Jean Colin (also Jean-Alphonse and Jean-Lambert-Alphonse; December 27, 1864 – December 30, 1917) was a French general and
military writer. He has been judged "one of the brilliant members of the French General Staff before 1914."
[''The Literature on War: Part II'', William O. Shanahan, The Review of Politics, Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jul., 1942), pp. 327-346]
Educated at the École polytechnique,
he worked in the history service of the army from 1900 to 1906. He served in World War I, was made a
général de brigade
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 to ...
in 1917 and was killed that year in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
.
He translated
Clausewitz
Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His mos ...
's ''Der Feldzug von 1796 in Italien'' (1859) as ''Études sur la campagne de 1796-1797 en Italie'' (1889).
His best known work is ''Les transformations de la Guerre'' (Paris, 1911), translated as ''France and the Next War'' or as ''Transformations of War'' by L.H.R. Pope-Hennessy (London, 1912). His criticisms of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
and the offensive school were controversial.
Other works
* ''Les Campagnes du
maréchal de Saxe'' (1901–1906)
* ''L'éducation militaire de Napoléon''
* ''Louis XV et les Jacobites: Le projet de débarquement en Angleterre de 1743–1744.'' Paris: Librairie Militarie R. Chapelot et Cie., 1901.
References
* ''The sword and the pen : selections from the world's greatest military writings'', prepared by Sir Basil Liddell Hart ; edited by Adrian Liddell Hart. Crowell, NY, 1976.
*Christopher Bassford, ''Clausewitz in English: The Reception of Clausewitz in Britain and America, 1815-1945'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994). Ch. 10
*http://www.ecole-superieure-de-guerre.fr/promotions/biographie/799
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colin, Jean
French military personnel killed in World War I, Colin, jean (general)
Colin, Jean (general)
Colin, Jean (general)
1917 deaths
1864 births
French male non-fiction writers