Louis Franchet d'Esperey
| Louis Franchet d'Esperey | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
25 May 1856 Mostaganem, French Algeria |
| Died | 8 July 1942 (aged 86) Saint-Amancet, France |
| Allegiance |
 France
|
| Service/branch | French Army |
| Years of service | 1876–1920 |
| Rank | Marshal of France |
| Commands held |
5th Army Allied Army of the Orient |
| Battles/wars |
Boxer Rebellion World War I |
| Awards |
Marshal of France Field Marshal of Yugoslavia (Honorary) Grand Cross of the Légion d’honneur |
Louis Félix Marie François Franchet d'Espèrey (French: [lwi feliks maʁi fʁɑ̃swa fʁɑ̃ʃɛ dɛpɛʁɛ]; Serbo-Croatian: [frǎnʃe deperê(ː)]; 25 May 1856 – 8 July 1942) was a French general during World War I. As commander of the large Allied army based at Salonika, he conducted the successful Macedonian campaign, which caused the collapse of the Southern Front and contributed to the armistice.
He was born in Mostaganem in French Algeria, the son of an officer of cavalry in the Chasseurs d'Afrique. He was educated at Saint-Cyr and graduated in 1876. After being assigned to a regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs (native infantry), d'Espèrey served in French Indochina, in China (in the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, during which his cousin the German plenipotentiary Clemens von Ketteler was killed) and Morocco. Franchet d'Espèrey subsequently commanded various infantry regiments in France. He received command of I Corps in 1913.
In 1914, Franchet d'Espèrey did well as a corps commander at the Battle of Charleroi. On 23 August, the third day of the battle, with the German Second Army pressing the French centre, Franchet d’Esperey saw an opportunity for his I Corps to counterattack from the French right. Despite repeated pleas from 10am onward, Lanrezac refused him permission to do so. On 23 August Fifth Army was attacked again, this time also on the flanks, by Bulow’s German Second Army to the north and Hausen’s German Third Army against Franchet to the right.
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