Mardochée Valabrègue ( – ) was a French soldier and the successor of

Général is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level office ...

Alexandre Percin as Chief of Staff for

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in ...

Louis André.

Biography

Valabrègue was born in 1852 in

Carpentras Carpentras (, formerly ; Provençal Occitan: ''Carpentràs'' in classical norm or ''Carpentras'' in Mistralian norm; la, Carpentoracte) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. ...

to Isaac Valabrègue and Debora Elodie Mendez. He was admitted to the

École polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern Franc ...

in 1871, training for the artillery. In 1878, he served with the 23rd Artillery Region and became in charge of the manufacture of munitions in

Tulle Tulle (; ) is a commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the department of Corrèze, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Tulle is also the episcopal see of the Roman Cat ...

. He became Captain in 1878 and Officer of Ordnance for

Georges Boulanger Georges Ernest Jean-Marie Boulanger (29 April 1837 – 30 September 1891), nicknamed Général Revanche ("General Revenge"), was a French general and politician. An enormously popular public figure during the second decade of the Third Repub ...

in 1886. A brilliant officer of the general staff, he was noted in 1895 as being "of exceptional intelligence, perfect conduct in service, well-honed knowledge both military and general, great aptitude for service in the general staff... such as these are in the resume of the qualities of alabrègue" Later, when he was publicly

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, Pierre Rocolle wrote that "there is nothing which proves the claim of the anti-Semites that there was a correlation between the

Dreyfuss affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

and the flattering promotions which... they received." Promoted to squadron leader in 1889, he became

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge ...

in 1902, when he was commander of the École d'application de l'artillerie et du génie. In 1903 he became chief of staff for the 11th Artillery Regiment, where he was appreciated enough to be named chief of staff for General André in 1904, then Maurice Berteaux in 1905.Annuaire de l'Armée française pour l'année 1905 at Gallica He was named

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

in 1905, commander of the

École de Guerre École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Sa ...

in 1907, Divisional General in 1908, commander of the 12th Infantry Division and of the garrison at

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded ...

from October 10, 1908, to March 14, 1911, commander of the 3rd Army Corps in 1911, and finally member of the Conseil Supérieur de la Guerre in 1914, when Joffre was Chief of Staff. At the onset of the

First World War 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 fig ...

, he commanded a group of reserve divisions in the Fifth Army of General

Charles Lanrezac Charles Lanrezac (31 July 1852 – 18 January 1925) was a French general, formerly a distinguished staff college lecturer, who commanded the French Fifth Army at the outbreak of the First World War. His army, originally intended to strike the Ge ...

. Valabrègue's divisions were dissolved on September 30, 1914, when Lanrezac was sacked by Joffre. He then became inspector for camps and infantry depots until 1917, when he retired into the reserves. He died on March 26, 1934, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

Sources

*Bruno Besnier, ''L'affaire des fiches : un système d'État (1900-1914)'', La Roche-sur-Yon : Master I d'histoire, 2005. *Serge Doessant, ''Le général André, de l'affaire Dreyfus à l'affaire des fiches'', Editions Glyphe, Paris, 2009, 416 p.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valabregue, Mardochee 1852 births 1934 deaths École Polytechnique alumni French generals 19th-century French Jews Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour People from Carpentras Recipients of the Order of the Dragon of Annam Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun