Louis Félix Thomas Maurin (5 January 1869 – 6 June 1956) was a French army general who was twice
Minister of War
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
in the 1930s.
Before and during
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 ...
(1914–18) he was a strong advocate of motorization.
In the inter-war period from 1919 to 1939 he advocated a policy of passive defense against the growing German threat.
He thought that with all the money that had been spent on the
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force the ...
fortifications it would be madness to go on the offensive.
He saw little value in tanks as a weapon.
He advised against a limited military reaction when Germany reoccupied the Rhineland in March 1936, calling for general mobilization or nothing.
He did not consider that the 1936 pact with Russia would help France militarily.
Early years
Louis Félix Thomas Maurin was born in
Cherbourg
Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...
on 5 January 1869.
He graduated from the
École Polytechnique
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, Savoi ...
and joined the army, where he made his career in the artillery.
In 1899 Maurin and
Maurice Gamelin
Maurice Gustave Gamelin (, 20 September 1872 – 18 April 1958) was an army general in the French Army. Gamelin is remembered for his disastrous command (until 17 May 1940) of the French military during the Battle of France (10 May–22 June 1940 ...
were fellow students 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 ...
.
Maurin married Anne-Marie Bigault. Their son, Philippe Maurin (born 13 December 1913), would become an Air Force general.
Maurin was involved in motorization for almost twenty years. He was described by one general as "an apostle of motorization."
During
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 ...
(1914–18) both Maurin and Gamelin were "special envoys" of
Joseph Joffre
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroup ...
in 1914.
Maurin later served on the staff of General
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 ...
.
He was appointed Brigadier General in 1918.
In 1918 Maurin was in command of the General Reserve of Artillery.
Motor transport was widely used by the Reserve to move artillery units between sectors of front.
Post-war army
Maurin became second in command 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 ...
general staff in 1920.
Maurin was Inspector General of Artillery from 1922 to 1934.
From 1927 he was also Inspector General for Motorization of the Army.
In October 1927 Maurin and two other officers advocated that the planned
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force the ...
of defenses include a double line of machine gun placements.
He was overruled in favor of the palm fort design, which was supported by
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 ...
.
Maurin represented France in Poland at the tenth anniversary of Polish independence, and presented a Consular saber to Chief of State
Józef Piłsudski
), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania)
, death_date =
, death_place = Warsaw, Poland
, constituency =
, party = None (formerly PPS)
, spouse =
, children = Wan ...
.
When General
Marie-Eugène Debeney retired as Chief of Staff in 1928, Maurin and
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.
Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educated at the Saint-Cyr military academy in Paris. After graduating in 1 ...
were proposed as replacements.
Pétain objected to Maurin, while the Minister of War
Paul Painlevé
Paul Painlevé (; 5 December 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French mathematician and statesman. He served twice as Prime Minister of the Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 April – 22 November 1925. His entry into politic ...
objected to Weygand.
Eventually Weygand was given the post in 1930.
Minister of War
Maurin was Minister of War from November 1934 to June 1935.
He said in a debate in March 1934 that in the event of war France would not go on the offensive after having spent billions on fortifications.
It would be insane to risk an advance in front of that barrier.
He became a member of the
Conseil supérieur de la guerre The Conseil supérieur de la guerre (CSG, Superior War Council) was the highest military body in France under the Third Republic. It was under the presidency of the Minister of War, although vice presidents presided in his absence and took care of ...
(Supreme War Council) in 1935.
Maurin wrote that in April 1935, a month after Germany had reestablished a conscript army in violation of the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
,
In January 1936 Maurin was appointed Minister of War in the cabinet of
Albert Sarraut
Albert-Pierre Sarraut (; 28 July 1872 – 26 November 1962) was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic.
Biography
Sarraut was born on 28 July 1872 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France.
On 14 March 1907 Sarraut, ...
.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Pierre-Étienne Flandin
Pierre-Étienne Flandin (; 12 April 1889 – 13 June 1958) was a French conservative politician of the Third Republic, leader of the Democratic Republican Alliance (ARD), and Prime Minister of France from 8 November 1934 to 31 May 1935.
A milit ...
, wanted to obtain agreement from Britain for support in the event of a military confrontation with Germany, but Maurin refused to provide details of the action France proposed to take. The British Foreign Secretary,
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957.
Achieving rapid promo ...
, took the lack of firm commitments as evidence that France was looking for an excuse to avoid using force against Germany.
When the
Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance
The Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance was a bilateral treaty between France and the Soviet Union with the aim of enveloping Nazi Germany in 1935 to reduce the threat from Central Europe. It was pursued by Maxim Litvinov, the Soviet foreig ...
was ratified in February 1936 Maurin told the Council of Ministers that the alliance would have no military value to France.
With the growing threat of German reoccupation of the demilitarized Rhineland, on 17 February 1936 Maurin wrote, "It could be contrary to French interests to use our right to occupy the demilitarized zone... We would actually risk being considered the aggressor and thus finding ourselves alone facing Germany. Such an operation could not be considered without the full support of the British government."
After the
remilitarization of the Rhineland
The remilitarization of the Rhineland () began on 7 March 1936, when German military forces entered the Rhineland, which directly contravened the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties. Neither France nor Britain was prepared for a milit ...
by German forces on 7 March 1936 Maurin said at the cabinet meeting late that morning that a partial, temporary demonstration of force would be ineffectual.
He called for general mobilization of French forces, and said the government should considered declaring war, if possible with British support.
Maurin noted that if the government raised a million men but Hitler refused to back down, the government would be ridiculed if it simply demobilized the men.
According to Flandin, "That request elicited loud protests from the cabinet. A general mobilization six weeks before elections was insane."
The government decided to take no action.
General Gamelin later said it was "intolerable that people are saying that the military did not want to move on March 7."
He asked Maurin to ensure that "in future political and military matters be submitted to the ''Haut Comité Militaire'' for discussion before being taken up by the Cabinet."
After the German move the French and British held military discussions, which proved pointless.
The French asserted that they could defend their border with Germany alone.
Maurin said the British should "understand that we can hold out alone if need be."
In 1936 Maurin supported General Gamelin and told the Cabinet it was inconceivable that France could reverse German remilitarization without full mobilization.
Later career
Maurin despised General
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
, and in 1937 banished him to command of the 507th Tank Regiment. He said to de Gaulle, "You have caused us enough trouble with the tank on paper. Now let's see what you can make of the real thing! ... Good bye de Gaulle! Wherever I am there will be no room for you."
In March 1938 Maurin wrote in an article that the Army was a "marvelous instrument, perfectly disciplined."
However, during the crisis of the summer of 1938, when
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
was threatening war with
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, Louis Maurin told
Pierre Flandin that the French army was organized only for defense and could not undertake even a very limited military intervention.
Louis Maurin died in
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 ...
on 6 June 1956.
Publications
Maurin's publications included:
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Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Maurin, Louis Felix Thomas
People from Cherbourg-Octeville
1869 births
1956 deaths
École Polytechnique alumni
French generals
French military personnel of World War I
French Ministers of War