General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Jean Victor Allard (12 June 1913 – 23 April 1996) was the first French Canadian to become Chief of the Defence Staff, the highest position in 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 Forc ...

, from 1966 to 1969. He was also the first to hold the accompanying rank of general.

Military career

Allard served as an officer in the Régiment de Trois-Rivières prior to

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 opposing ...

. After the outbreak of war in 1939, he was attested to the Canadian Active Service Force and promoted to the rank of major. When the active component of his regiment was redesignated to become an Anglophone armoured unit, he requested a transfer to the infantry and became the Deputy Commanding Officer of Régiment de la Chaudière in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In December 1943, he became the Commanding Officer of the Royal 22^e Régiment in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He was in command of the

6th Canadian Infantry Brigade The 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the Canadian Army that fought during World War I and World War II. Raised in 1915, it formed part of the 2nd Canadian Division and fought on the Western Front during World War I before ...

at the end of the war in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, in the rank of brigadier (now brigadier-general). He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on three occasions. He was the Canadian Military Attaché in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

after the war until 1948 when he was appointed Commander for the East Quebec Area. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, he commanded the

25th Canadian Infantry Brigade The 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade was Canada's primary combat-formation intending to be sent as part of the British Commonwealth Forces Korea. Originally composed of three infantry battalions and two armoured squadrons, several individual units ...

from April 1953. He signed the truce at

Panmunjon Panmunjom, also known as Panmunjeom, now located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea or Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korea ...

on Canada's behalf on 27 July 1953. He became commander of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade in 1954 and Commander of the Eastern Quebec Area in 1956. In 1958 he was made Vice-Chief of the General Staff. As a major-general, he commanded the

British 4th Division The 4th Infantry Division was a regular infantry division of the British Army with a very long history, seeing active service in the Peninsular War, the Crimean War, the First World War, and during the Second World War. It was disbanded after ...

from 1961 to 1963, as part of the

British Army of the Rhine There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War and the other after the Second World War. Both formations had areas of responsibility located ...

(BAOR). In 1964 he was made Chief of Operational Readiness. As a lieutenant-general, he was Commander, Mobile Command from 1965 to 1966, comprising the Canadian land forces in Canada and, at that time, the close air support forces, as well. In July 1966, Allard was promoted to full general. From 1966 to 1969, he was Chief of the Defence Staff. In 1985, he published his memoirs, with English translation in 1988 ''The memoirs of General Jean V. Allard'', written in cooperation with Serge Bernier.Jean V. Allard. ''Mémoires du Général Jean V. Allard''. Ottawa, Les Éditions de Mortagne, 1985.

Honours

The Général-Jean-Victor-Allard Building, the home of the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School, was named in honour of General Allard.

References

External links

Jean Victor Allard FondsCanada's 25 Most Renowned Military Leaders
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Allard, Jean Victor 1913 births 1996 deaths Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Canada) Canadian generals Canadian military personnel of the Korean War Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of Canada Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Recipients of the Bronze Lion Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit People from Centre-du-Québec Canadian Militia officers Commanders of the Canadian Army Military attachés Royal 22nd Regiment officers Canadian military personnel from Quebec