Émile Driant
Encyclopedia
Émile Augustin Cyprien Driant (11 September 1855 – 22 February 1916) was a French nationalist writer, politician, and army officer. He was the first high ranking casualty of the Battle of Verdun
during World War I
.
in the Picardie
region, Driant graduated from the Saint-Cyr military academy
and became an Army officer in 1877. Appointed to infantry, he joined the 4th Regiment of Zouaves in North Africa as a Captain in 1886. In 1888 Driant married the daughter of nationalist General Boulanger. He spent the years 1892–1896 as an instructer at the Saint-Cyr military academy, and from 1899–1905 commanded the 1st Battalion of Chasseurs.
He resigned his commission in 1906, as he was banned from achieving higher rank due to his controversial father-in-law and by his strong nationalist and Catholic sentiments. He devoted his time to journalism and politics and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies
as a representative for Nancy in 1910. Driant devoted his efforts to strengthening France's defenses.
Driant gave his readers heroic episodes, great victories over the Germans, and in the 1192 pages of his Guerre fatale: France-Angleterre ("The Fatal War: France-England", 1902), the total defeat of the British by the French.
Driant possibly wrote more future-war novels than any other writer before 1914. He published so much fiction, and his stories were so long, that half a century later Pierre Versins
said in his Encyclopédie de l'utopie et de la science fiction (1972) that the hundred pages of Chesney's Battle of Dorking were much more important and revealing "than the thousands of white pages soiled day after day by a national hero of France" (Driant had a postage stamp dedicated to him in 1956, Scott
#788, Yvert et Tellier
#1052).
Soon after the beginning of World War I
in 1914 Driant was recalled to the Army as a captain. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel and given command of two infantry battalions, the 56th and 59th chasseur
s reservists battalions. He still kept his seat in Parliament and was, among other things, involved in the drafting of the legislation to create the Croix de Guerre
.
In December 1915 he criticised Joseph Joffre
for removing artillery
guns and infantry from fortresses around Toul
and Verdun
in order to strengthen other areas of the now-deadlocked Western Front
. Despite the support of the Minister for War Joseph Gallieni
, no troops or guns were returned. What were supposed to be formidable defences were reduced to a small number of guns and soldiers to man them. Driant claimed that the area was threatened; Joffre denied this.
Driant was proved right on 21 February 1916, when the German Army initiated a massive attack on French forces in the Verdun sector. As the French defences crumbled all around them, Driant's two battalions – 1,200 men in total – began a desperate defence of the Bois des Caures in Flabas
. Under his command, the battalions managed to resist the German onslaught until the afternoon of the next day, helping to gain the time that the French High Command needed to rush troops to the threatened sector. When his battalions were outflanked and the position was untenable, Driant ordered the survivors to withdraw. During the withdrawal, he was killed. He was regarded as a hero among the French at the time, and he and his men are still commemorated at a ceremony on 21 February every year.
He was buried initially by the Germans, who also wrote to his widow (via Switzerland) to assure her that he had been accorded full military honours. He was re-interred by the French where he fell in the Bois des Caures, where a memorial now stands to him and his men.
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was one of the major battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February – 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Biography
Born at Neufchâtel-sur-AisneNeufchâtel-sur-Aisne
Neufchâtel-sur-Aisne is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-References:*...
in the Picardie
Picardie
Picardy is one of the 27 regions of France. It is located in the northern part of France.-History:The historical province of Picardy stretched from north of Noyon to Calais, via the whole of the Somme department and the north of the Aisne department...
region, Driant graduated from the Saint-Cyr military academy
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is the foremost French military academy. Its official name is . It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr . Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory"...
and became an Army officer in 1877. Appointed to infantry, he joined the 4th Regiment of Zouaves in North Africa as a Captain in 1886. In 1888 Driant married the daughter of nationalist General Boulanger. He spent the years 1892–1896 as an instructer at the Saint-Cyr military academy, and from 1899–1905 commanded the 1st Battalion of Chasseurs.
He resigned his commission in 1906, as he was banned from achieving higher rank due to his controversial father-in-law and by his strong nationalist and Catholic sentiments. He devoted his time to journalism and politics and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of France
Chamber of Deputies was the name given to several parliamentary bodies in France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:* 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the Lower chamber of the French Parliament, elected by census suffrage.*...
as a representative for Nancy in 1910. Driant devoted his efforts to strengthening France's defenses.
Writing
In 1888 Driant began writing his first guerre imaginaire ("imaginary war") novel, which he was to publish using the pseudonym "Capitaine Danrit". This was La Guerre de demain ("The War of Tomorrow"), comprising three stories which told the tale of: La Guerre en forteresse ("Fortress Warfare"), La Guerre en rase campagne ("War in Open Country"), and La Guerre en ballon ("Balloon Warfare"). The action begins with La Guerre en fortresse, as reports arrive of a surprise German attack upon France.Driant gave his readers heroic episodes, great victories over the Germans, and in the 1192 pages of his Guerre fatale: France-Angleterre ("The Fatal War: France-England", 1902), the total defeat of the British by the French.
Driant possibly wrote more future-war novels than any other writer before 1914. He published so much fiction, and his stories were so long, that half a century later Pierre Versins
Pierre Versins
Pierre Versins was a French Science Fiction collector and scholar. He was also the founder of the Maison d'Ailleurs, museum of science fiction, utopia and extraordinary journey in Yverdon-les-Bains, ....
said in his Encyclopédie de l'utopie et de la science fiction (1972) that the hundred pages of Chesney's Battle of Dorking were much more important and revealing "than the thousands of white pages soiled day after day by a national hero of France" (Driant had a postage stamp dedicated to him in 1956, Scott
Scott catalogue
The Scott catalogue of postage stamps, published by Scott Publishing Co, a subsidiary of Amos Press, is updated annually and lists all the stamps of the entire world which its editors recognize as issued for postal purposes. It is published in six large volumes and is also produced in...
#788, Yvert et Tellier
Yvert et Tellier
Yvert et Tellier is a postage stamp dealer and a philatelic publishing company founded in 1895 in the northern French city of Amiens, where the head office is still located. The logo is a circle divided into a snowflake and a smiling sun...
#1052).
World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1914 Driant was recalled to the Army as a captain. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel and given command of two infantry battalions, the 56th and 59th chasseur
Chasseur
Chasseur [sha-sur; Fr. sha-sœr] is the designation given to certain regiments of French light infantry or light cavalry troops, trained for rapid action.-History:...
s reservists battalions. He still kept his seat in Parliament and was, among other things, involved in the drafting of the legislation to create the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
.
In December 1915 he criticised 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...
for removing artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
guns and infantry from fortresses around Toul
Toul
Toul is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Toul is located between Commercy and Nancy, and situated between the Moselle River and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin....
and Verdun
Verdun
Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
in order to strengthen other areas of the now-deadlocked Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. Despite the support of the Minister for War Joseph Gallieni
Joseph Gallieni
Joseph Simon Gallieni was a French soldier, most active as a military commander and administrator in the French colonies and finished his career during the First World War. He was made Marshal of France posthumously in 1921...
, no troops or guns were returned. What were supposed to be formidable defences were reduced to a small number of guns and soldiers to man them. Driant claimed that the area was threatened; Joffre denied this.
Driant was proved right on 21 February 1916, when the German Army initiated a massive attack on French forces in the Verdun sector. As the French defences crumbled all around them, Driant's two battalions – 1,200 men in total – began a desperate defence of the Bois des Caures in Flabas
Moirey-Flabas-Crépion
Moirey-Flabas-Crépion is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Meuse department...
. Under his command, the battalions managed to resist the German onslaught until the afternoon of the next day, helping to gain the time that the French High Command needed to rush troops to the threatened sector. When his battalions were outflanked and the position was untenable, Driant ordered the survivors to withdraw. During the withdrawal, he was killed. He was regarded as a hero among the French at the time, and he and his men are still commemorated at a ceremony on 21 February every year.
He was buried initially by the Germans, who also wrote to his widow (via Switzerland) to assure her that he had been accorded full military honours. He was re-interred by the French where he fell in the Bois des Caures, where a memorial now stands to him and his men.
External links
- http://www.webmatters.net/france/ww1_verdun_driant.htm
- France at War – Emile Driant: First Hero of Verdun at www.worldwar1.com