General Noël Marie Amédée Garnier-Duplessix or Duplessis (25 December 1860 – 2 March 1928) was a French army officer. Whilst still a

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 ...

he commanded the 2nd Infantry Division in the Allied victory at the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne or known in France as the Miracle on the Marne () was a battle of the First World War fought from the 5th to the 12th September 1914. The German army invaded France with a plan for winning the war in 40 days by oc ...

before seeing service in the Zaian War in the French protectorate of Morocco. Garnier-Duplessix returned to France in October 1916 and received command of the 37th Infantry Division for the 15 December offensive of the

Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...

and the Nivelle Offensive of April 1917. He received command of the 9th Army Corps in June 1918 and led that unit to victory in the August Battle of Amiens and the autumn Meuse-Argonne Offensive. After the war he was posted to

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

in the

Franco-Turkish War The Franco–Turkish War, known as the Cilicia Campaign () in France and as the Southern Front () of the Turkish War of Independence in Turkey, was a series of conflicts fought between France (the French Colonial Forces and the French Armenian ...

of 1918–21 where he argued against early withdrawal of troops following the March 1921 Cilicia Peace Treaty.

Early life

Garnier-Duplessix was born on 25 December 1860 at

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. His parents were Louis Marie Francois and Marguerite Blanche Lucie Boissonnet Garnier-Duplessix. He joined the French Army as a volunteer (initially for a 5-year period only) on 25 October 1880 at Rennes and entered the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr on 29 October. Garnier-Duplessix was steadily promoted through the cadet ranks, becoming a first class cadet on 13 April 1881, a corporal on 24 August, Quartermaster-Sergeant on 3 November and Sergeant-Major on 7 December. Upon passing out from the Ecole he joined the 19th Battalion of Light Infantry as a sub-lieutenant on 18 October 1882. He was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

and transferred to the 47th Battalion on 31 May 1886. Garnier-Duplessix then joined the 7th Infantry Regiment on 23 February 1891. Garnier-Duplessix was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 9 April 1892 and transferred to the 154th Infantry Regiment. He joined the 2nd Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs on 11 November 1892 before becoming a staff officer for the military commander of

Gabès Gabès (, ; ), also spelled Cabès, Cabes, and Kabes, is the capital of the Gabès Governorate in Tunisia. Situated on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès, the city has a population of 167,863, making it the 6th largest city in Tunisia. Located 327 ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

on 27 November 1894. Garnier-Duplessix was appointed a chevalier 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 ...

on 10 July 1899. He transferred to the staff of the 30th Infantry Division on 7 November 1899 and to the Algerian Division on 23 April 1900. Garnier-Duplessix was promoted to chef de bataillon on 2 April 1902 and transferred to the 19th Infantry Regiment. He joined the 1st Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs on 6 May 1903. Garnier-Duplessix was appointed an officer of the Tunisian

Order of Glory The Order of Glory () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union established by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on November 8, 1943. It was awarded to soldiers and non-commissioned officers of the Red Army as well as to aviation ...

on 1 May 1902. Garnier-Duplessix became a staff officer with the Constantine military division in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

on 25 January 1905. He was commended by Minister of War Eugène Étienne on 20 June 1906 for writing a study on the practicalities of commanding Algerian Tirrailleurs in the Sahara and held the

Colonial Medal The Colonial Medal () was a French decoration created by the "loi de finances" of 26 July 1893 (article 75) to reward "military services in the colonies, resulting from participation in military operations, in a colony or a protectorate". A decr ...

with clasp for the Sahara. Garnier-Duplessix married Augustine Ernestine Ledran on 27 February 1907 and they resided in Constantine. He became chief-of staff of the Constantine Division on 24 December 1907. Garnier-Duplessix was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 25 March 1909 and to

of the 5th Indigenous Tirailleurs Regiment on 27 March 1913. He transferred to the staff of General

Hubert Lyautey Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. In earl ...

on 23 September 1913 to take command of units in Eastern Morocco. He later became commander of the Tadla-Zaian region of Morocco, centred on the post at Kasbah Tadla. On 27 July 1914 he was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

for his command of a column during the capture of the town of Khénifra on 12 June.

First World War

Garnier-Duplessix took over command of the 2nd Infantry Division from General Deligny on 8 September 1914. This was whilst the division was engaged in the important

that thwarted the German

Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan (, ) is a name given after the First World War to German war plans, due to the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium, which began on 4 August 1914. Schlieffe ...

objective of quickly capturing

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Garnier-Duplessix was subsequently posted to the French protectorate of Morocco where he came under the command of General

. In Morocco he was placed in command of a groupe mobile, a mobile combined arms force, based at Sidi Lamine and participated in the Zaian War against the Berbers of the Middle Atlas. After the French defeat at the Battle of El Herri left Khénifra threatened with capture, Garnier-Duplessix led his groupe mobile through continuous Berber ambushes to relieve the strategically important town within three days. He was appointed an officer of the Legion of Honour on 3 December 1914. Red Hand Division

Garnier-Duplessix returned to the Western Front in October 1916, to command the 37th Infantry Division in the

. The division participated in the assault of 15 December 1916 when the Germans were pushed back and the French captured 11,000 prisoners (including 300 officers), 115 artillery pieces, hundreds of machine guns and many supply depots. Garnier-Duplessix later led the 37th Division in the Nivelle Offensive of April 1917 where his troops included the 5th Regiment of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France. On 6 October 1917 he was appointed a commander of the Legion of Honour. Garnier-Duplessix became commander of the 9th Army Corps in June 1918 and led the Corps in the decisive victory at the Battle of Amiens in August. IX corps included the famous 157th Infantry Division, known as the "Red Hand Division". This participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of September/October and though it was a unit of the French Army, contained some American units as reinforcements. One such unit was the 372nd Infantry Regiment, a segregated African American regiment, which distinguished itself in the battle. The 372nd advanced through German lines, taking 600 prisoners, 15 heavy guns, 20 trench mortars and 150 machine guns. They also captured important supplies of artillery ammunition and engineering material and downed three enemy aircraft. Garnier-Duplessix wrote them a message of commendation to which the divisional commander, General Mariano Goybet, added: "the ''Red Hand'' sign of the division, has, thanks to you, become a bloody hand which took the Boche by the throat and made him cry for mercy. You have well avenged our glorious dead."

Post-war

Garnier-Duplessix became a grand officer of the Legion of Honour on 22 July 1920. Garnier-Duplessix was posted to Alexandretta in Turkey during the

of 1918–21. He was appointed adjutant general and was responsible for co-ordinating three divisions of infantry, seven batteries of artillery, a cavalry regiment and two squadrons of aircraft. This force swept from east to west across Turkish

in October 1920, meeting serious resistance at Tarsus, where it destroyed Turkish fortifications to the north of the city. After the signing of the Cilicia Peace Treaty on 9 March 1921 the French Minister of War

Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the French Third Republic, Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the ...

wrote to Garnier-Duplessix asking him to make arrangements for the evacuation of Cilicia. Garnier-Duplessix replied with a note stating that it was impossible to evacuate the province within the requested timespan of one month due to the difficulty in establishing a sufficient police force in that period to maintain order and prevent reprisals, particularly against Christians. He died on 2 March 1928 at

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionFrench generals French Army generals of World War I French military personnel of the Franco-Turkish War 1928 deaths 1860 births Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Military personnel from Rennes 19th-century French military personnel