Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Gilles-Antoine Turcot (9 December 1917 – 15 December 2010) was the Commander, Mobile Command of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

Military career

Educated at the

Séminaire de Québec The Seminary of Quebec (French: Séminaire de Québec) is a Catholic community of diocesan priests in Quebec City founded by Bishop François de Laval, the first bishop of New France in 1663. History The Séminaire de Québec is a Society of ...

and

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montm ...

, Turcot enlisted in the Canadian Militia in 1935.Veterans Affairs Canada
/ref> He served 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, joining Royal 22^e Régiment, part of the

1st Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...

under Major General

Andrew McNaughton Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

, in 1939. After training in England for several years and defending the coast, the Regiment was sent in on the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It b ...

, where Turcot was injured.General was first Canadian to lead NATO forces in Europe
Globe and Mail, 7 January 2011 He later fought as a

company commander A company commander is the commanding officer of a company, a military unit which typically consists of 100 to 250 soldiers, often organized into three or four smaller units called platoons. The exact organization of a company varies by countr ...

in Eastern Italy, notably at the bitterly fought

Battle of Ortona The Battle of Ortona (20–28 December 1943) was a battle fought between two battalions of elite German '' Fallschirmjäger'' (paratroops) from the German 1st Parachute Division under '' Generalleutnant'' Richard Heidrich, and assaulting Canadia ...

where his regiment was out-numbered but held off a determined German attack aimed at encircling the 1st Canadian Division. He was promoted to command the Regiment when it was redeployed to fight in the liberation of Holland, liberating several Dutch towns. After the war, he attended the

Canadian Army Staff College Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source o ...

and later the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in London. In 1952 he was appointed Director of Military Operations and Planning at National Defence Headquarters and in 1957 he was transferred to the International Commission for Supervision and Control of

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...

. Then in 1958 he was put in charge of administration at Quebec Command Headquarters in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

. He became Commanding Officer of

1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG; French: '')'' is a Canadian Forces brigade group that is part of the 3rd Canadian Division of the Canadian Army. Originally headquartered at CFB Calgary, it is currently based in CFB Edmonton ...

in CFB Calgary in 1959 and Director General of Military Training for the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

in 1962. In 1964 he was made General Officer Commanding the

Land Force Atlantic Area The 5th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army responsible for the command and mobilization of most army units in the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador; as well as some uni ...

and in 1967 was appointed Commander of Allied Command Europe ("ACE") Mobile Force, a multinational NATO flank force based in Seckenheim, Germany. In 1969, he became Commander, Mobile Command. which included all Canadian Land Forces. He led the military response to the

October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cr ...

when the

Front de libération du Québec The (FLQ) was a Marxist–Leninist and Quebec separatist guerrilla group. Founded in the early 1960s with the aim of establishing an independent and socialist Quebec through violent means, the FLQ was considered a terrorist group by the Cana ...

initiated

kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

s in October 1970.A 'mere rustle of leaves', Canadian Strategy and the 1970 FLQ Crisis
Canadian Military Journal, Summer 2000 Subsequent to retirement he led the administration of the Montreal Olympics and later served as Honorary Colonel of the Royal 22^e Régiment.

Family

He married Helen Mitchell and had two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turcot, Gilles 1917 births 2010 deaths Canadian generals French Quebecers Members of the Order of Canada People from Quebec City Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian Militia officers Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Commanders of the Canadian Army Royal 22nd Regiment officers Canadian military personnel from Quebec