Louis Ernest de Maud'huy (1857–1921) was a French

World War I 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 ...

General and the first

Chief Scout A Chief Scout is the principal or head scout for an organization such as the military, colonial administration or expedition or a talent scout in performing, entertainment or creative arts, particularly sport. In sport, a Chief Scout can be the prin ...

Scouts de France Scouts et Guides de France (''Scouts and Guides of France'', SGdF) is the largest Scouting and Guiding association in France. It was formed on 1 September 2004 from the merger of two Roman Catholic Scouting organizations: the Guides de France (f ...

Biography

His father was Pierre Adrien de Maud'huy, Battalion Chief in the Napoleon III Imperial Guard and his mother Thérèse Joséphine Olry. "

Lorrain Lorrain may refer to: * Claude Lorrain (1600–82), a 17th-century French artist of the baroque style * Lorrain language, a Romance dialect spoken in Lorraine region in France and Gaume region in Belgium See also * Lorain (disambiguation) * Lor ...

from Moselle", he was haunted by the idea of driving the Germans out from Lorraine since the 1871 defeat. He was then 14. Louis de Maud'huy became an infantry officer graduating from Saint-Cyr, General Staff Course graduated, chasseur à pied until becoming colonel and assuming command of the 35th infantry regiment in

Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Terri ...

in 1907. Dictionnaire Larousse du XXe Siècle, vol. 4, page 745, 1931 On 10 July 1913, he was

Brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in charge of the 80th Infantry Brigade. An Infantry Division Officer in 1914, he was placed in charge, after the

Battle of the Frontiers The Battle of the Frontiers (, , ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategies of the French Chief of ...

, of the 18th Corps with which he fought in the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

on the 5th Army left wing. He willingly supported the execution of deserters right from the beginning of the war, encouraging the killing of a man involved. M 75 10 Foch Maistre Joffre et Maud'huy

During the

First Battle of the Aisne The First Battle of the Aisne (french: 1re Bataille de l'Aisne) was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated a ...

, de Maud'huy crossed the Aisne at Pontavert on 13 September 1914 and captured

Corbeny Corbeny (; in the Middle Ages: Corbunei) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The river Ailette flows south through the northwestern part of the commune. Population See also * Communes of ...

Craonne Craonne () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History It was the site of the Napoleonic Battle of Craonne in 1814. The former town was totally destroyed by artillery during the Nivelle Offensive in W ...

and the eastern tip of

Chemin des Dames In France, the Chemin des Dames (; literally, the "ladies' path") is part of the route départementale (local road) D18 and runs east and west in the Aisne department, between in the west, the Route Nationale 2 (Laon to Soissons), and in the eas ...

. As a result of this, he was promoted to Divisional General, became

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

commander for his courage and was considered a specialist of night attacks. He assumed command of the French Tenth Army on the 29 September 1914 to extend northward the de Curières de Castelnau Second Army in the beginning of the

Race to the Sea The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by the ...

. Then the French Tenth Army attacked the advancing German forces on 1 October, initially experiencing success until they reached the town of

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...

. There, the German Sixth Army launched a counter-attack along with additional attacks from three corps of the German First, Second and Seventh Armies: de Maud'huy lost

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

and was forced to withdraw towards Arras. From 2 April to 3 November 1915, he was named to the head of the Seventh Army. From 2 April 1916 to 24 January 1917 he was in charge of the 15th Corps which meant a downgrading for him.First World War: Who's Who
/ref> On 25 January 1917, he was replaced by General de Riols de Fonclare and named to the head of the French 11th Army Corps involved in the

Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne (french: 3e Bataille de l'Aisne) was a battle of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in ...

. As well as his chief General Duchêne, he was relieved of his command by French Prime Minister

Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (, also , ; 28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A key figure of the Independent Radicals, he was a ...

on 2 June 1918, when Germans were seemingly within reach of Paris, and replaced by General Niessel. With the liberation of

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

on November 1918,

Marshal Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Art ...

appointed him its Military Governor. After the war he entered politics. From 16 November 1919 to his death, he was elected to parliament as a deputy of National Bloc for Moselle. In July 1920, he became the first Chief Scout of Scouts de France. Legion of Honour Grand Cross, he died in Paris on 16 July 1921. His remains are commemorated in the Invalides.

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First World War com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maudhuy, Louis De 1857 births 1921 deaths Military personnel from Metz Republican Federation politicians Members of the 12th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic French generals Scouting and Guiding in France People associated with Scouting French military personnel of World War I Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)