Peking in August 1900 where a multinational force ended the siege of foreign legations during the Boxer Rebellion.

Biography

Henri-Nicolas Frey was born on January 9, 1847 in

Bocognano Bocognano (; co, Bucugnà, ) is a commune located in the department of Corse-du-Sud, on the island of Corsica, France. The village, situated at the south-western side of the climb to the Col de Vizzavona, belongs to the micro of Celavo whi ...

in Corsica, son of Henri Frey (1808–1887) who was a gendarmerie officer, then justice of the peace in

Valensole Valensole (; Occitan: ''Valençòla'') is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the southeastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. Its inhabitants are called Valensolais (masculine) and Valensolaises (feminine). The ...

, knight of the Legion of Honor, 2nd class and his mother being Jeanne Carréga (1814–1886). He got married on February 19, 1894 in

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometres from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of ...

with Julie Bertrand, divorced wife of Charles Apert. He died on January 6, 1932 in

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

Military career

Frey was a student of the Lycée Thiers and then of the

Prytanée national militaire The Prytanée national militaire is a French military school managed by the French military, offering regular secondary education as well as special preparatory classes, equivalent in level to the first years of university, for students who wish ...

, he entered the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr on October 18, 1866. He was a second lieutenant in 1868, a lieutenant in 1870, a captain in 1874 in French Senegal, and a squadron leader in 1880. He served in the Bureau of The Marine Infantry Troops and was rapporteur of the Technical Committee of the Colonies. He was then lieutenant-colonel in 1884 in

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...

and colonel in 1887 in the colonial regiment of Brest, then in Senegal. As a young colonel in command of the

2nd Marine Infantry Regiment The 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment (french: 2e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine, 2e RIMa) is an infantry regiment of the Troupes de marine in the French Army, the only regiment to bear 16 battle honours inscriptions of the regimental colors. The re ...

, he led a mission for the French Sudan Campaign in 1885–1886. He then wrote a book out of it, titled ''Campagne dans le Haut-Sénégal et dans le Haut-Niger (1885–1886)'', in 1888. He was appointed brigadier general in 1896, and took command of the 3rd Colonial Brigade (1896–97) as the Inspector General, he under-commissioned missions to New Caledonia, Réunion and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. In 1900, he participated in the Battle of Peking with his men, mostly Vietnamese conscripts who had seen little action were in-experienced. They were hastily sent to be landed near

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

, arriving a day after the other legions. Then in July 1900, he took command of the French troops in China, which he commanded during the march on Beijing and the capture of the imperial city on August 15. On the arrival of General Voyron in September 1900, he took command of the First Brigade of the Expeditionary Force. He was named Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur by decree on 12 July 1906.

Honors

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, awarded on July 12, 1906 *

Tonkin Expedition commemorative medal The Tonkin Expedition commemorative medal (french: Médaille commémorative de l'expédition du Tonkin) was awarded to all the French soldiers and sailors who took part in the battles of the Tonkin campaign and the Sino-French War between 1883 and ...

Colonial Medal The Colonial Medal (french: "Médaille Coloniale") was a French decoration created by the "loi de finances" of 26 July 1893 (article 75) to reward "military services in the colonies, resulting from participation in military operations, in a colon ...

1901 China expedition commemorative medal The 1901 China expedition commemorative medal (french: "Médaille commémorative de l'expédition de Chine (1901)") was a French military campaign medal established by the law of 15 April 1902 to recognize service in China in 1900 and 1901 during ...

Foreign Honors

* :

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown ( it, link=no, Ordine della Corona Ferrea) was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name ...

* : Order of Leopold *

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

Royal Order of Cambodia The Royal Order of Cambodia ( km, គ្រឿងឥស្សរិយយសព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា; french: Ordre royal du Cambodge) was a colonial order of chivalry of French Cambodia, and is still in use ...

* :

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...

* :

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

* Nguyễn dynasty: Order of the Dragon of Annam * : Order of Saint Stanislaus,

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frey, Henri-Nicolas 1847 births 1932 deaths French generals French military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion People from Corse-du-Sud