Paul Henri Romuald Ély (17 December 189716 January 1975) was a French
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 ...
and former
Chief of the Defence Staff.
Early life and education
He was the son of Henri Ely, a civil servant and Therese (née Coste). He attended the Lycée de Best.
Army career
Ely attended the
Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr and was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1919. He was promoted to captain in 1930 and then
commandant
Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...
in 1938. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the
Free French forces
__NOTOC__
The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...
in 1942 and full colonel in 1944. In 1946 he was promoted to general.
Indochina
Ely was appointed as the first Chief of the Defence Staff and served in this role from August 1953 to June 1954.
From 20 to 26 March 1954, Ely visited
Washington D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
for previously scheduled high-level talks that coincided with the increasingly dire straits for the French forces in the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu.
In the course of Ely’s visit, discussions regarding potential direct US air support for the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu took place and these became known as
Operation Vulture. Vulture apparently originated as a carrier-based
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
mission but evolved into a plan for a single strike by the entire
B–29 fleet of
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
(USAF)
Far East Air Force Bomber Command, with 98 B–29s flying from
Clark Air Base to make a raid against Viet Minh targets around Dien Bien Phu. Navy fighters from two carriers already positioned near the
Gulf of Tonkin would have provided escort and cover. The USAF prepared for the Operation Vulture contingency. Ely apparently left Washington under the impression that the French could request that the Americans make such a strike.
[
On 4 April Ely cabled Gen. Jean Étienne Valluy, head of the French military mission in Washington, to communicate to Admiral Radford the French government’s request that the United States execute the air strike that Admiral Arthur W. Radford and Ely had discussed to relieve Viet Minh pressure on Dien Bien Phu. French foreign minister Georges Bidault delivered the same message to ]Douglas Dillon
Clarence Douglas Dillon (born Clarence Douglass Dillon; August 21, 1909January 10, 2003) was an American diplomat and politician, who served as U.S. Ambassador to France (1953–1957) and as the 57th Secretary of the Treasury (1961–1965). He w ...
, the US ambassador to France. The US Government advised the French on 6 April that US involvement would only be contemplated with the direct participation of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.[
Ely was appointed as commander in chief in Indochina on 2 June 1954 to replace General ]Henri Navarre
Henri Eugène Navarre (31 July 189826 September 1983) was a French Army general. He fought during World War I, World War II and was the seventh and final commander of French Far East Expeditionary Corps during the First Indochina War. Navarre w ...
, he departed for Saigon on 6 June 1954 after telling a friend that "this is the worst mishap of my career."[
On 28 June after discussions in Paris with new Prime Minister ]Pierre Mendès-France
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
, General Ely ordered evacuation of French forces from positions in the southern part of the Red River Delta
The Red River Delta or Hong River Delta ( vi, Châu thổ sông Hồng) is the flat low-lying plain formed by the Red River and its distributaries merging with the Thái Bình River in northern Vietnam. ''Hồng'' (紅) is a Sino-Vietnamese word ...
, leaving the French with only a narrow corridor between Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
and Haiphong
Haiphong ( vi, Hải Phòng, ), or Hải Phòng, is a major industrial city and the third-largest in Vietnam. Hai Phong is also the center of technology, economy, culture, medicine, education, science and trade in the Red River delta.
Haiphong wa ...
.[
On 13 December Ely and US Ambassador J. Lawton Collins reached an "understanding on development and training of autonomous Viet-Nam forces." Under the agreement, ]Military Assistance Advisory Group
Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) is a designation for United States military advisors sent to other countries to assist in the training of conventional armed forces and facilitate military aid. Although numerous MAAGs operated around ...
would assume full responsibility for organizing and training the South Vietnamese military while still recognizing the overall French military authority. The French were to grant "full autonomy" to the South Vietnamese armed forces by 1 July 1955. The Americans and French did not consult with the Vietnamese while setting up the agreement.[
In a meeting in Paris on 18 December 1954 with Prime Minister Mendès-France and Anthony Eden, the British foreign secretary, Ely expressed his views of South Vietnamese premier ]Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam (Republic o ...
as an "extremely pig-headed man who became more so under pressure" and that he and Collins "were now virtually convinced that it was hopeless to expect anything of Diem."[
Ely left South Vietnam at the end of May 1955.][
]
Post Indochina
Ely was reappointed as Chief of Staff in March 1956. Ely was sympathetic to the putschists during the May 1958 crisis in France
The May 1958 crisis, also known as the Algiers putsch or the coup of 13 May, was a political crisis in France during the turmoil of the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962) which led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic and its replacem ...
and on 16 May 1958 submitted his resignation which was accepted the next day.[
Ely retired from the Army in 1961.
]
Later life
Ely died on 16 January 1975.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ely, Paul
1897 births
1975 deaths
French generals
Free French military personnel of World War II
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite