René Prioux
 René Prioux |
|
|---|---|
| Born | 11 April 1879 Bordeaux, France |
| Died | 16 June 1953 (aged 74) Algiers, Algeria |
| Allegiance |
 French Third Republic
|
| Service/branch | French Army |
| Years of service | 1897–1942 |
| Rank | Army General (France) |
| Commands held |
Cavalry Corps First Army |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
French Croix de Guerre French Legion of Honor |
| René Prioux | |
 General Prioux
|
René Jacques Adolphe Prioux (April 11, 1879 – June 16, 1953) was a general of the French Army who served in both world wars. A cavalry officer of great talent, Prioux rapidly rose through the officer ranks and commanded the Cavalry Corps of the First Army during the Battle of Belgium in May 1940. He was captured by the Germans and spent two years as a prisoner of war. Repatriated in 1942, Prioux came to be seen as a strong supporter of the Vichy regime and was consequently removed from a position of authority in the French Army by Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free French, after the landings in French north Africa by U.S. and British forces in November 1942.
After working as a volunteer for four years for the mayor of Bernay, Eure, Prioux joined the 6th Dragoon Regiment on August 9, 1897. Subsequently attending Saint-Cyr military academy, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 6th Chasseurs Regiment on October 1, 1899. Promoted to lieutenant two years later, he was successively assigned to the 21st Chasseurs Regiment (January 24, 1907), the staff of the 19th Army Corps (October 22, 1908), and the staff of the 1st Brigade of Algerian Cavalry on October 22, 1910. He was promoted to captain on March 27, 1911 and was assigned to the 3rd Regiment of Chasseurs of Africa on Christmas Day in 1911, before being placed on special duties in March, 1914.
The outbreak of the First World War found him assigned to the headquarters of the French Army. He moved rapidly through several positions in the next year, serving on the staff of the 34th Army Corps (November 7, 1914) and then the staff of the Army of the Vosges, the 7th Army, and with the Belgian Army. Assigned to the staff of the 36th Army Corps on May 22, 1915, Prioux became a squadron commander on April 9, 1917 and was then assigned to the 5th Dragoon Regiment on February 18, 1918. After serving on the staff of the 164th Infantry Division, Prioux was assigned as the chief of staff of the 52nd Infantry Division on February 10, 1919.
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