General Noël Marie Amédée Garnier-Duplessix or Duplessis (25 December 1860 – 2 March 1928) was a French army officer. Whilst still a

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 o ...

he commanded the 2nd Infantry Division in the Allied victory at 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 ...

before seeing service in the

Zaian War Zayanes ( ber, Azayi (singular), (plural); ) are a Berber population inhabiting the Khenifra region, located in the central Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco. Zayanes tribes are known for their attachment to ancestral land and for their tenac ...

in the

French protectorate of Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

. Garnier-Duplessix returned to France in October 1916 and received command of the 37th Infantry Division for the 15 December offensive of the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

and the

Nivelle Offensive The Nivelle offensive (16 April – 9 May 1917) was a Franco-British operation on the Western Front in the First World War which was named after General Robert Nivelle, the commander-in-chief of the French metropolitan armies, who led the offensi ...

of April 1917. He received command of the 9th Army Corps in June 1918 and led that unit to victory in the August Battle of Amiens and the autumn Meuse-Argonne Offensive. After the war he was posted to

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

in the

Franco-Turkish War The Franco–Turkish War, known as the Cilicia Campaign (french: La campagne de Cilicie) in France and as the Southern Front ( tr, Güney Cephesi) of the Turkish War of Independence in Turkey, was a series of conflicts fought between France (the ...

of 1918–21 where he argued against early withdrawal of troops following the March 1921 Cilicia Peace Treaty.

Early life

Garnier-Duplessix was born on 25 December 1860 at Rennes in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

. His parents were Louis Marie Francois and Marguerite Blanche Lucie Boissonnet Garnier-Duplessix. He joined the French Army as a volunteer (initially for a 5-year period only) on 25 October 1880 at Rennes and entered the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr on 29 October. Garnier-Duplessix was steadily promoted through the cadet ranks, becoming a first class cadet on 13 April 1881, a corporal on 24 August, Quartermaster-Sergeant on 3 November and Sergeant-Major on 7 December. Upon passing out from the Ecole he joined the 19th Battalion of Light Infantry as a sub-lieutenant on 18 October 1882. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

and transferred to the 47th Battalion on 31 May 1886. Garnier-Duplessix then joined the 7th Infantry Regiment on 23 February 1891. Garnier-Duplessix was promoted to Captain on 9 April 1892 and transferred to the 154th Infantry Regiment. He joined the 2nd Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs on 11 November 1892 before becoming a staff officer for the military commander of

Gabès Gabès (, ; ar, قابس, ), also spelled Cabès, Cabes, Kabes, Gabbs and Gaps, is the capital city of the Gabès Governorate in Tunisia. It is located on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès. With a population of 152,921, Gabès is the 6th largest ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

on 27 November 1894. Garnier-Duplessix was appointed a chevalier of the

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 ...

on 10 July 1899. He transferred to the staff of the 30th Infantry Division on 7 November 1899 and to the Algerian Division on 23 April 1900. Garnier-Duplessix was promoted to

chef de bataillon Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 2 April 1902 and transferred to the 19th Infantry Regiment. He joined the 1st Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs on 6 May 1903. Garnier-Duplessix was appointed an officer of the Tunisian

Order of Glory Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

on 1 May 1902. Garnier-Duplessix became a staff officer with the

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

military division in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

on 25 January 1905. He was commended by Minister of War

Eugène Étienne Eugène Etienne (15 December 1844 – 13 May 1921) was a French politician who was a Deputy from 1881 to 1919, Minister of War in 1913, and a Senator from 1920 until his death. Life Etienne was born in Oran, French Algeria. He was employed a ...

on 20 June 1906 for writing a study on the practicalities of commanding Algerian Tirrailleurs in the Sahara and held the

Colonial Medal The Colonial Medal (french: "Médaille Coloniale") was a French decoration created by the "loi de finances" of 26 July 1893 (article 75) to reward "military services in the colonies, resulting from participation in military operations, in a colon ...

with clasp for the Sahara. Garnier-Duplessix married Augustine Ernestine Ledran on 27 February 1907 and they resided in Constantine. He became chief-of staff of the Constantine Division on 24 December 1907. Garnier-Duplessix was promoted to

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

on 25 March 1909 and to

of the 5th Indigenous Tirailleurs Regiment on 27 March 1913. He transferred to the staff of General

Hubert Lyautey Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in ...

on 23 September 1913 to take command of units in Eastern Morocco. He later became commander of the Tadla-Zaian region of Morocco, centred on the post at Kasbah Tadla. On 27 July 1914 he was mentioned in dispatches for his command of a column during the capture of the town of

Khénifra Khenifra ( Berber: ''Xnifṛa'', ⵅⵏⵉⴼⵕⴰ, ar, خنيفرة) is a city in northern central Morocco, surrounded by the Atlas Mountains and located on the Oum Er-Rbia River. National Highway 8 also goes through the town. The population, ...

on 12 June.

First World War

Garnier-Duplessix took over command of the 2nd Infantry Division from General Deligny on 8 September 1914. This was whilst the division was engaged in the important

that thwarted the German

Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan (german: Schlieffen-Plan, ) is a name given after the First World War to German war plans, due to the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium, which began on ...

objective of quickly capturing

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Garnier-Duplessix was subsequently posted to the

where he came under the command of General

. In Morocco he was placed in command of a groupe mobile, a mobile combined arms force, based at Sidi Lamine and participated in the

against the Berbers of the

Middle Atlas The Middle Atlas (Amazigh: ⴰⵟⵍⴰⵙ ⴰⵏⴰⵎⵎⴰⵙ, ''Atlas Anammas'', Arabic: الأطلس المتوسط, ''al-Aṭlas al-Mutawassiṭ'') is a mountain range in Morocco. It is part of the Atlas mountain range, a mountainous region ...

. After the French defeat at the

Battle of El Herri The Battle of El Herri (also known as Elhri) was fought between France and the Berber Zaian Confederation on 13 November 1914. It took place at the small settlement of El Herri, near Khénifra in the French protectorate in Morocco. The batt ...

left

threatened with capture, Garnier-Duplessix led his groupe mobile through continuous Berber ambushes to relieve the strategically important town within three days. He was appointed an officer of the Legion of Honour on 3 December 1914. Red Hand Division

Garnier-Duplessix returned to the Western Front in October 1916, to command the 37th Infantry Division in the

. The division participated in the assault of 15 December 1916 when the Germans were pushed back and the French captured 11,000 prisoners (including 300 officers), 115 artillery pieces, hundreds of machine guns and many supply depots. Garnier-Duplessix later led the 37th Division in the

of April 1917 where his troops included the 5th Regiment of the

Russian Expeditionary Force in France The Russian Expeditionary Force EF(french: Corps Expéditionnaire Russe en France, russian: Экспедиционный корпус Русской армии во Франции и Греции) was a World War I military force sent to France a ...

. On 6 October 1917 he was appointed a commander of the Legion of Honour. Garnier-Duplessix became commander of the 9th Army Corps in June 1918 and led the Corps in the decisive victory at the Battle of Amiens in August. IX corps included the famous 157th Infantry Division, known as the "Red Hand Division". This participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of September/October and though it was a unit of the French Army, contained some American units as reinforcements. One such unit was the 372nd Infantry Regiment, a segregated African American regiment, which distinguished itself in the battle. The 372nd advanced through German lines, taking 600 prisoners, 15 heavy guns, 20 trench mortars and 150 machine guns. They also captured important supplies of artillery ammunition and engineering material and downed three enemy aircraft. Garnier-Duplessix wrote them a message of commendation to which the divisional commander, General

Mariano Goybet Mariano Francisco Julio Goybet (17 August 1861 – 29 September 1943) was a French Army general, who held several commands in World War I. Family His family is an old family from Savoy in France. Its members were notaries, merchants, mayors, cap ...

, added: "the ''Red Hand'' sign of the division, has, thanks to you, become a bloody hand which took the Boche by the throat and made him cry for mercy. You have well avenged our glorious dead."

Post-war

Garnier-Duplessix became a grand officer of the Legion of Honour on 22 July 1920. Garnier-Duplessix was posted to Alexandretta in Turkey during the

of 1918–21. He was appointed

adjutant general An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

and was responsible for co-ordinating three divisions of infantry, seven batteries of artillery, a cavalry regiment and two squadrons of aircraft. This force swept from east to west across Turkish

in October 1920, meeting serious resistance at Tarsus, where it destroyed Turkish fortifications to the north of the city. After the signing of the Cilicia Peace Treaty on 9 March 1921 the French Minister of War

Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the introduction (in Jul ...

wrote to Garnier-Duplessix asking him to make arrangements for the evacuation of Cilicia. Garnier-Duplessix replied with a note stating that it was impossible to evacuate the province within the requested timespan of one month due to the difficulty in establishing a sufficient police force in that period to maintain order and prevent reprisals, particularly against Christians. He died on 2 March 1928 at

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garnier-Duplessix, Noel French generals French military personnel of World War I French military personnel of the Franco-Turkish War 1928 deaths 1860 births Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur