Octave Meynier was a French military officer, born on 22 February 1874 at Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and died on 31 May 1961 at

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. He is remembered as one of two officers who took control of the Voulet-Chanoine Mission, which mutinied and rampaged through West Africa in 1899. He fought in the

First World War 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 ...

and later launched a number of cross-

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

n motorised expeditions.

Early life and family

Octave Meynier's father was the Marine officer . (Octave's brother Albert was the father of geographer André Meynier.)

French Sudan

Meynier graduated from the

military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

of Saint-Cyr in 1895, and was immediately assigned to the

French Sudan French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

. Four years later, in 1899, he was Lt-Col.

Jean-François Klobb Jean-François Arsène Klobb (1857–1899) was a French colonial officer. He was assassinated by order of Captain Paul Voulet. Background and early career Born on June 29, 1857 in Ribeauvillé in the department of Haut-Rhin in Alsace, he was se ...

's adjutant in Klobb's mission to reach the Voulet-Chanoine Mission and replace the expedition's commanders,

Paul Voulet Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

and Julien Chanoine. Voulet refused to cede command to Klobb, and on 14 July killed Klobb and wounded Meynier. Only a few days later a mutiny among the troops resulted in Voulet's and Chanoine's deaths, and Meynier joined Paul Joalland in command of the expedition. Under Meynier and Joalland the expedition completed its main goal, the union of French

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

n possessions. Meynier was later to write of the Voulet affair in ''A la recherche de Voulet''. In 1913 Meynier was made military commander of the territory of the

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

of Ouargla, and in 1914 proposed to modernize

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

through the construction of

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

World War I

During the battle of Verdun, he assumed command of the 1st Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs, and was wounded on 5 April 1918 by a shell that took away his left arm.

Algeria

After the war he returned to Africa as head of the military staff of the governor-general of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Maurice Viollette Maurice Viollette (3 September 1870 in Janville, Eure-et-Loir – 9 September 1960 in Dreux) was a French statesman. He was chief-of-staff for Alexandre Millerand in the Waldeck-Rousseau government in 1898, and was elected as a '' député' ...

; from 1926 to 1934 he held the position of Director of the Territories (

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

n Algeria), and was given the opportunity to realize the web of routes covering the Sahara he had first thought of in 1914.

African auto rallies

In 1930 he organized the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

–

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagescar rally Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

, using the roads he had just built. He left the army in 1935, with the rank of

Brigadier General 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 ...

. Meynier, who saw in

rallying Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

an immediate way to improve relations between the Mediterranean and African peoples, organized in 1950 the first Trans-African car rally, the Mediterranean–

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meynier, Octave French generals 1874 births 1961 deaths People of French West Africa