Pierre-Alexis Ronarc'h () was a French sailor and general, born on 22 November 1865 in

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography The ...

and died 1 April 1940 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 ...

. He is notable for commanding the French

Brigade de Fusiliers Marins The Brigade des Fusiliers Marins was a unit of the French Navy which fought alongside the Belgian Armed Forces, Belgium Army in 1914-1915 and which held their ground until the last man standing in October 1914 at Diksmuide to halt the advance of ...

at the

Battle of the Yser The Battle of the Yser (french: Bataille de l'Yser, nl, Slag om de IJzer) was a battle of the First World War that took place in October 1914 between the towns of Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, along a stretch of the Yser River and the Yperlee C ...

in 1914 during 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 ...

. Between 1915 and 1919 he was in command of the naval forces between

Nieuwpoort (Belgium) Nieuwpoort ( , ; vls, Nieuwpôort; french: Nieuport ) is a city and municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Nieuwpoort proper and ...

and Antifer (north of Le Havre), called the Zone des Armées du Nord (ZAN). Based in Dunkirk, his mission was to keep German Navy ships and submarines out of the Dover Channel, in close collaboration with the British

Dover Patrol The Dover Patrol and later known as the Dover Patrol Force was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dove ...

.
In May 1919, the ZAN was dissolved and Ronarc'h became

Chief of Staff of the French Navy The Chief of the Naval Staff (French: Chef d’état-major de la Marine, acronym: CEMM) is a French general officer, adviser to the Chief of the Defence Staff for the French Navy and responsible to the Minister of the Armed Forces for preparin ...

, a post he held until 1 February 1920, when he was replaced by Henri Salaun.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronarc'h, Pierre Alexis French generals French Navy admirals French military personnel of World War I People from Quimper French people of World War I 1865 births 1940 deaths French military personnel of the Sino-French War