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 ...

Jean Victor Allard (12 June 1913 – 23 April 1996) was the first

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

to become Chief of the Defence Staff, the highest position in the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

, from 1966 to 1969. He was also the first to hold the accompanying rank of general.

Military career

Allard served as an officer in the Régiment de Trois-Rivières prior to

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 opposin ...

. After the outbreak of war in 1939, he was attested to the Canadian Active Service Force and promoted to the rank of major. When the active component of his regiment was redesignated to become an Anglophone armoured unit, he requested a transfer to the infantry and became the Deputy Commanding Officer of

Régiment de la Chaudière The is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of the 2nd Canadian Division's 35 Canadian Brigade Group and is headquartered at Lévis, Quebec. Insignia The regimental insignia consists of two crossed Vickers machine ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In December 1943, he became the Commanding Officer of the Royal 22^e Régiment in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He was in command of the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade at the end of the war in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, in the rank of brigadier (now brigadier-general). He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on three occasions. He was the Canadian

Military Attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

after the war until 1948 when he was appointed Commander for the East Quebec Area. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, he commanded the

25th Canadian Infantry Brigade The 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade was Canada's primary combat-formation intending to be sent as part of the British Commonwealth Forces Korea. Originally composed of three infantry battalions and two armoured squadrons, several individual units ...

from April 1953. He signed the truce at

Panmunjon Panmunjom, also known as Panmunjeom, now located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea or Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean ...

on Canada's behalf on 27 July 1953. He became commander of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade in 1954 and Commander of the Eastern Quebec Area in 1956. In 1958 he was made Vice-Chief of the General Staff. As a major-general, he commanded the

British 4th Division The 4th Infantry Division was a regular infantry division of the British Army with a very long history, seeing active service in the Peninsular War, the Crimean War, the First World War, and during the Second World War. It was disbanded after ...

from 1961 to 1963, as part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). In 1964 he was made Chief of Operational Readiness. As a lieutenant-general, he was Commander, Mobile Command from 1965 to 1966, comprising the Canadian land forces in Canada and, at that time, the close air support forces, as well. In July 1966, Allard was promoted to full general. From 1966 to 1969, he was Chief of the Defence Staff. In 1985, he published his memoirs, with English translation in 1988 ''The memoirs of General Jean V. Allard'', written in cooperation with Serge Bernier.Jean V. Allard. ''Mémoires du Général Jean V. Allard''. Ottawa, Les Éditions de Mortagne, 1985.

Honours

The Général-Jean-Victor-Allard Building, the home of the

Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School The Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School (CFLRS) is located at the Saint-Jean Garrison in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. Courses offered The two main courses offered at CFLRS are the Basic Military Qualification Basic Military Qualifi ...

, was named in honour of General Allard.

References

External links

Jean Victor Allard FondsCanada's 25 Most Renowned Military Leaders
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