Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
 Jean de Lattre de TassignyGCB MC |
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Général de Lattre in 1946
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| Birth name | Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny |
| Nickname(s) | Le Roi Jean ("King John") |
| Born |
2 February 1889 Mouilleron-en-Pareds, France |
| Died |
11 January 1952 (aged 62) Paris, France |
| Allegiance |
 France Vichy France Free French Forces
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| Years of service | 1911–1952 |
| Rank |
Marshal of France (posthumous) Général d'Armée |
| Commands held |
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| Battles/wars |
World War I Rif War World War II First Indochina War |
| Awards | Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor |
| Relations | Bernard de Lattre de Tassigny |
Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny, GCB, MC (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a notable French military commander during World War I and even more so in World War II and the First Indochina War. Jean de Lattre de Tassigny was posthumously promoted to Marshal of France.
An officer during World War I, he was engaged notably in combat on various fronts, including Verdun while being wounded five consecutive times and endured the war finishing with 8 citations, the Légion d'honneur 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 command of regiments.
At the debut of World War II, from May to June 1940, the youngest Général of France led his division during the Battle of France, making front at the battles of Rethel, Champagne-Ardenne, and Loire and carried on till the Armistice of 22 June 1940.
During the Vichy Regime, he remained in the Armistice Army, where he occupied command posts at the regional echelons, then as commander-in-chief of troops in Tunisia. Commander of the 16th Militay Division at Montpellier, during the invasion of the free zone, following the disembarking of Allied forces in North Africa, on November 11, 1942, he was arrested for having refused the orders not to fight and, the only active général to do so, he commanded his troops to oppose the invaders. Nevertheless, he managed to escape and rallied Free France at end of 1943.
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