Georges Albert Julien Catroux (29 January 1877 – 21 December 1969) was a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

general and diplomat who served in both

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and served as Grand Chancellor of the Légion d'honneur from 1954 to 1969.

Life

Catroux was born in

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; oc, Nauta Vinhana, ; English: Upper Vienne) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve departments that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitai ...

. He was the son of a career officer who had risen through the ranks. He was educated at the

Prytanée National Militaire The Prytanée national militaire is a French military school managed by the French military, offering regular secondary education as well as special preparatory classes, equivalent in level to the first years of university, for students who wish ...

, and entered the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") 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 ...

in 1896.Times obituary In the early years of his distinguished military career, Catroux moved from Algeria (where he met

Charles de Foucauld Charles Eugène de Foucauld de Pontbriand, Viscount of Foucauld (15 September 1858 – 1 December 1916) was a French soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnographer, Catholic priest and hermit who lived among the Tuareg people in the Sahara in Al ...

and then Lyautey) to Indochina. In 1915, while commanding a battalion, he was taken prisoner by the Germans. During his time in captivity, Catroux met

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

, who was then a captain. After World War I, he became a member of the French military mission to Arabia, and then served in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

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

and the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

. In July 1939, Catroux was appointed

Governor General of French Indochina European (as well as Japanese and Chinese) colonial administrators had historically been responsible for the territory of French Indochina, an area equivalent to modern-day Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and the Chinese city of Zhanjiang. List o ...

, and in August 1939, one month before the declaration of war, took over from a senior civil servant,

Jules Brévié Joseph-Jules Brévié (12 March 1880 – 28 July 1964) was a French colonial administrator who became governor-general of French West Africa from 1930 to 1936, and then governor-general of French Indochina from 1937 to 1939. He promoted liberal an ...

. Paris wanted to send a strong signal to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

on the eve of hostilities. However, after the first

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese ultimatum of 17 June 1940, and following disagreements with the new

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...

government, Catroux was ordered to hand over his post to Admiral

Jean Decoux Jean Decoux (5 May 1884 – 21 October 1963) was a French Navy admiral who was the Governor-General of French Indochina from July 1940 to 9 March 1945, representing the Vichy French government. Early life and naval career Decoux was born in Bordea ...

on 25 June. He initially ignored the order, and only resigned on 20 July. He then chose to join de Gaulle, who was by now leader of the

Free France Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

movement. As a five-star general, Catroux was the most senior officer of the French Army to transfer allegiance. AWM 009747

De Gaulle appointed him General Delegate of Free France in the Levant on 24 June 1941. He took control of Syria for the Free French after the defeat of Vichy General Henri Dentz and the

Armistice of Saint Jean d'Acre The Armistice of Saint Jean d'Acre (also known as the Convention of Acre) concluded the Syria-Lebanon Campaign of World War II. The Armistice, signed on 14 July 1941, was between Allied forces in the Middle East under the command of British Ge ...

. Shortly after taking up the post, Catroux, in the name of the Free French movement, recognised the independence of Syria. De Gaulle subsequently appointed him Governor General of

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

in 1943-44. Officially honored as a French liberation fighter, Catroux was Minister for North Africa in the first government of

from 9 September 1944 to 21 October 1945, and became ambassador to the USSR in 1945-48. After the unrest in Morocco, Catroux negotiated the return of the sultan Mohammed V in 1955. As Resident Minister in Algeria for the government of

Guy Mollet Guy Alcide Mollet (; 31 December 1905 – 3 October 1975) was a French politician. He led the socialist French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) from 1946 to 1969 and was the French Prime Minister from 1956 to 1957. As Prime Minister ...

in 1956, he was unable to take up his post because of demonstrations in Algiers by French residents on 6 February. Catroux presided over a board of inquiry, the Catroux Commission, that investigated the French defeat at the

Battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...

. He was also the judge in the military tribunal which tried the generals involved in the

Algiers putsch of 1961 The Algiers putsch (french: Putsch d'Alger or ), also known as the Generals' putsch (''Putsch des généraux''), was a failed coup d'état intended to force French President Charles de Gaulle not to abandon French Algeria, along with the reside ...

. He died in Paris in 1969.

References

External links

*
Georges Catroux
, biography on the website of the ''

Ordre de la Libération The Order of Liberation (french: Ordre de la Libération) is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a very high honour, second only after the ''Légion d’Honneur'' (Legion of Honour ...

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Catroux, Georges 1877 births 1969 deaths People from Limoges École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni French generals French military personnel of World War I French prisoners of war in World War I World War I prisoners of war held by Germany French military personnel of World War II Governors-General of French Indochina High Commissioners of the Levant Ambassadors of France to the Soviet Union 20th-century French diplomats Grand Chanceliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Aeronautical Medal Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Governors general of Algeria