Jean Jules Henri Mordacq (12 January 1868 – 14 April 1943) was a French

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 ...

. During his early years as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

he was the

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

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 For ...

's officer corps. 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 was a frontline commander of initially the , then the 90th Brigade, and finally the , in the process being wounded twice on the battlefield. In 1918 and the Paris Peace Conference, he was a close aide to Clemenceau.

Early career

Mordacq's military career began as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

before joining the Foreign Legion's

1st Foreign Regiment The 1st Foreign Regiment (french: 1er Régiment étranger, 1er RE) and the 2nd Foreign infantry Regiment are the original and most senior founding regiments of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is also responsible for running sp ...

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, ...

in 1893. Fighting off the remaining pirates 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, includi ...

, he became an intelligence officer during the ''Colonnes du Nord'' in 1896 where he met

Joseph Gallieni Joseph Simon Gallieni (24 April 1849 – 27 May 1916) was a French soldier, active for most of his career as a military commander and administrator in the French colonies. Gallieni is infamous in Madagascar as the French military leader who e ...

and

Hubert Lyautey Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in ...

. He returned to Algeria for a year and then studied in Paris at the ''

École de guerre École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sav ...

'' to become a

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

. He then became known for his military writing advocating reforms from the military schools to tactical warfare. He became

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

Georges Picquart Marie-Georges Picquart (6 September 1854 – 19 January 1914) was a French Army officer and Minister of War. He is best known for his role in the Dreyfus affair, in which he played a key role in uncovering the real culprit. Early career Picqua ...

's 10th Infantry Division. When Picquart became Secretary of War in Clemenceau's first Government in 1906, he became very influential as Picquart's right hand. He pushed for the nomination of former mentor

Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Art ...

at the head of the ''École de guerre'' before becoming an instructor there in 1910. He gave there the first strategy course in France known as the ''Cours des maréchaux'' for it was only open to the top fifteen students at the ''École de guerre''. He came back to the Office of war promoting further reforms. Then Secretary and former comrade at ''Saint-Cyr''

Adolphe Messimy Adolphe Marie Messimy (31 January 1869 – 1 September 1935) was a French politician and general. He served as Minister of War in 1911–12 and then again for a few months during the outbreak of and first three weeks of the First World War. Havi ...

nominated him Director-in-second and head of the military classes at the ''

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ...

'' in 1912. He trained the future lieutenants and

s who would lead the French units in combat at the start of

First World War

1914

In August 1914, Mordacq was chief of staff of general Archinard's 1st Reserve Corps Group in the Eastern Army. When the Germans breached the French lines through Belgium, he asked for a frontline command and became commander of the famous . He immediately partook in the

Battle of the Frontiers The Battle of the Frontiers (, , ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategies of the French Chief of Staff ...

and his regiment participated in ending the German advance in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

before the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

led to the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by the ...

. He then took command of the

defence of Arras Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

, the ''key to the sea'' and again halted the German advance there, which led to the front's stabilisation and the start of

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...

1915

Promoted to colonel, he took command of the 90th Brigade which witnessed on 22 April 1915 the first

chemical attack Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym ...

in history. His troops stood firm in the following weeks and retook lost ground.

1916

He was made ''

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 1916 and led the , which fought in the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

and the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

1917

In early 1917, he led his division in the Champagne region and threw back the Germans back to their lines before the

Chemin des Dames In France, the Chemin des Dames (; literally, the "ladies' path") is part of the route départementale (local road) D18 and runs east and west in the Aisne department, between in the west, the Route Nationale 2 (Laon to Soissons), and in the eas ...

attack. He was to command an infantry corps 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 ...

but was called in early November 1917 to become the military chief of staff in Clemenceau's second government in what was to be nicknamed the ''Ministère de la Victoire''.

In government

He proved himself essential to the French command's reorganisation and was Clemenceau's influential right-hand man from 1917 to 1920, thus participating extensively in the Allied victory of 1918. In January 1920, he became commander of the 30th Infantry Corps occupying in

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

. He remained at his command until 1925 when he left the army, resenting the contemporary political and military leaders who alienated him for his criticism of the appeasement policy toward Germany and for his unrelenting loyalty to Clemenceau in 1920.

Retirement

From 1925 to his death in 1943, Mordacq wrote more than twenty books and published dozens of articles in influential reviews to promote Clemenceau and his actions in the troubled days from November 1917 to 1920, explaining the choices and reforms which were made in order to achieve military and political victory. He criticised former friend

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...

's promulgation of racial laws in 1941. Mordacq was found dead in the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

under the

Pont des Arts The Pont des Arts or Passerelle des Arts is a pedestrian bridge in Paris which crosses the River Seine. It links the Institut de France and the central square (''cour carrée'') of the Palais du Louvre, (which had been termed the "Palais des Art ...

on 12 April 1943. His last literary work on World War I, part 4 in the series "The Great Hours of War", titled, "1917, The Year of Anguish", was released just after the onset of World War II, in 1940.

Works (titles translated from French)

* Mordacq, Captaine, ''The War in Morocco: Tactical Lessons of the two Franco-Moroccan (1884) and Spanish-Moroccan (1859-1860) Wars'', Paris: Lavauzelle, 1896 * Mordacq, Captaine, "Pacification of Upper Tonkin: History of the last military operations, Northern Columns (1895-1896)", Paris: Chapelat, 1901 * Mordacq, Captaine, "The officer in the new army: his professional training", Paris: Lavauzelle, 1906 * Mordacq, Captaine (pseudonym Jibé Gal), "The New Army, what it thinks, what it wants", Paris, Plon, 1906 * Mordacq, Commandant
''The War in Africa: Big Columns Tactics, Lessons from the Expedition against the Beni Snassen (1859)''
Paris: Chapelat, 1908 * Mordacq, Commandant, "The Fighting Cyclists", Paris: L. Fournier, 1910 * Mordacq, Commandant, "The Strategy: Historical Evolution", Paris: Fournier, 1912 * Mordacq, Commandant, "Strategic Trials: The Duration of the Next War", Paris: Levrault, 1912 (extract from "The General Military Review") * Mordacq, Commandant, "A lived strategic situation: the prodromes of Moukden", Paris: Berge-Levrault, 1912 (extract from "The General Military Review") * Mordacq, Lieutenant-Colonel, "The Sudanese Cavalry Soldier", Paris: Lavauzelle, 1912 * Mordacq, Lieutenant-Colonel, "Politics and Strategy in a Democracy", Paris: Plon, 1912 * Mordacq, Lieutenant-Colonel, "War in the 20th century, strategic essays", Paris: Berger-Levrault, 1914 * Mordacq, Lieutenant-Colonel, "Military Life in France and Abroad: The Officer in the 20th Century", Paris: Alcan, 1914 * Mordacq, Général H., "The German mentality; five years in command on the Rhine", Paris: Plon, 1925 * Mordacq, Général H., "Evacuation of the Rhineland?", Paris: Tallandier, 1928 * Mordacq, Général, "Unity of Command: How it Was Achieved", Paris: Tallandier, 1929 * Mordacq, Général, "The World War, lived pages. The Truth About the Armistice", Paris: Tallandier, 1929 * Mordacq, Général, "Could the armistice be signed in Berlin?...", Paris: Grasset, 1930 * Mordacq, Général, "The Clemenceau ministry, diary of a witness" (4 vol.), Paris: Plon, 1931 * Mordacq, Général, "Clemenceau at the end of his life, 1920-1929" (2 vol.), Paris: Plon, 1933 * Mordacq, Général, "The drama of the Yser; the gas surprise" (April 1915)", Paris: Éditions des Portiques, 1933 * Mordacq, Général H., "The Truth About One Command", Paris: Éditions Albert, 1934 * Mordacq, Général H., "Why Arras was not taken (1914)", Paris: Plon, 1934 * Mordacq, Général, "The Lessons of 1914 and the Next War", Paris: Flammarion, 1934 * Mordacq, Général H., "Should we change the government?", Paris: Michel, 1935 * Mordacq, Général H., "Legends of the Great War", Paris: Flammarion, 1935 * Mordacq, Général (as Preface), "The 25th, 65th and 106th Infantry Battalions during the Great War", Paris: Caudron, 1936 * Bismarck, Otto von (with Henri Mordacq as Preface), "Bismarck's Political Testament", Paris: Corrêa, 1937 * Mordacq, Général H., "The armistice of November 11, 1918. Account of a witness", Paris: Plon, 1937 * Mordacq, Général H., "The Great Hours of War, 1914 (vol. 1), The War of Movement", Paris: Plon, 1938 * Mordacq, Général H., "National Defense in Danger", Paris: Les Éditions, 1938 * Mordacq, Général H., "The Great Hours of War, 1915 (vol. 2), Trench Warfare", Paris: Plon, 1939 * Mordacq, Général H., "The Great Hours of War, 1916 (vol. 3), Verdun", Paris: Plon, 1939 * Mordacq, Général H., "A Great Polish Victory", Paris: Atlas, 1939 * Mordacq, Général H., "Clemenceau", Paris: Les Éditions de France, 1939 * Mordacq, Général H., "The Great Hours of War, 1917 (vol. 4), The Year of Anguish", Paris: Plon, 1940