Pierre-Alexis Ronarc'h () was a French sailor and admiral, born on 22 November 1865 in

Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...

and died 1 April 1940 in

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 ...

. He is notable for commanding the French

Brigade de Fusiliers Marins The Brigade des Fusiliers Marins was a unit of the French Navy which fought alongside the Belgium Army in 1914-1915 and which held their ground as they suffered heavy losses in October 1914 at Diksmuide to halt the advance of the German army a ...

at the

Battle of the Yser The Battle of the Yser (, ) was a battle of the First World War that took place in October 1914 between the towns of Nieuwpoort, Belgium, Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide, along a stretch of the Yser River and the Yperlee Canal, in Belgium. The front ...

in 1914 during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Between 1915 and 1919 he was in command of the naval forces between

Nieuwpoort (Belgium) Nieuwpoort ( , ; ; ) is a city and municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, in the province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Nieuwpoort proper, as well as Ramskapelle and Sint-Joris. On 1 ...

and Antifer (north of Le Havre), called the Zone des Armées du Nord (ZAN). Based in Dunkirk, his mission was to keep German Navy ships and submarines out of the Dover Channel, in close collaboration with the British

Dover Patrol The Dover Patrol and later known as the Dover Patrol Force was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dov ...

.
In May 1919, the ZAN was dissolved and Ronarc'h became

Chief of Staff of the French Navy The Chief of the Naval Staff (, , abbr. CEMM) is a French general officer, adviser to the Chief of the Defence Staff (France), Chief of the Defence Staff for the French Navy and responsible to the Minister of the Armed Forces (France), Minister of ...

, a post he held until 1 February 1920, when he was replaced by Henri Salaun.

References

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ronarc'h, Pierre Alexis 1865 births 1940 deaths People from Quimper French generals French Navy admirals French military personnel of the Sino-French War French military personnel of World War I