Pierre Auguste Roques

Pierre Auguste Roques

Pierre Auguste Roques (born December 28, 1856 in Marseillan , Hérault , † February 26, 1920 in Saint-Cloud ) was a French officer in the engineering team , most recently Général de division , organizer of French military aviation and minister of war during the First World War .

Life

Roques was born into simple circumstances. A scholarship enabled him to study at the elite École polytechnique , where he was in a class with Joseph Joffre . After graduating, he chose the team of engineers and served as an engineer in Algeria , Tonkin and Madagascar , among others , where he was responsible for building a rail network from 1897 to 1905. Promoted to brigadier general in 1906, he was director of genius in the War Ministry until 1910. He was promoted to division general in 1909. From 1910 to 1912 he was inspector of the newly founded Aéronautique Militaire and managed its establishment, for which he is known as the "father of French military aviation".

Bust of Roques in his native city

In 1912 Roques took command of the 7th Infantry Division and in 1913 of the XII. Army Corps, with which he entered the First World War in 1914 as part of the 4th Army . In January 1915 he received command of the 1st Army fighting in Lorraine . After Joseph Gallieni's resignation for reasons of age, he succeeded him in March 1916 as Minister of War. In December 1916 he gave up the post to Hubert Lyautey , shortly after his friend Joffre had to give up command of the French army. At the end of December he received a command again with the 4th Army, which he only kept for three months. He was then appointed general inspector of work and organization in the combat zone ( zone des armées ), which he remained until the end of the war. At the same time, he served as director of the technical committee of geniuses from November 1918, before taking his leave in February 1919.

literature

• Spencer Tucker, Priscilla Mary Roberts (Eds.): The Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History , ABC-CLIO, 2005, ISBN 978-1-85109-420-2 , p. 1005.

Web links

Commons : Pierre Auguste Roques  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

predecessor	Office	successor
Joseph Gallieni	Minister of War of France March 16–11. December 1916	Hubert Lyautey