Maurice Schmitt (born 23 January 1930 at

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and large ...

), is a French

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

and chief of the general staff headquarters of the Armies (CEMA) from 16 November 1987 until 23 April 1991. He was then appointed as

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Les Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...

until 1996.

Biography

Early life

Maurice is the son of général Gaston Schmitt.

Military career

He entered the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ...

in October 1948. After attending a course at the

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

school, he was assigned to the 1st Colonial Artillery Regiment (1^er RAC), Troupes coloniales (known as Troupes de marine since 1958), whose barracks was at Melun. Designated to serve in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

in January 1953, he was assigned to the 4th Colonial Artillery Regiment 4^e RAC, then the North-West Operational Artillery Group (GONO), the designated name of the garrison of Dien Bien Phu. During the subsequent battle, he was taken as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

on 7 May 1954. He was released on 2 September 1954. Knight Order of the Order of the

Légion d'honneur 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 ...

at 25, he became a military instructor at the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

application school until September 1956, he was then assigned to the 3rd Colonial Parachute Regiment ( 3^e RPC) in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

where he commanded a combat support company from 1958 until October 1959. In 1959, he was made an Officer of the Order of the Légion d'honneur at 29. Following these engagements, his name often came up and was citedMarie-Catherine Villatoux, �
Général Maurice Schmitt, Deuxième bataille d’Alger (2002-2007) : la bataille judiciaire
�, Revue historique des armées, 255 , 2009. when the

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

practices were evoked during the Algerian war. Promoted to

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in 1974, then Général de brigade in 1979, he became

Chief of Staff of the French Army The Chief of the Army Staff (french: Chef d'état-major de l'armée de terre, CEMAT) is the military head of the French Army. The chief directs the army staff and acts as the principal advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff on subjects concern ...

in 1985, then

Chef d'état-major des Armées The Chief of the Defence Staff (french: Chef d'État-Major des Armées 'CEMA'' ) is the military head of the Armed Forces of the French Republic, ensuring the commandment of all military operations (under reserve of the particular dispositions ...

in 1987 responsible for French forces during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

in 1990 and 1991. He was replaced by

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Jacques Lanxade Jacques Lanxade (born 8 September 1934) is a French admiral and former navy chief, and co-author of a proposed reform of NATO. He was a private chief of staff of François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic, from 1989 to 1991, and beca ...

on 23 April 1991. In 1990, he was elevated to the dignity of Grand-Cross of the

Décret du 5 juillet 1990
and became

in 1991, until 1996.

Recognitions and Honors

National Order of Merit - Commander (France)

Croix de Guerre des Theatres d'Operations Exterieurs ribbon

Medaille commemorative de la Guerre 1939-1945 ribbon

Medaille commemorative de la Campagne d'Indochine ribbon

* Knight Order of the

: 1955 * Officer Order of the

: 1959 * Grand Officier of the Légion d'honneur : 1986 * Grand-Croix of the Order of the

: 1990 * Commander Order of National Order of Merit *

Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures The ''Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieurs'' (War Cross for foreign operational theatres), also called the ''Croix de Guerre TOE'' for short, is a French military award denoting citations earned in combat in foreign countri ...

Cross for Military Valour The Cross for Military Valour (french: Croix de la Valeur Militaire) is a military decoration of France. It recognises an individual bestowed a Mention in Dispatches earned for showing valour in presence of an enemy, in theatres of operations wh ...

* Colonial Medal * Commemorative Medal 39-45 * Commemorative Medal of Indochina * Commemorative Medal of the North Africa (AFN) * Commander Order of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

(

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

) * Grand Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(

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 ...

) * Grand Croix of the merit of Norway (

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

) * Grand Officer of the National Order of the Cedar (

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

) * Grand Officier de la Rose blanche de Finlande (

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) * Grand Officer of the Order of the Republic of Tunisia * Order of Merit of Venezuela * Medal Order of the Legion of Oman * Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Order of Excellence) of Pakistan * Merit Medal of the National Security of the Republic of Korea

Publications

* ''Deuxième bataille d'Alger, 2002-2007, la bataille judiciaire'' (The second battle of Algiers), L'Harmattan, 2008 * ''Alger-été 1957: une victoire sur le terrorisme'' (Algiers summer of 1957 : a victory against terrorism), L'Harmattan, 2002 * ''Le double jeu du maréchal: légende ou réalité''(The double game of the marshal: legend or reality), Presses de la Cité, 1996 * ''De Diên Biên Phu à Koweït City'' (From Dien Bien Phu to Kuwait City), Grasset, 1992

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitt, Maurice 1930 births Living people French generals École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Cross for Military Valour Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Commanders of the Legion of Merit Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Grand Officers of the National Order of the Cedar