Fernand Louis Langle de Cary

Fernand de Langle de Cary

Langle de Cary between Marshal Joffre (left) and General Guillaumat (right)

Fernand Louis Armand Langle de Cary (born July 4, 1849 in Lorient , † February 19, 1927 in Pont-Scorff ) was a French general de division of the First World War , he led the 4th Army in Champagne .

Life

Langle de Cary finished the war school of St. Cyr in 1869 as a cavalry officer and took part in the Franco-Prussian War as an officer in 1870/1871 . In 1900 he was promoted to Général de brigade and in 1906 to Général de division . 1912–1914 he was a member of the Supreme War Council. In July 1914, he was initially adopted into retirement.

In August 1914, Langle de Cary was reactivated at the instigation of Minister of War Milleraud and received the supreme command of the 4th Army. On August 22nd, he was defeated in the battle in the Belgian Ardennes near Neufchâteau and on the Semois by the German 4th Army under Albrecht Duke of Württemberg . On August 25, he withdrew to Stenay on the southern bank of the Meuse . Between August 25 and 29, he and General Ruffey's 3rd Army, who followed on the right, fought in vain for the Maas line and was pushed back by the Germans over the Argonne into Champagne. The French 3rd Army, which was under the command of General Sarrail from September 3 , withdrew to the fortress Verdun , while Langle de Cary and his troops evaded south via Clermont-en-Argonne towards Châlons-en-Champagne . During the first battle of the Marne from September 6th to 11th, Langle de Cary had the task of binding the German forces on the eastern part of the attacking battle line by diversionary attacks at Consenvoye . He was able to withstand all attempts at breakthroughs by the German 4th Army in the Vitry-le-François area and thus allowed the troops of the 9th Army under General Ferdinand Foch to take part in Marshal Joffre's counter-offensive at Sézanne with all their might . Langle de Cary managed to reoccupy Chalons-sur-Marne during the first battle of the Aisne and to move up to Suippes . The 4th Army remained here for the next year in a tough position of war on this front. His army carried out attempts to break through in the direction of Vouziers in December 1914 as well as in February 1915 , but failed because of the resistance of the 3rd German Army under General Karl von Eine . On September 25, 1915, the first deeply staggered autumn battle in Champagne , initiated with several days of barrage, began on his section of the front , which resulted in horrific losses for only small gains in terrain.

On December 11, 1915, Langle de Cary replaced the previous leader of the "Army Group Center", General Castelnau . He was given command of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Army for two months - which held the front from Verdun west through the Champagne region to Reims . In January 1916, at Joffres instigation, he had to take over the "Army Group East" on the French fortress line, but the heavy artillery had already been removed here in order to support Joffres offensives in other ways . When the German attack on Verdun (→ Battle of Verdun ) began on February 21, 1916 and initially showed some success, Langle was made a scapegoat. Langle de Cary recommended the withdrawal, but was overruled by Joffre in the council of war, and General Pétain was appointed the new head of the defense of Verdun in his place . He was innocent of the initially poor condition of the fortress Verdun.

Langle de Cary was completely sidelined and finally removed from his command in March 1916. Langle de Cary was a very capable general, his last job was to inspect the colonial troops in North Africa. In December 1917 he was taken out of active service. In retirement he wrote his memoirs, which were directed against Joffre in particular. Fernand Louis Langle de Cary died in 1927 at the age of 78.

literature

• Guy Le Mouel: Le général de Langle de Cary: de Buzenval à Verdun , Charles Hérissey, Evreux 2005, ISBN 978-2-914417-23-5 .

Web links

Commons : Fernand de Langle de Cary  - Collection of images, videos and audio files