Justin Clinchant (24 December 1820,

Thiaucourt-Regniéville Thiaucourt-Regniéville () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Geography The Rupt de Mad flows northeastward through the north-western part of the commune and crosses the village. Sights *The St. Mihiel ...

– 20 March 1881) was a

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 ...

general of the 19th century.

Biography

Clinchant entered the army from St Cyr in 1841. From 1847 to 1852 Clinchant was employed in the Algerian campaigns, and in 1854 and 1855 in the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. At the assault on the Malakoff (8 September 1855) he greatly distinguished himself at the head of a battalion. During the 1859 campaign he won promotion to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and as a colonel he served in the French intervention in Mexico. He was made general of brigade in 1866. At the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Clinchant led a brigade of the Army of the Rhine. His troops were amongst those shut up in Metz, and he passed into captivity, but soon escaped. The

Government of National Defense The Government of National Defense (french: Gouvernement de la Défense nationale) was the first government of the Third Republic of France from 4 September 1870 to 13 February 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was formed after the proclam ...

made him general of division and put him at the head of the 20th corps of the Army of the East. He was under Bourbaki during the campaign of the Jura, and after Bourbaki attempted to commit suicide he succeeded to the command (23 January 1871). He was intercepted by the German Army under

Von Manteuffel The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple Preposition and postposition, preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directo ...

in an attempt at retreat, and thus driven with 84,000 men over the Swiss frontier at

Pontarlier Pontarlier ( ; Latin: ''Ariolica'') is a commune and one of the two sub-prefectures of the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France near the Swiss border. History Pontarlier occupies the ancient Roman station of ...

. In 1871 Clinchant commanded the Fifth Army Corps of the Army of Versailles operating against the

Commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

. In 1879, he was appointed military governor of

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He held that position when he died in 1881.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clinchant, Justin 1820 births 1881 deaths People from Meurthe-et-Moselle French generals French military personnel of the Crimean War French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery