Amédée Henri Guillemin (1860–1941) was a French ''Général de Division'' who served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. During the war, he commanded the 121st Infantry Division, the 131st Infantry Division, the 53rd Infantry Division and the 19th Infantry Division.

Biography

Amédée Henri was born on 30 April 1860 at Toulon, Var as the son of Amédée Guillemin who was a science writer. A student of the

École polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

, he then joined the School of Artillery and Engineering. After his graduation on 1 October 1884 he was appointed second lieutenant in the 5th Artillery Regiment. By 12 July 1890 Guillemin was within the 17th Artillery Regiment. In 1903, he was promoted to lieutenant and became a member of the General Staff of the French Army. In 1913, he was promoted to colonel. Upon the

French entry into World War I France entered World War I when Germany declared war on 3 August 1914. World War I largely arose from a conflict between two alliances: the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy) and the Triple Entente (France, Russia, and Britain ...

, he was made deputy chief of staff to the

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. On 11 April 1915 he was placed at the head of an infantry brigade. He was promoted to Brigadier General shortly afterwards, and on 14 June 1915 he took command of an infantry division. On 25 June 1916 he was quoted at the order of the army. On 10 February 1917 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. In earl ...

wanted to put an end to "the acute organizational crisis which was undermining aeronautics" and created an Aeronautics Department and entrusted it to General Guillemin. This is responsible for ensuring the Senior Management of Aeronautical Services for the Interior and the Armed Forces and for ensuring coordination with the Aeronautical Services of the Navy and the allied armies. This mission came to an end fairly quickly as an Under-Secretariat of State for War in charge of military aeronautics was created and General Guillemin left his post on 20 March 1917, at the time of the fall of the cabinet of

Aristide Briand Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...

who was replaced by Alexandre Ribot. On 21 March 1917, the next day, General Guillemin awarded the Commander of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. By April 1917, he was given command of the 131st Infantry Division. After the war concluded, Guillemin was promoted to Divisional General on 26 June 1918.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guillemin, Amédée Henri 1860 births 1941 deaths 19th-century French military personnel Military personnel from Toulon French Army generals of World War I Commanders of the Legion of Honour École Polytechnique alumni French generals