André Georges Corap (; 15 January 1878 – 15 August 1953) was a General in the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

who fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He commanded the 9th Army during the battle of France in 1940.

Early life

Corap was born in Pont Audemer, Normandy. His father was a tailor.

Military career

In 1898 he graduated from

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (, , abbr. ESM) 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 ''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre'', litera ...

and joined the French Army. He commanded colonial troops in Algeria and Morocco. In 1905, he was admitted to the Collège interarmées de défense.

First World War

In 1914, he was a captain in the Zouaves. He spent most of the war working as a staff officer for Generals Foch and Petain.

Interwar

He fought in the

Rif War The Rif War (, , ) was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several ...

, capturing the leader of the insurgents, Abd el-Krim. Corap was promoted to Brigadier General in 1929 and Major General in 1933. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in 1935 and given command of 2nd Military Division in 1937.

World War II

In 1939, at the outbreak of war, he was given command of the 9th Army. The 9th Army was placed to cover the Ardennes during the German Blitzkrieg in 1940. Corap was held responsible for the German breakthrough by the French high command and relieved from his post on 19 May 1940. He was retired into the reserves on 1 July 1940.

Sources

who's who in 20th century warfare

page from the unofficial website of Ecole supérieure de guerre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corap, Andre 1878 births 1953 deaths French generals French military personnel of World War I French Army generals of World War II École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni 19th-century French military personnel