Louis Marie Koeltz (

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...

, 30 September 1884 –

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 ...

, 27 May 1970) was a French Lieutenant General in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

Of Alsatian origin, Koeltz was born in

, as his father, a brigadier in the

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

, chose to leave Alsace-Lorraine which had become controlled by the Germans in 1871. He decided to obtain the French nationality in 1903, at the age of 18. He graduated from the

École militaire 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 ...

in Paris in 1913. He then served as a general staff officer 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 ...

. From 1926 to 1935, Koeltz was employed in the intelligence service of the French General Staff and was appointed Brigadier General in 1937. At the outbreak of World War II, he was Vice Chief of Operations at the Grand Quartier Général. Following the French capitulation, he became Director of the Services de l'Armistice on 25 June 1940. After joining the Vichy Army, he was promoted to Lieutenant General in May 1941 and in September, Koeltz was appointed commander of the 19th Military Region, which later became 19th Army Corps, and was stationed in

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 ...

. When the Allied forces landed in Algeria, Koeltz first refused to join the Allies, and was arrested during the night by Colonel

Germain Jousse Germain Jousse (November 20, 1895, in Coulaines - March 21, 1988, in Monblanc), was a member of the French Resistance during the Second World War. World War I In 1914 Germain Jousse conscripted into the army. Promoted to second lieutenant in Jun ...

, the head of the 3rd office of his staff. He was released later that day, to take part in the Franco-American negotiations. The ceasefire was signed on 10 November 1942 at 10 a.m. He then participated with his Corps against the Germans and Italians in the

Tunisian campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The ...

, taking 31,000 prisoners in May 1943. On 30 September 1943, he was put into the reserve. After the war, he was a government representative for France in the

Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority (german: Alliierter Kontrollrat) and also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany and Allied-occupied Austria after the end of Wo ...

(1945–1946) in occupied post-war Germany. In 1946, he was appointed Grand Officer of the

Legion of Honor 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 ...

and discharged from the Army. He died at his home in Paris on 27 May 1970, and was buried in Essey-les-Nancy.

References

Sources

page from generals.dk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koeltz, Louis 1884 births 1970 deaths Military personnel from Besançon École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni French generals French military personnel of World War I French military personnel of World War II Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur