Grand Quartier Général (1939–1940)
| Grand Quartier Général | |
|---|---|
The chateau at Montry, home of the GQG staff from 18 January – 8 June 1940
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| Active | 3 September 1939–1 July 1940 |
| Country | France |
| Branch | French Army |
| Role | General Headquarters |
| Nickname(s) | GQG or Grand QG |
| Commanders | |
| 1939–1940 | Maurice Gamelin |
| 1940 | Maxime Weygand |
The Grand Quartier Général (abbreviated to GQG or Grand QG in spoken French) was the general headquarters of the French Army during the Second World War. Originally established in 1911, GQG was re-established on the outbreak of war in 1939, the original GQG had functioned from 1914 to 1919 during the First World War. In the inter-war years, the plans for activation of GQG changed considerably, with the formation switching from an offensive-oriented position near the German border at Metz in the 1920s gradually westwards. By 1938 its planned base was at the Château de Vincennes in the suburbs of Paris, from where it was expected to conduct a defensive war.
Activated in 1939 upon the mobilisation of the French Army, GQG struggled with an awkward distribution of staff between Vincennes and a number of more distant towns (including the staff of the important North-East army). The French chief of staff, General Maurice Gamelin, found this situation unworkable and instituted reforms in January 1940. The changes upset the North-East army commander General Alphonse Joseph Georges and were ill-received by the British army.
GQG responded slowly to the German attack into France when it eventually came in early May 1940. With the French and British armies in retreat, GQG was somewhat rejuvenated by the replacement of Gamelin with Maxime Weygand on 19 May. The boost was short lived and continued French reversals in the Battle of France forced the GQG staff to move south-west away from the advancing German forces. By the time of the signing of the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June 1940, GQG was at Montauban, near Toulouse. GQG was disbanded on 1 July 1940, after the surrender to Germany.
The GQG was established in 1911 as the wartime command structure of the French Army, the counterpart of the peacetime Conseil Supérieur de la Guerre (CSG). The GQG was activated upon the general mobilisation of the army and remained active until stood down by the French parliament. GQG had been active during the First World War from mobilisation on 2 August 1914 until it was stood down on 20 October 1919.
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