Jean Touzet du Vigier

Jean Touzet du Vigier
General Jean Touzet du Vigier
Born	(1888-10-10)10 October 1888 Chambéry, France
Died	16 August 1980(1980-08-16) (aged 91) Paris, France
Allegiance	French Third Republic 1913-40 Vichy France 1940-41 Free French Forces 1941-45 French Fourth Republic 1945-47
Service/branch	French Army
Years of service	1913-1947
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	2nd Armored Regiment 1st Mechanized Brigade 1st Armored Division Garrison of Strasbourg Assistant Chief of the General Staff
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Battle of France North African Campaign Invasion of France Battle of the Bulge
Awards	Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor American Red Cross of Merit Distinguished Service Order
Other work	Retired

Lieutenant General Jean-Louis-Alain Touzet du Vigier (1888-1980 was a French army officer during World War II and an advocate of military mechanization, particularly the motorization of the cavalry.

Touzet du Vigier was born in Chambéry on October 10, 1888.

In order to be accepted into the St. Cyr Special Military School, he served in the volunteers until 1913. He failed a medical examination, however, which prevented him from entering the school and was assigned to an infantry regiment instead. He managed to get the support of then-War Minister Millerand, a family friend, to get a transfer from the 33rd Infantry Regiment, though, and, after receiving his transfer, he was able to attend St. Cyr. He graduated before the start of World War I and eventually became a lieutenant in the 9th Cuirassiers, stationed in Noyon.

Due to the characteristics of World War I's Western Front,the 9th Cuirassiers were effectively forced to serve as infantry, fighting in the trenches against German military forces holding similar lines in France. By 1918, Touzet du Vigier had risen to the temporary rank of captain. He was then sent to join the 2nd Regiment of Chasseurs d'Afrique in Morocco, but stayed only a few months before being transferred back to St. Cyr as an instructor.

In 1920, Touzet du Vigier was assigned to the staff of General Henri Niessel, the head of the French military mission to newly independent Poland, which was involved in a war with Bolshevik Russia. Touzet du Vigier's direct superior while training the Polish troops was future French president Charles De Gaulle.

Throughout the 1920s, Touzet du Vigier, now a permanent captain, served in the 18th Chasseurs and on various staffs, becoming a proponent of the motorization of cavalry. In 1932, as a military instructor and major, he joined the 18th Dragoon Regiment, which was located in Reims, where the 1st Light Mechanized Division was being raised. Touzet du Vigier, in his classes, began to speak more about the mechanization of the French army.