Michel-Joseph Maunoury
| Michel-Joseph Maunoury | |
|---|---|
General Maunoury
|
|
| Born |
17 December 1847 Maintenon |
| Died | 28 March 1923 (aged 75) |
| Allegiance |
 France
|
| Service/branch | French Army |
| Years of service | 1867–1920 |
| Rank | Marshal of France |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Marshal of France (posthumous) |
Michel-Joseph Maunoury (17 December 1847 – 28 March 1923) was a commander of French forces in the early days of World War I.
Initially commanding in Lorraine, as the success of the German thrust through Belgium became clear he was sent to take command of the new Sixth Army which was assembling near Amiens and then fell back on Paris. The Sixth Army played an important role in the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914. With a small portion of its strength rushed to the front in commandeered taxicabs, it attacked von Kluck's German First Army from the west at the Battle of the Ourcq. Although the attack did not succeed, the resulting German redeployment opened up a gap which was exploited by French Fifth Army and the small British Expeditionary force, ultimately causing the Germans to retreat.
Maunoury was born on 17 December 1847.
He was wounded as a lieutenant in the Franco-Prussian War. He was a Polytechnician and an artillery specialist. He studied at the Ecole de Guerre, and was then an instructor at St Cyr before becoming a full colonel.
He commanded an artillery brigade then from 1905 commanded III then XX Corps. He was a member of the Conseil Superieur de la Guerre and was then Military Governor of Paris. He was earmarked for command of an army in the event of war, but retired in 1912.
He is described by Holger Herwig as “slender, almost delicate” and by Tuchman as “svelte, delicate, small-boned”.
As Third and Fourth Armies thrust into the Ardennes (the Commander-in-Chief Joffre issued orders on 20 August, for operations to begin on 22 August) they opened up a potential gap between Third Army’s right and the left of Second Army, which had just launched an unsuccessful attack into Lorraine. So Joffre created an Army of Lorraine at Verdun to fill the gap, including three divisions taken from Third Army. Maunoury was recalled from retirement to command it. The Army of Lorraine had seven divisions in total, three of them from Ruffey. It consisted of Bonneau’s VII Corps, which had begun the war with a move into Alsace, and 55th and 56th Reserve Divisions from Ruffey’s Third Army. Joffre’s Ordre Particuliere no 18 (21 August), ordered the Army of Lorraine to “fix” as many Germans as possible.
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