Charles Noguès (; 13 August 1876 – 20 April 1971) was a French general. He graduated from 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 ...

, and he was awarded the Grand Croix of the

Legion of Honour 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 society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1939. He served in field artillery units during World War I. He became commander of

19th Army Corps (France) The 19th Army Corps (:fr:19e corps d'armée (France), 19e Corps d'Armée) was a corps of the French army. In December 1870, the Government of National Defense, Tours delegation created the 19th Army Corps which was formed in Alençon. It was recre ...

in French Algeria in 1933. He was appointed Resident General in Morocco by the Léon Blum administration in 1936 where he spearheaded violent campaigns by the colonial administration to quell the labor movement. He was considered a rightist. Upon the outbreak of World War II, he was named Commander in Chief of all French Forces in North Africa and announced strict measures against German sympathizers. After the fall of France and the installation of the Vichy puppet regime, Noguès aided the Germans, pursued members of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

and enforced Vichy laws that targeted Jews. When the Allies invaded North Africa, Noguès initially ordered his troops to resist, but when the Allies gained an upper hand, he ordered them to cease fighting. After the war, Noguès was tried and sentenced for treason.

Early life

Noguès was raised in the Pyrenees. He graduated from Ecole Polytechnique.

Military career

He served in field artillery units during World War I. On 20 March 1933, he became commander of the

, the French Army's forces in

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

World War II

During

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 served as Resident-General in Morocco and Commander-in-Chief in French North Africa. Noguès was appalled by news that the French government was seeking an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

with Germany. On 17 June 1940, he telegraphed to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, where the government sat: "The whole of North Africa is appalled. The troops beg to continue the struggle if the government has no objection. I am ready to take responsibility for this attitude with all the risks that it entails," i.e. asking for a hint to carry on fighting. However, he did not approve of General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

's call from London on 18 June to carry on fighting, telling the British liaison officer that he thought de Gaulle's attitude "unseemly" and forbidding the North African press from publishing de Gaulle's appeal.Lacouture 1991, pp. 229–230 Noguès accepted the armistice on 22 June, partly because he claimed that Admiral François Darlan would not let him have the French fleet to continue hostilities against the Axis powers. He eventually agreed under pressure from

Maxime Weygand Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II, as well as a high ranking member of the Vichy France, Vichy regime. Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educate ...

's emissary General Louis Koeltz, telegraphing Weygand: "it covers me with shame". The Allies and the French resistance had hopes that Noguès would lead the North African resistance movement against the Vichy regime. In 1940, Noguès implemented antisemitic decrees coming from German-controlled

Vichy government Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

that excluded Jews from public functions. Sultan Mohammed V refused "Vichy’s plan to ghettoize and deport Morocco’s quarter of a million Jews to the killing factories of Europe", but the French government under Noguès managed to impose some antisemitic laws against the sultan's will. Leon Sultan, of the Moroccan Communist Party, for example, was disbarred. Noguès was critical of movements in Morocco for reforms in colonial administration. He was of the belief that Moroccan reformers pursued independence and would not be satisfied with liberal reforms in France's colonial administration. When the Allies landed in North Africa on 8 November 1942, he ordered the troops under his command to resist, until the conclusion three days later of the ceasefire, ordered by Darlan. In June 1943, he resigned from his position as Resident General of France in Morocco. Replaced by Gabriel Puaux, he retired to Portugal. In 1947, he was sentenced in absentia to 20 years of forced labour. He returned to France in June 1954 and became a prisoner there but was immediately released.

Personal life

He was married to the daughter of Théophile Delcassé.

References

Book

* Lacouture, Jean. ''De Gaulle: The Rebel 1890–1944'' (1984; English ed. 1991),

External links

* 1876 births 1971 deaths People from Hautes-Pyrénées École Polytechnique alumni French Army generals of World War II French military personnel of World War I French military personnel of the Rif War French expatriates in Portugal Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour People convicted of indignité nationale {{France-mil-bio-stub