Pierre Xavier Emmanuel Ruffey (19 March 1851 – 14 December 1928) was a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who commanded the Third Army during the opening of

World War I 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 ...

Biography

He was educated at Saint-Cyr, from which he graduated in 1873. Upon graduation, he was posted to

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. Following that he was a professor at the Ecole de Guerre. He was promoted to colonel in 1901, rising to divisional commander four years later and appointed to the French Supreme War Council in 1913. Ruffey was an apostle of aircraft and heavy artillery. Ruffey, like Lanrezac (and Gallieni before

) warned of the danger of a German thrust westward through Belgium. French Commander-in-Chief

Joseph Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre , (; 12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 19 ...

, who planned to attack into the Ardennes, bluntly told him “you are wrong”. Ruffey was given command of the Third Army at the outbreak of war and charged with attacking along the line from Montmedy to

Rocroi Rocroi () is a Communes of France, commune in the Ardennes (département), Ardennes Departments of France, department in northern France. The central area is a notable surviving example of a bastion fort. Population History Rocroi was forti ...

. Third Army consisted of IV, V and VI Corps, the 7th Cavalry Division and a group of three reserve divisions. His army came under heavy German pressure from mid-August, suffering a defeat at the Battle of the Ardennes, a part of the

Battle of the Frontiers The Battle of the Frontiers (; ; ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of French Third Republic, France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategy, milita ...

. On 23 August Ruffey warned his corps commanders not again to send infantry on bayonet charges without fire support from artillery or even small arms. Ruffey’s chief of operations, Colonel Tanant, said he was clever and full of a thousand ideas, one of which was magnificent, but the question was which one. His army was forced to retreat to

Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...

after heavy fighting; Joffre found Ruffey “very nervous” and “bitter” about the performance of his subordinates, and so dismissed him from command and replaced him by Maurice Sarrail. Ruffey blamed his defeat on the holding back of two reserve divisions to the Army of Lorraine (40,000 men). He later told Joffre that if he had these two divisions and the 7th Cavalry Division, he could have rolled up the enemy’s left – Joffre replied ''“chut, il ne faut pas le dire”'' ("one musn't say that") – it is unclear whether or not Joffre agreed with Ruffey.Tuchman 1962, p376 Ruffey held no other active commands during the war; he died in 1928.

Biography

References

Further reading