Raoul Castex

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Raoul Castex

Raoul Castex (* 1878 in Saint Omer , † 1968 in Villeneuve-de-Rivière ) was a French admiral and military theorist.

Military career

Castex joined the Navy in 1896.

In 1920 Castex published a systematic analysis of the importance of submarines for naval warfare based on the experiences of the First World War .

His main publications were his Théories stratégiques , published in the interwar period . He advocated an offensive maritime tragedy, in which an overwater fleet acting as the main power should be maneuvered into the position for a victorious decisive battle. The fleet should be supported by submarines and aircraft. Transferred to the balance of power of his time, Castex spoke out in favor of not including the Far Eastern theater of war and thus the abandonment of Indochina .

In 1936 Castex became the first director of the Institut des hautes études de défense nationale, which he co-founded . In creating this institution, Castex sought to reduce the lack of formal training officers had compared to civilian academics. He ended his military career at the beginning of World War II as the commander of a larger fleet

From 1945 Castex was one of the first prominent advocates of nuclear armament in France . During the Indochina War , Castex was in favor of France's withdrawal from Southeast Asia.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Howarth: China's Rising Sea Power: The PLA Navy's Submarine Challenge , Oxon, 2006 p. 74
  2. ↑ Beatrice Heuser: The Evolution of Strategy: Thinking War from Antiquity to the Present , Cambdrigde, 2010 pp. 257-260
  3. ↑ Volker Nies: "Apaisement" in Asia: France and the Far East Conflict 1937-1940, Munich, 2009, p. 248
  4. ↑ a b Jacques Dalloz: Dictionnaire de la Guerre d'Indochine 1945 - 1954 , Paris, 2006, p. 43
  5. ↑ Beatrice Heuser: The Evolution of Strategy: Thinking War from Antiquity to the Present , Cambdrigde, 2010, p. 361
personal data
SURNAME Castex, Raoul
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French admiral and military theorist
DATE OF BIRTH 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Saint Omer
DATE OF DEATH 1968
Place of death Villeneuve-de-Rivière