Géraud Réveilhac

Géraud François Gustave Réveilhac (16 February 1851 – 26 February 1937) was a French Général de division during World War I. He gained infamy for the Souain corporals affair in 1915 when four non-commissioned officers were executed as an example to other troops he commanded who had refused to attack a heavily-defended position on the Western Front. His actions were an inspiration for Humphrey Cobb's novel Paths of Glory; the 1957 film of the same name was made by Stanley Kubrick. In 1916 he was relieved of front line duty. He was made a commander in the French reserves until the end of the war.

Born on 16 February 1851 in Aurillac, France, Réveilhac went on to graduate from the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr in August 1870, as a sub-lieutenant. He became a prisoner of the Prussians in December the same year, but was released on 8 January the following year. He took part in putting down the uprising in Limoges in April 1871, garnering praise from his superiors. Réveilhac was subsequently regularly promoted, being sent to Indochina to command a company in 1889, and was made Général de brigade on 21 December 1909 as commanding officer of the 42nd Infantry Brigade. He was preparing for retirement by 1914 when World War I broke out.

At the beginning of World War I, Réveilhac was commanding the 119th Infantry Brigade, part of the 60th Infantry Division, under Général de division Maurice Joppé, whom he replaced on 25 September 1914 as commanding officer of the division. Réveilhac was promoted to acting Général de division on 6 October 1914.

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