Alphonse Juin | |
---|---|
![]() Marshal Juin in 1952 | |
Seat 4 of the Académie française | |
In office 20 November 1952 – 27 January 1967 | |
Preceded by | Jean Tharaud |
Succeeded by | Pierre Emmanuel |
Resident-General of France in Morocco | |
In office 15 May 1947 – 28 August 1951 | |
Preceded by | Eirik Labonne |
Succeeded by | Augustin Guillaume |
Chief of the Defence Staff | |
In office 25 January 1951 – 19 August 1953 | |
Preceded by | Charles Léchères |
Succeeded by | Paul Ély |
In office 13 August 1944 – 15 May 1947 | |
Preceded by | Antoine Béthouart |
Succeeded by | Charles Léchères |
Personal details | |
Born | Bône, French Algeria | 16 December 1888
Died | 27 January 1967 Paris, French Republic | (aged 78)
Resting place | Les Invalides |
Nationality | French |
Spouse |
Marie Gabrielle Mauricette Cécile Bonnefoy
(m. 1928) |
Children | Pierre Juin |
Parents | |
Alma mater |
|
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Branch/service | French Army |
Years of service | 1912–1962 |
Rank | Army general[a] |
Unit | |
Commands | List of commands
|
Battles/wars | Zaian War
List of battles |
Alphonse Pierre Juin[b] (16 December 1888 – 27 January 1967[1]) was a senior French Army general who became Marshal of France. A graduate of the École Spéciale Militaire class of 1912, he served in Morocco in 1914 in command of native troops. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, he was sent to the Western Front in France, where he was gravely wounded in 1915. As a result of this wound, he lost the use of his right arm.
After the war, he attended the École Supérieure de Guerre. He chose to serve in North Africa again. After the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, he assumed command of the 15th Motorized Infantry Division. The division was encircled in the Lille pocket during the Battle of France and Juin was captured. He was a prisoner of war until he was released at the behest of the Vichy Government in 1941, and was assigned to command French forces in North Africa.
After Operation Torch, the invasion of Algeria and Morocco by British and American forces in November 1942, Juin ordered French forces in Tunisia to resist the Germans and the Italians. His great skills were exhibited during the Italian campaign as commander of the French Expeditionary Corps. His expertise in mountain warfare was crucial in breaking the Gustav Line, which had held up the Allied advance for six months.
Following this assignment, he was Chief of the Staff of the French forces and represented France at the San Francisco Conference. In 1947 he returned to Africa as the Resident-General of France in Morocco, where he opposed Moroccan attempts to gain independence. Next came a senior NATO position as he assumed command of CENTAG until 1956. During his NATO command, he was promoted to Marshal of France in 1952. He was greatly opposed to Charles De Gaulle's decision to grant independence to Algeria, and was "retired" in 1962 as a result. He was the French Army's last living Marshal of France until his death in Paris in 1967, when he was buried in Les Invalides.
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