Jean-François Klobb
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jean-François Arsène Klobb (1857–1899) was a French colonial officer. He was assassinated by order of Captain Paul Voulet.


Background and early career

Born on June 29, 1857, in
Ribeauvillé Ribeauvillé ( is the French name of Ràppschwihr (), a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. Geography The town is located around north of Colmar a ...
in the department of
Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...
in
Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
, he was sent as an officer to
French Sudan French Sudan (; ') was a French colonial territory in the Federation of French West Africa from around 1880 until 1959, when it joined the Mali Federation, and then in 1960, when it became the independent state of Mali. The colony was formall ...
(today
Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
). He participated to the long war against the local ruler
Samory Touré Samori Ture ( – June 2, 1900), also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Mandinka people, Malinke and a Soninke people, Soninke Muslim cleric, military strategist, and founder of the Wassoulou Empire, an Is ...
, and was in 1892 the
Chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
of
Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
Louis Archinard Louis Archinard (11 February 1850 – 8 May 1932) was a French Army general at the time of the Third Republic, who contributed to the colonial conquest of French West Africa. He was traditionally presented in French histories as the conqueror an ...
, governor of French Sudan. He returned to
French Sudan French Sudan (; ') was a French colonial territory in the Federation of French West Africa from around 1880 until 1959, when it joined the Mali Federation, and then in 1960, when it became the independent state of Mali. The colony was formall ...
with the rank of
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
in July 1895, distinguishing himself against the
Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym, depending on variety: ''Imuhaɣ'', ''Imušaɣ'', ''Imašeɣăn'' or ''Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group, traditionally nomadic pastoralists, who principally inhabit th ...
s, that he defeated in a series of battles fought in 1897–98, that helped to secure French control on
Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ...
, endangered by the massacre near the city of a platoon of
Sipahi The ''sipahi'' ( , ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk Turks and later by the Ottoman Empire. ''Sipahi'' units included the land grant–holding ('' timar'') provincial ''timarli sipahi'', which constituted most of the arm ...
s in June 1897.http://www.cosmovisions.com/ChronoSoudanFrancais.htm


Voulet–Chanoine Mission

Promoted to lieutenant colonel, he was made chief administrator of
Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; ; Koyra Chiini: ; ) is an ancient city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a population of 32,460 in the 2018 census. ...
; he held this position when he met there in 1898 Captain
Paul Voulet Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...
, commander of the
Voulet–Chanoine Mission The Voulet–Chanoine Mission, also called Central African-Chad Mission (), was a French military expedition sent out from Senegal in 1898 to conquer the Chad Basin and unify all French territories in West Africa. This expedition operated jointly ...
marching to
Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...
, whom he provided with 70
Senegalese Tirailleurs The Senegalese Tirailleurs () were a corps of Troupes coloniales, colonial infantry in the French Army. They were initially recruited from Saint-Louis, Senegal, the initial colonial capital city of French West Africa and subsequently throughout W ...
and 20
spahi Spahis () were light cavalry, light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, w ...
cavalry (both colonial troops recruited in West Africa). When in April 1899, he knew of the atrocities committed by the expedition, orders were given to Klobb to assemble a small mission, reach Voulet's column and assume command of the expedition. Klobb followed the trail left by the "
infernal columns The infernal columns () were operations led by the French Revolutionary general Louis Marie Turreau in the War in the Vendée, after the failure of the Royalist Virée de Galerne. Following the passage on 1 August 1793 and 1 October 1793 by ...
'" passage: a trail of burned villages and charred corpses. He passed trees where women had been hanged, and cooking fires where children had been roasted. He also found the corpses of the expedition's guides—those that had displeased Voulet had been strung up alive in a position where the foot went to the hyenas and the rest of the body to the vultures. On July 10, after a pursuit of over 2000 kilometers, Klobb arrived at Damangara, near
Zinder Zinder (locally, ''Damagaram''), formerly also spelled Sinder, is the third largest city in Niger, with a population of 235,605 as by the 2012 census. It is situated east of the capital Niamey and north of the Nigerian city of Kano. History ...
, where the villagers informed him that Voulet and his men were just a few hours' march ahead. He sent an African sergeant with two soldiers to give Voulet a letter in which he informed him that he had been removed from his position and was to return home immediately, to which Voulet replied that he had 600 guns against his fifty, and would use them if Klobb dared to come near.


Death

Klobb did not believe the other officers or the riflemen would dare to kill, or let be killed, a superior officer; he didn't know that Voulet and Chanoine had kept the orders from Paris secret, and that they had made sure that the other officers were not present. Consequently, on July 14 Klobb proceeded with his men to Dankori, where Voulet waited. Klobb, after telling his men not to open fire under any circumstances, in full dress uniform and with his ''
Légion d'honneur 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 ...
'' pinned on his chest, proceeded alone toward Voulet, who kept telling him to go back. To emphasise his warnings Voulet ordered two salvos fired in the air. When Klobb addressed Voulet's men, reminding them of their duties, Voulet threatened them with a pistol and ordered them to open fire. Klobb fell, wounded, still ordering Meynier not to return fire—but his words were truncated by a new salvo that killed Klobb and wounded his second, Octave Meynier, while Klobb's soldiers fled. Klobb is buried in Timbuktu .


References

* Arsène Klobb, ''Dernier carnet de route : au Soudan français ; rapport officiel de M. le gouverneur Bergès sur la fin de la mission Klobb'', E. Flammarion, Paris, 1905. * Arsène Klobb, Octave Meynier (préf. Albert Maitrot de La Motte-Capron, prés. Chantal Ahounou), ''À la recherche de Voulet : sur les traces sanglantes de la Mission Afrique centrale, 1898-1899'', Cosmopole, Paris, 2001, nouv. éd. (1re éd. 1931), 229 p. {{DEFAULTSORT:Klobb, Jean-Francois 19th-century French military personnel People of French West Africa 1857 births 1899 deaths