Fernand Gambiez (27 February 1903 – 29 March 1989) was a

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 and military historian who fought 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 ...

, the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

and the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

. During the Algerian War, Gambiez was commander-in-chief of the French Army in Algeria. Gambiez was born in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, graduated from Saint Cyr in 1925. He served with the Foreign Legion in Morocco before studying at the Superior War School in 1935. He was a captain in command of a company during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

. He trained and commanded a Choc battalion in 1943, taking part in the fighting to liberate Corsica in 1944. Gambiez served as chief of staff to the French commander-in-chief

Henri Navarre Henri Eugène Navarre (31 July 189826 September 1983) was a French Army general. He fought during World War I, World War II and was the seventh and final commander of French Far East Expeditionary Corps during the First Indochina War. Navarre w ...

during the

, including the Battle of Dien Bien Phu where one of his sons died. He was promoted to

Général de corps d'armée An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a General officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. Normally, the rank is above the divisional ge ...

in 1958, commander of the Oran Corps in 1959, Inspector General of the Infantry in 1960 and finally commander-in-chief of the French Army in Algeria in 1961. He was arrested by the rebellious generals during the

Algiers putsch The Algiers putsch (french: Putsch d'Alger or ), also known as the Generals' putsch (''Putsch des généraux''), was a failed coup d'état intended to force President of France, French President Charles de Gaulle not to abandon French Algeria, ...

in April 1961. He was the director of the French military history commission from 1969 to 1989. He was also elected member of the

Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

in 1974.

Works

* ''L'Épée de Damoclès, la guerre en style indirect'' (1967). With Colonel Maurice Suire. * ''Histoire de la première guerre mondiale'' (2 volumes, 1968). With Colonel Maurice Suire. * ''Libération de la Corse'' (1973)

References

* Nicole Pietri et Jacques Valette (eds), ''Les guerres du général Gambiez'', Esprit du Livre, 2009.

External links

* Review of the book ''Les guerres du général Gambiez'' with a short biography

1903 births 1989 deaths People from Lille French military personnel of World War II French military personnel of the First Indochina War French military personnel of the Algerian War French generals École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Officers of the French Foreign Legion {{France-mil-bio-stub