Marie-Robert Altmayer (1875–1959) was a French army corps general. He was the eldest son of the divisional general

Victor Joseph Altmayer Victor Joseph Altmayer (1844–1908) was a French general. He was the father of Robert Altmayer and René Altmayer, both also generals and were of German descent. He was made a knight of the Légion d'honneur on 7 February 1871, an officer of the ...

(1844–1908) and elder brother of general

René Altmayer Félix-René Altmayer (1882–1976) was a French general. His father Victor Joseph Altmayer and elder brother Robert Altmayer Marie-Robert Altmayer (1875–1959) was a French army corps general. He was the eldest son of the divisional general Vic ...

. They were of German descent. He commanded cavalry in Algeria in 1929. He then became inspector general of cavalry from 14 October 1932 to 5 October 1936. He was retired on 30 July 1937 then re-mobilised on 21 May 1940 on the orders of general

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 ...

. On 24 May he was put in command of 10th Army, with which he tried to hold a front along the river

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

until 14 June, when he shifted to delaying tactics as far as the river

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

. He did not receive his final orders to build a "Breton redoubt" behind a defence line between

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

and

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...

as envisaged by

Paul Reynaud Paul Reynaud (; 15 October 1878 – 21 September 1966) was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. Reynaud opposed the Munich Agreement of ...

and was captured on 19 June. He remained a prisoner until 23 December 1941 and was retired again on 26 February 1942.

Sources

*Général Robert Altmayer: "La Xe Armée sur la Basse-Somme, en Normandie et vers le réduit breton : Mai-juin 1940", Paris, Ed. Défense de la France, 1946 French generals 1875 births 1959 deaths French Army generals of World War II French prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany {{France-mil-bio-stub