Augustin Dubail

Augustin Dubail, 1921

Augustin Yvon Edmond Dubail (born April 15, 1851 in Belfort , † January 7, 1934 in Paris ) was a French officer, most recently Général d'armée , and Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor from 1918 until his death.

Life

Admitted to the Saint-Cyr military school in 1868 , Dubail took part in the Franco-Prussian War as a young officer . In 1878 he graduated from the École de Guerre as Capitaine and was from 1883 to 1887 aide-de-camp under several war ministers. He then became a teacher at the Saint-Cyr Military School.

From 1901 to 1904 Dubail commanded the 1st Zouave Regiment and was then head of cabinet under War Minister Maurice Berteaux . In 1906 he was appointed General de brigade in command of the Saint-Cyr Military School. After his promotion to Général de division , he received a divisional command before he was appointed Chief of the Army General Staff in 1911. In this capacity he took part in talks about British war participation with War Minister Adolphe Messimy and Henry Hughes Wilson during the Second Moroccan Crisis and undertook a mission to Russia, during which he received the promise of an early invasion of East Prussia. At the end of July 1911, he was replaced by Joseph Joffre .

In early 1912 Dubail was given command of an army corps and in April 1913 became a member of the Supreme War Council. When the First World War broke out , Dubail received command of the 1st Army deployed on the right French wing , with which he undertook an advance on Sarrebourg , but soon had to withdraw again (see Battle of Lorraine ). In January 1915, Dubail received command of the Groupe provisoire du l'Est , later renamed the Groupe d'Armées de l'Est . This army group held the front between the Swiss border up to and including Verdun . Although he had informed Joffre of the possibility of a German attack on Verdun in late 1915, he was held responsible after the success of the German attack on Verdun in early 1916 and was dismissed from his post in March.

Dubail was then until the spring of 1918 in command of the Camp retranché de Paris . In June 1918 he was appointed Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor, which he remained until his death at the age of 82. His grave is on the Cimetière Montparnasse .

literature

• Spencer Tucker, Priscilla Mary Roberts (Eds.): World War I: A Student Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, 2006, ISBN 1-85109-879-8 , p. 598 ff.

Web links

Commons : Augustin Dubail  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Augustin Dubail in the SUDOC catalog (Association of French University Libraries)
• Short biography on firstworldwar.com