Victor (Louis Lucien), baron d'Urbal (15 November 1858, in

Sarreguemines Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Saargemìnn'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. It is the seat of an arrondissement and a canton. As o ...

– 29 January 1943, in Paris) was a French officer 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 ...

Life

He entered the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (, , abbr. ESM) is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre'', litera ...

on 15 November 1876 and left it in 1878, moving to the École d’application de cavalerie at

Saumur Saumur () is a Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgu ...

. He saw action in Algeria from 17 January 1889 to 31 December 1890. In 1906 he was put in command of a cavalry regiment and on 24 June 1911 of 4th Dragoon Brigade, with whom he set off at the start of the First World War in August 1914. He was next put in command of 7th Cavalry Division on 25 August that year but was quickly promoted to head 33rd Army Corps on 20 September. A month later, on 20 October, he was put in command of all French troops in Belgium, then on 16 November of 8th Army. He commanded 8th Army until 2 April 1915, when he was transferred to command 10th Army, which he led during the

Battle of La Bassée The Battle of La Bassée was fought by German and Franco-British forces in northern France in October 1914, during reciprocal attempts by the contending armies to envelop the northern flank of their opponent, which has been called the Race to th ...

from 10 October – 2 November 1914, the

Second Battle of Artois The Second Battle of Artois (, ) from 9 May to 18 June 1915, took place on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the First World War. A German-held Salient (military), salient from Reims to Amiens had been formed in 1914 which me ...

( May–July 1915) and the Third Battle of Artois from September–October 1915. He was retired from active service on 4 April 1916 and made inspector-general of the cavalry in the army zones on 8 April the same year. He was made inspector-general of the cavalry depots in the army zones and the interior on 28 February, a post he held until 1 June 1919, when he was fully retired, shifting to the reserves on 15 November 1920. He is buried at the

Hôtel des Invalides The Hôtel des Invalides (; ), commonly called (; ), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an old soldi ...

Ranks

* Sous-lieutenant (15 October 1879) * Lieutenant (11 June 1882) * Capitaine (10 December 1887) * Chef d’escadrons (25 May 1897) * Lieutenant colonel (12 July 1908) * Colonel (22 December 1906) * Général de brigade (20 June 1911) * Général de division (30 August 1914)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urbal, Victor d 1858 births 1943 deaths People from Sarreguemines French generals École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni 19th-century French military personnel Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour French Army generals of World War I