*** Welcome to piglix ***

Joffre

Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre
Joseph Joffre.jpg
Nickname(s) Papa Joffre
Born (1852-01-12)12 January 1852
Rivesaltes, France
Died 3 January 1931(1931-01-03) (aged 78)
Paris, France
Allegiance  Second French Empire (1869)
 French Third Republic
Service/branch French Army
Years of service 1869–1916
Rank Marshal of France
Generalissimo (1914–1916)
Général de division (1912–1914)
Battles/wars

Franco-Prussian War

Sino-French War
World War I

Awards Grand cross of the Légion d'honneur
Médaille militaire
Croix de guerre 1914–1918
Distinguished Service Medal (US)
Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Bath (UK)
Order of Merit (UK)

Franco-Prussian War

Sino-French War
World War I

Marshal Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (French pronunciation: ​[ʒɔsɛf ʒɔfʁ]; 12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931), was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in September 1914.

His political position waned after unsuccessful offensives in 1915, the German attack on Verdun in 1916, and the disappointing results of the Anglo-French offensive on the Somme in 1916. At the end of 1916 he was promoted to Marshal of France, the first such promotion under the Third Republic, and moved to an advisory role, from which he quickly resigned. Later in the war he led an important mission to the United States.

His popularity led to his nickname Papa Joffre.

Joffre was born in Rivesaltes, Pyrénées-Orientales, into a family of vineyard owners. He entered the École Polytechnique in 1870 and became a career officer. He first saw active service as a junior artillery officer during the Siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War. After the war he underwent further training at the École Polytechnique before transferring to the génie (engineers). Joffre subsequently spent much of his career in the colonies as a military engineer, serving with distinction in the Keelung Campaign during the Sino-French War (August 1884 – April 1885). As a major, he led a column from Ségou to Timbuktu in Mali, where he recovered the remains of Lt.-Col. Bonnier, who had been killed on a recent expedition. His mission killed over a hundred Tuareg and captured fifteen hundred cattle. He was promoted as a result. He served under Joseph Gallieni in Madagascar.


...
Wikipedia

...