Louis Napoléon Eugène Joseph Conneau (born 9 January 1856, at Paris; died 29 January 1930, at Chaville and was buried in

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre (french: link=no, Cimetière de Montmartre) is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis ...

) was a French general who graduated from

Saint Cyr military academy In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

as part of the class of 1874–1876.

Early life

Louis Conneau was the son of Dr. Henri Conneau, a good friend of Napoléon III, who aided the future sovereign to escape from his imprisonment at

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

and served as physician to Napoléon III and his wife when they were emperor and empress. Conneau, who was named after members of the Bonaparte family, his given names being those of the emperor's brothers and of

Eugene de Beauharnais Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

, was born and raised at the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, f ...

with the Prince Imperial, who was younger than Conneau by only two months. After the fall of the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

, the two attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, together. They remained friends until the prince's death in 1879, sharing an

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

oath: ''Passavant le meillor'' ("Accepting only the best"). From 1874–1876 Conneau attended, without the prince, Saint Cyr military academy, graduating as an army sub-lieutenant and joining the 23rd Dragoons. On 30 June 1900, Conneau married Adèle Marguerite Fourrier. They had three children.

Military career

At the beginning of

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 ...

, Conneau held the rank of ''

général de division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

'' and commanded the 10th Cavalry Division, which immediately moved east of

Lunéville Lunéville ( ; German, obsolete: ''Lünstadt'' ) is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Vezouze. History Lu ...

. In October 1914, Conneau was put in command of the , a command he held until 1917. The corps took part in operations around

Sarrebourg Sarrebourg (; also , ; Lorraine Franconian: ; older la, Pons Saravi) is a commune of northeastern France. In 1895 a Mithraeum was discovered at Sarrebourg at the mouth of the pass leading from the Vosges Mountains. Geography Sarrebourg is ...

and, after the

Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western Fro ...

ended and the offensive recommenced, played an important role in 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 ...

, supporting the Fifth Army during operations around

Berry-au-Bac Berry-au-Bac () is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also * Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne. The ...

, Pontavert, and

Sissonne Sissonne () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is about 20 km east of Laon, close to the source of the river Souche. The community dates back to the 12th century with the first church built c.1107 ...

. During 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 ...

, Conneau commanded the 1st and cavalry corps, which included French and British units. Never had such a large cavalry unit operated under one command. It became known as the Conneau Cavalry Corps. In the

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 ar ...

that followed the Battle of the Marne, the Conneau Corps sometimes supported one army, sometimes another, and sometimes acted independently with attached infantry divisions. In 1918, having reached the age limit for active command, Conneau became part of the reserve and commanded, at Châlons-sur-Marne, the 6th Region at the height of the German bombing.

Decorations

* Commander, then Grand Officer (to rank from 1 April 1917), of the

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 ...

* Knight Grand Cross of the British Order of St Michael and St George * Knight Grand Cross of the Russian

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 ...

* Knight of the Italian Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus * Officer of the Mexican

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conneau, Louis 1856 births 1930 deaths French generals Recipients of the Legion of Honour French military personnel of World War I