Édouard Réquin

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Edouard-Jean Réquin (born July 13, 1879 in Rouen , Département Seine-Maritime ; † January 2, 1953 ) was a French Général d'armée who was, among other things, commander-in-chief of the 4th Army during the Second World War .

Life

Réquin completed an officer training at the military school Saint-Cyr and was then an officer in various units of the army (Armée de terre) . He was between September 16, 1927 and December 20, 1930 at special disposal and was promoted to the Général de brigade on December 8, 1928 during this time . He was then head of the military cabinet in the War Ministry from December 20, 1930 to October 14, 1932, making him one of the closest collaborators to the then War Ministers Louis Barthou , André Maginot , André Tardieu , François Piétri and Joseph Paul-Boncour . During this time, on March 18, 1932, he was promoted to Général de division .

Réquin acted as commander of the 11th division between October 14, 1932 and April 6, 1935. After his promotion to the Général de corps d'armée on April 6, 1935, he was commander of the 18th military region and held this position until August 1, 1936. From August 1, 1936 to September 4, 1938, he was in command of the 20th Military region and was promoted to Général d'armée on September 4, 1938 . He was then between September 4, 1938 and September 2, 1939 a member of the Supreme War Council and in personal union at the same time commander of the College of Studies in National Defense (Collège des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale) .

After the beginning of the Second World War , Touchon became commander-in-chief of the 4th Army on September 2, 1939, which was set up to defend the Maginot Line in the Saar and Lorraine region . It was part of the 2nd Army Group under General André-Gaston Prételat and at the beginning of the German campaign in the west had two army corps and two independent divisions, one of which was Polish. In the course of the Saar Offensive , a small offensive at the beginning of the Seated War , troops of the 2nd Army Group advanced a few kilometers into German territory in September 1939. After the defeat of France in June 1940 , it was dissolved and Réquin was then inspector of the 17th and 18th military regions on July 6, 1940. In this post he remained until November 10, 1940 and then acted from November 10, 1940 until his retirement on July 13, 1941 as commanding general of the 2nd division group.

Réquin, who was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor (Grand-croix de la Légion d'Honneur) , became president of the Society of Members of the Legion of Honor SMLH (Société des membres de la Légion d'honneur) in 1945 and held this position up to his replacement by General Henri-Emile-Louis Rouvillois in 1952.

Publications

  • La Course de l'Amérique à la Victoire , 1919
  • Projet de Traité d'Assistance Mutuelle , 1924
  • Combats pour l'Honneur , 1946
  • Archinard et le Soudan , 1946
  • D'une guerre à l'autre 1919–1939 , 1949

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Charles D. Pettibone: The Organization and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II: VOLUME VI ITALY and FRANCE Including the Neutral Countries of San Marino, Vatican , Verlag Trafford Publishing, 2010, p. 366, ISBN 978-1-426 -94633-2
personal data
SURNAME Réquin, Édouard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Réquin, Edouard-Jean (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French general
DATE OF BIRTH July 13, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Rouen , Seine-Maritime department
DATE OF DEATH 2nd January 1953