Maurice César Joseph Pellé (18 April 1863 – 16 March 1924) was a French

général de division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

, leader of the French Military Mission to Czechoslovakia and first

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 Czechoslovak Army from February 1919 to January 1921.

Early life and education

He was born on 18 April 1863 to Charles Henri Joseph Pellé, French artillery officer and later general, and his wife Céline Virginie Aimée Augustine Pellé (née Bruneau). He studied at Douai lycée, from October 1882 to July 1884 at

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 to July 1885 at École d'application de l'artillerie. In 1888–1889 he studied at École d'application de Cavallerie.

Military career

In September 1885 he was assigned to 12th Artillery Regiment as a platoon commander. In December 1888 he became an instructor at École d'application de l'artillerie. In November 1891 he was appointed to 11th Artillery Regiment as a first officer and in April 1892 to 16th Artillery Regiment as a deputy commander. Between 1900 and 1903, he was chief of staff of Colonel Joffre in Madagascar. As a Colonel, Pellé was the French military attaché in Berlin, in the service of Ambassador Jules Cambon between 1909 and 1912. In this period he met many German personalities and became an expert on the German Empire. In 1913, he was transferred to Morocco, as chief of staff to General Hubert Lyautey. At the outbreak of World War I, he commanded the 2nd Moroccan Brigade, but was right away called by Joffre to serve in the Bureau for External Theatres of War of the Grand Quartier Général. In December 1916 he was placed at the head of the 153rd Infantry Division with which he distinguished himself at the

Second Battle of the Aisne The Second Battle of the Aisne ( or , 16 April – mid-May 1917) was the main part of the Nivelle Offensive, a French Third Republic, Franco-British attempt to inflict a decisive defeat on the German Empire, German armies in France. The Entente ...

. Promoted to ''Général de division'' on 2 May 1917, he took command of the 5th Army Corps (France) until January 1919. With this corps he participated in the

German spring offensive The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...

and Hundred Days Offensive (Noyon, Marne and Argonne).

Czechoslovakia and Constantinople

After the war he was leader of the French Military Mission to Czechoslovakia and one of the fathers and first

of the new Czechoslovak Army. In 1921, he became the French High Commissioner for the Orient and Ambassador in Constantinople. He signed the Armistice of Mudanya for France and was the leader of the French delegation at the Conference of Lausanne, which led to the Treaty of Lausanne signed on 24 July 1923, which defined the borders of the modern Turkish Republic. He died the next year, only 60 years old. He is buried in the Batignolles Cemetery in Paris.

Decorations

Awarded by Belgium: : BEL - Order of Leopold - Grand Officer bar

Order of Leopold (Grand Officer) : BEL Kroonorde Grootofficier BAR

Order of the Crown (Grand Officer) : BEL Croix de Guerre WW1 ribbon

Croix de guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

Awarded by Czechoslovakia: :

Order of the White Lion (Grand Cross) : Czechoslovak War Cross 1918 Ribbon

War Cross 1918 Awarded by France: : Legion Honneur GC ribbon

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 ...

(Grand Cross) : Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 ribbon

Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (thrice) : Palmes academiques Officier ribbon

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

(Officer) Awarded by Italy: : Grande ufficiale SSML Regno BAR

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

(Grand Officer) Awarded by Japan: : JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 2Class BAR

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

(2nd Class) Awarded by Marocco: : Order of Ouissam Alaouite (2nd Class) Awarded by Persia: : Order of the Lion and the Sun (1st Class) Awarded by Romania: : Order of the Star of Romania - Ribbon bar

Order of the Star of Romania - Ribbon bar

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

(Grand Cross) Awarded by Russia: : Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anna (1st Class) Awarded by Serbia: : SRB Orden Belog Orla BAR

Order of the White Eagle (2nd Class) Awarded by Spain: : Order of Military Merit (2nd Class) Awarded by Tunisia: : Order of Glory (5th Class) Awarded by United Kingdom: :

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(Knight Commander)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pelle, Maurice French generals 1863 births 1924 deaths People from Douai Collège Stanislas de Paris alumni École Polytechnique alumni French Army generals of World War I Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Grand Officers of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Chiefs of the General Staff (Czechoslovakia) Recipients of the Order of the White Lion French military attachés Burials at Batignolles Cemetery Expatriates in Czechoslovakia 19th-century French military personnel