Jean de Lattre de Tassigny

Chief of the Army Staff

2 February 1889 Mouilleron-en-Pareds, French Republic

11 January 1952(1952-01-11) (62) Paris, French Republic

30 November 1945 – 12 March 1947

French general Marshal Jean de Lattre de TassignyGeneral de Lattre in 194632nd Chief of the Army StaffIn office 30 November 1945 – 12 March 1947Preceded by Maurice GamelinSucceeded by Georges Revers Personal detailsBorn(1889-02-02 ) 2 February 1889 Mouilleron-en-Pareds, French RepublicDied11 January 1952(1952-01-11) (aged 62) Paris, French RepublicNationalityFrenchSpouse(s)Simonne Calary de LamazièreChildrenBernard de Lattre de TassignyMotherAnne Marie Louise HénaultFatherRoger de Lattre de TassignyAlma mater Lycée Sainte-Geneviève École Spéciale Militaire Cavalry School Military serviceNickname(s)Le Roi JeanAllegiance Third Republic Vichy France Free France Fourth RepublicBranch/serviceFrench Army Cavalry (Until 1915) Infantry (From 1915) Years of service1911 – 1952RankArmy generalUnit List 12th Dragoons Regiment 93rd Infantry Regiment 49th Infantry Regiment 21st Tirailleurs Regiment 4th Infantry Regiment 46th Infantry Regiment 5th Infantry Regiment Commands List 151st Infantry Regiment 14th Infantry Division 16th Military Region 2nd Army 1st Army Commander-in-Chief of Ground Forces in Western Europe Far East Expeditionary Corps Battles/wars List First World War Battle of the Frontiers Battle of Verdun Rif War Operation of High Moulouya Operation of Taza Second World War Battle of France Invasion of Elba Operation Dragoon Battle of the Bulge Colmar Pocket Western Allied invasion of Germany First Indochina War Battle of Vĩnh Yên Battle of Mạo Khê Battle of the Day River Battle of Hòa Bình Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French army general during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France. As an officer during World War I, he fought in combat in various battles, including Verdun and was wounded five times, surviving the war with 8 citations, the Legion of Honour and the Military Cross. During the Interwar period, he took part in campaigns in Morocco where he was wounded in action again. He then pursued a career in the general staff headquarters and as a commander of a regiment. Early in World War II, from May to June 1940, he was the youngest French general. He led his division during the Battle of France, at the battles of Rethel, Champagne-Ardenne, and Loire and until the Armistice of 22 June 1940. During the Vichy Regime, he remained in the Armistice Army, first in regional command posts, then as commander-in-chief of troops in Tunisia. After the disembarking of Allied forces in North Africa, on 11 November 1942, the Germans invaded the free zone; de Lattre, Commander of the 16th Military Division at Montpellier, refused the orders not to fight the Germans and was the only active general to order his troops to oppose the invaders. He was arrested but escaped and defected to Charles de Gaulle's Free France at the end of 1943. From 1943 to 1945 he was one of the senior leaders of the Liberation Army, commanding the forces which landed in the South of France on 15 August 1944, then fought up to the Rivers Rhine and Danube. He was the only French general of World War II to command large numbers of American troops, when the US XXI Corps was attached to his First Army during the battle of the Colmar Pocket. He was also the French representative at Berlin on 8 May 1945, with Eisenhower, Zhukov and Montgomery. Commander-in-Chief of French Forces in Germany in 1945, then Inspector General of the French Army, he was the vice-president of the Supreme War Council. From 1948 to 1950 he served as Commander-in-chief of the Western Union's ground forces. In 1951, he was the High Commissioner, commander-in-chief in Indochina and commander-in-chief of the French Far East Expeditionary Corps, winning several battles against the Việt Minh. His only son was killed there, and then illness forced him to return to Paris where he died of cancer in 1952. He was elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France posthumously in 1952 during his state funeral.