Maurice Gamelin
Encyclopedia
Maurice Gustave Gamelin (20 September 1872, Paris
- 18 April 1958) was a French general. Gamelin is best remembered for his unsuccessful command of the French military in 1940 during the Battle of France
and his steadfast defense of republican values.
The generalissimo
of the French armed forces in World War II, Gamelin was viewed as a man with significant intellectual ability. He was respected, even in Germany, for his intelligence and "subtle mind", though he was also viewed by some German generals as stiff and predictable. Despite this, and his competent service in World War I, his command of the French armies during the critical days of May 1940 proved to be disastrous. Historian and journalist William L. Shirer
presented the view that Gamelin used World War I methods to fight World War II, but with less vigor and slower response.
Gamelin served with distinction under Joseph Joffre
in World War I. He is often credited with being responsible for devising the outline of the French counter-attack in 1914 which led to victory during the First Battle of the Marne
. In 1933, Gamelin rose to command of the French Army and oversaw a modernization and mechanization program, as well as the completion of the Maginot Line
defenses. Édouard Daladier
supported Gamelin throughout his career due to his refusal to allow politics to play a part in military planning and promotion, and his commitment to the republican model of government—not a trivial concern at a time when Communists on the left, Royalists and Fascists on the right were openly advocating regime change
in France.
in 1859 , From a early age; Gamelin showed potential as a promising French soldier, growing up in a generation seeking revenge on Germany for the defeat of 1870 and the subsequent German annexation of Alsace Lorraine in 1871 , Gamelin entered Saint-Cyr
on 31 October 1891 and started officer training.
but only travelled a mere 8 km (5 mi). hey eventually stopped and did not even penetrate Germany's unfinished Siegfried Line
even though, According to General Siegfried Westphal
, German staff officer on the western front, if France had attacked in September 1939, German forces could not have held out for more than one or two weeks. Gamelin ordered his troops back behind the Maginot Line, but only after telling France's ally, Poland, that France had broken the Siegfried Line
and that help was on its way. Gamelin's long term strategy was to wait till France had fully rearmed and for the British and French armies to build up their forces , even though this would mean waiting until 1941. Bombing the industrial areas of the Ruhr was also prohibited in case the Germans retaliated.
Gamelin's vision for France's defense was based upon a static defense along the Franco-German border, which was reinforced by the Maginot Line
. However , the Maginot Line was only 87 mi (140 km) long and did not extent towards to Belgium frontier. During the winter of 1939/40, which was one of the coldest of the century, work on the extension to the Maginot Line was halted. Gamelin, along with many members of the French High Command saw that the Ardennes
as impenetrable and chose to defend it with only ten reserve divisions. According to General von Manteuffel
, the German Panzer
commander, France had more and better tanks than Germany but chose to disperse them.
The defensive approach of the Maginot Line became out of step with Gamelin's own views and he favoured an aggressive advance northward into Belgium and the Netherlands to meet the attacking German forces as far removed from French territory as possible. This strategy fitted with Belgian defence plans and British objectives and was known as the Dyle Plan
. Gamelin committed much of the motorized forces in the French Army and the entire BEF
to this strategy.
Despite reports of the build-up of German forces and even knowing the date of the Germans attack, Gamelin did nothing, stating that he would "await events". When the Germans attacked, Gamelin insisted on moving 40 of his best divisions, including the British Expeditionary Force, northwards in conformity to the Dyle Plan. The French mobilisation had inadvertently called up many essential workers and this disrupted vital French industries in the first weeks of the campaign.
In the first few days of the campaign, much of the air force was attacked on the ground. The rest of the air support was concentrated on the French advance rather than attacking the exposed 150 km (93.2 mi) column supplying the German advance. Quickly, the French and the British became fearful of being outflanked and they withdrew from the defensive lines drawn up across Belgium. Even then they did not pull back fast enough to prevent them being outflanked by the German Panzer
divisions.
The wing of the German attack that occurred further south was able to cross the River Meuse faster than anticipated, aided by heavy Luftwaffe
aerial bombardment. Although almost all the crossings over the Meuse were destroyed by the French, one weir 60 km (37.3 mi) north of Sedan
had been left intact and was only lightly defended. It was thus quickly captured and exploited by the Germans. Meanwhile, French guns were ordered to limit their firing in case they ran out of ammunition. On this front, Colonel-General Heinz Guderian
disobeyed orders and forged ahead. Gamelin withdrew forces in this area so that they could defend Paris, thinking this was the German's objective, rather than the coast.
Believing that he had been betrayed rather than blaming his own tactics, Gamelin then sacked twenty of his front line commanders.
Further north, Major-General Erwin Rommel
also kept advancing quickly, against the orders from his superiors. He reached the sea to the west of the BEF trapping the forces that had been sent into the Low Countries
around Arras and Dunkirk. In moving from France to Belgium and then back to France, a substantial amount of the armour was lost simply due to mechanical failure. As such, the French and British could not launch a counterattack spearheaded by tanks, and thus break out of encirclement. The speed of this advance, German air supremacy, the inability of the British and French to successfully counter-attack and suspicions of complicity undermined the overall Allied position to such a degree that Britain abandoned the conflict on the continent. 338,226 men (including 120,000 French soldiers) withdrew across the English Channel at Dunkirk. A second BEF that had been due to land in Normandy in mid-June was cancelled.
The Dutch surrendered within five days of being attacked, the Belgians in a little over two weeks and the French were left with only a rump of their former army to defend their nation. Gamelin was removed from his post on 18 May 1940 by Paul Reynaud
, who had replaced Édouard Daladier as Prime Minister in March. The 68 year-old Gamelin was replaced by the 73 year-old Maxime Weygand
who crucially delayed planned counter-attacks prior to eventually launching them — but by then it was too late.
. During the Vichy regime
, Gamelin was arrested and unsuccessfully tried for treason along with other important political and military figures of the Third Republic
(Édouard Daladier, Guy La Chambre
, Léon Blum
and Robert Jacomet) during the Riom Trial
. At this trial, Gamelin refused to answer the charges against him, instead maintaining a dignified silence. Imprisoned by the Vichy regime in Fort du Portalet in the Pyrenees, he was later deported by Germans in the Itter Castle
in North Tyrol with few others French high personalities. After the war, he published his memoirs titled Servir....
Gamelin died in April, 1958, in Paris, France at the age of 86.
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- 18 April 1958) was a French general. Gamelin is best remembered for his unsuccessful command of the French military in 1940 during the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
and his steadfast defense of republican values.
The generalissimo
Generalissimo
Generalissimo and Generalissimus are military ranks of the highest degree, superior to Field Marshal and other five-star ranks.-Usage:...
of the French armed forces in World War II, Gamelin was viewed as a man with significant intellectual ability. He was respected, even in Germany, for his intelligence and "subtle mind", though he was also viewed by some German generals as stiff and predictable. Despite this, and his competent service in World War I, his command of the French armies during the critical days of May 1940 proved to be disastrous. Historian and journalist William L. Shirer
William L. Shirer
William Lawrence Shirer was an American journalist, war correspondent, and historian, who wrote The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a history of Nazi Germany read and cited in scholarly works for more than 50 years...
presented the view that Gamelin used World War I methods to fight World War II, but with less vigor and slower response.
Gamelin served with distinction under Joseph Joffre
Joseph Joffre
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre OM was a French general during World War I. He is most known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in 1914. His popularity led to his nickname Papa Joffre.-Biography:Joffre was born in...
in World War I. He is often credited with being responsible for devising the outline of the French counter-attack in 1914 which led to victory during the First Battle of the Marne
First Battle of the Marne
The Battle of the Marne was a First World War battle fought between 5 and 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German Army under Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. The battle effectively ended the month long German offensive that opened the war and had...
. In 1933, Gamelin rose to command of the French Army and oversaw a modernization and mechanization program, as well as the completion of the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
defenses. Édouard Daladier
Édouard Daladier
Édouard Daladier was a French Radical politician and the Prime Minister of France at the start of the Second World War.-Career:Daladier was born in Carpentras, Vaucluse. Later, he would become known to many as "the bull of Vaucluse" because of his thick neck and large shoulders and determined...
supported Gamelin throughout his career due to his refusal to allow politics to play a part in military planning and promotion, and his commitment to the republican model of government—not a trivial concern at a time when Communists on the left, Royalists and Fascists on the right were openly advocating regime change
Regime change
"Regime change" is the replacement of one regime with another. Use of the term dates to at least 1925.Regime change can occur through conquest by a foreign power, revolution, coup d'état or reconstruction following the failure of a state...
in France.
Early Years
Fascinated by stories of his father, Zéphyrin who fought in the Battle of SolferinoBattle of Solferino
The Battle of Solferino, , was fought on June 24, 1859 and resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Sardinian Army under Victor Emmanuel II against the Austrian Army under Emperor Franz Joseph I; it was the last major battle in world...
in 1859 , From a early age; Gamelin showed potential as a promising French soldier, growing up in a generation seeking revenge on Germany for the defeat of 1870 and the subsequent German annexation of Alsace Lorraine in 1871 , Gamelin entered Saint-Cyr
Saint-Cyr
The toponym Saint-Cyr refers to the popular child-saint Saint Quiricus , whose following was strong in France because relics were brought back from Antioch by the 4th-century Bishop Saint Amator of Auxerre...
on 31 October 1891 and started officer training.
Role in World War II
When war was declared in 1939 Gamelin was France's commander in chief and saw little action during the Phoney War, save a few French divisions crossing the German border in the Saar OffensiveSaar Offensive
The Saar Offensive was a French operation into Saarland on the German 1st Army defence sector in the early stages of World War II. The purpose of the attack was to assist Poland, which was then under attack...
but only travelled a mere 8 km (5 mi). hey eventually stopped and did not even penetrate Germany's unfinished Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
even though, According to General Siegfried Westphal
Siegfried Westphal (general)
Siegfried Westphal was a highly decorated General der Kavallerie in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
, German staff officer on the western front, if France had attacked in September 1939, German forces could not have held out for more than one or two weeks. Gamelin ordered his troops back behind the Maginot Line, but only after telling France's ally, Poland, that France had broken the Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
and that help was on its way. Gamelin's long term strategy was to wait till France had fully rearmed and for the British and French armies to build up their forces , even though this would mean waiting until 1941. Bombing the industrial areas of the Ruhr was also prohibited in case the Germans retaliated.
Gamelin's vision for France's defense was based upon a static defense along the Franco-German border, which was reinforced by the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
. However , the Maginot Line was only 87 mi (140 km) long and did not extent towards to Belgium frontier. During the winter of 1939/40, which was one of the coldest of the century, work on the extension to the Maginot Line was halted. Gamelin, along with many members of the French High Command saw that the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
as impenetrable and chose to defend it with only ten reserve divisions. According to General von Manteuffel
Hasso von Manteuffel
Hasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel was a German soldier and liberal politician of the 20th century.He served in both world wars, and during World War II was a distinguished general...
, the German Panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
commander, France had more and better tanks than Germany but chose to disperse them.
The defensive approach of the Maginot Line became out of step with Gamelin's own views and he favoured an aggressive advance northward into Belgium and the Netherlands to meet the attacking German forces as far removed from French territory as possible. This strategy fitted with Belgian defence plans and British objectives and was known as the Dyle Plan
Dyle Plan
The Dyle Plan or D Plan was the primary war plan of the French Army to stave off the expected German attack during Fall Gelb. It was conceived by French General Maurice Gamelin in 1940...
. Gamelin committed much of the motorized forces in the French Army and the entire BEF
British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....
to this strategy.
Despite reports of the build-up of German forces and even knowing the date of the Germans attack, Gamelin did nothing, stating that he would "await events". When the Germans attacked, Gamelin insisted on moving 40 of his best divisions, including the British Expeditionary Force, northwards in conformity to the Dyle Plan. The French mobilisation had inadvertently called up many essential workers and this disrupted vital French industries in the first weeks of the campaign.
In the first few days of the campaign, much of the air force was attacked on the ground. The rest of the air support was concentrated on the French advance rather than attacking the exposed 150 km (93.2 mi) column supplying the German advance. Quickly, the French and the British became fearful of being outflanked and they withdrew from the defensive lines drawn up across Belgium. Even then they did not pull back fast enough to prevent them being outflanked by the German Panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
divisions.
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
aerial bombardment. Although almost all the crossings over the Meuse were destroyed by the French, one weir 60 km (37.3 mi) north of Sedan
Sedan, France
Sedan is a commune in France, a sub-prefecture of the Ardennes department in northern France.-Geography:The historic centre is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River. It is around from the Belgian border.-History:...
had been left intact and was only lightly defended. It was thus quickly captured and exploited by the Germans. Meanwhile, French guns were ordered to limit their firing in case they ran out of ammunition. On this front, Colonel-General Heinz Guderian
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
disobeyed orders and forged ahead. Gamelin withdrew forces in this area so that they could defend Paris, thinking this was the German's objective, rather than the coast.
Believing that he had been betrayed rather than blaming his own tactics, Gamelin then sacked twenty of his front line commanders.
Further north, Major-General Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
also kept advancing quickly, against the orders from his superiors. He reached the sea to the west of the BEF trapping the forces that had been sent into the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
around Arras and Dunkirk. In moving from France to Belgium and then back to France, a substantial amount of the armour was lost simply due to mechanical failure. As such, the French and British could not launch a counterattack spearheaded by tanks, and thus break out of encirclement. The speed of this advance, German air supremacy, the inability of the British and French to successfully counter-attack and suspicions of complicity undermined the overall Allied position to such a degree that Britain abandoned the conflict on the continent. 338,226 men (including 120,000 French soldiers) withdrew across the English Channel at Dunkirk. A second BEF that had been due to land in Normandy in mid-June was cancelled.
The Dutch surrendered within five days of being attacked, the Belgians in a little over two weeks and the French were left with only a rump of their former army to defend their nation. Gamelin was removed from his post on 18 May 1940 by Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. He was the penultimate Prime Minister of the Third Republic and vice-president of the Democratic Republican Alliance center-right...
, who had replaced Édouard Daladier as Prime Minister in March. The 68 year-old Gamelin was replaced by the 73 year-old Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.Weygand initially fought against the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940, but then surrendered to and collaborated with the Germans as part of the Vichy France regime.-Early years:Weygand was born in Brussels...
who crucially delayed planned counter-attacks prior to eventually launching them — but by then it was too late.
After the fall of France
Gamelin was both preceded and succeeded as generalissimo by Maxime WeygandMaxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.Weygand initially fought against the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940, but then surrendered to and collaborated with the Germans as part of the Vichy France regime.-Early years:Weygand was born in Brussels...
. During the Vichy regime
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
, Gamelin was arrested and unsuccessfully tried for treason along with other important political and military figures of the Third Republic
Third Republic
Third Republic may refer to:* French Third Republic * Third Republic of South Korea * Third and current Democratic Republic of the Congo * Third and current Hellenic Republic of Greece...
(Édouard Daladier, Guy La Chambre
Guy La Chambre
Guy La Chambre was a French politician.He was born in Paris on 5 June 1898 into a prosperous family with roots in Brittany. His father, Charles La Chambre served in the Chamber of Deputies representing Ille-et-Vilaine from 1902 to 1906, and Guy's grandfather Charles-Emile also served in that...
, Léon Blum
Léon Blum
André Léon Blum was a French politician, usually identified with the moderate left, and three times the Prime Minister of France.-First political experiences:...
and Robert Jacomet) during the Riom Trial
Riom Trial
The Riom Trial was an attempt by the Vichy France regime, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, to prove that the leaders of the French Third Republic had been responsible for France's defeat by Germany in 1940...
. At this trial, Gamelin refused to answer the charges against him, instead maintaining a dignified silence. Imprisoned by the Vichy regime in Fort du Portalet in the Pyrenees, he was later deported by Germans in the Itter Castle
Itter Castle
Itter Castle is a small castle standing on a high knoll in Itter, a village in North Tyrol , 20 km west of Kitzbühel.The castle was used from 1943–45, during the Nazi occupation of France, to incarcerate prominent French prisoners...
in North Tyrol with few others French high personalities. After the war, he published his memoirs titled Servir....
Gamelin died in April, 1958, in Paris, France at the age of 86.
Further reading
- L'Ouest-Eclaire 1935-01-19 "Le général Gamelin succède au général Weygand comme généralissime tout en restant chef d'état-maior général". Includes a short bio.