Joseph Gallieni

Marshal Joseph Gallieni
Gallieni in 1910
112th Minister of War
In office 29 October 1915 – 16 March 1916
President	Raymond Poincaré
Prime Minister	Aristide Briand
Preceded by	Alexandre Millerand
Succeeded by	Pierre Roques
Personal details
Born	(1849-04-24)24 April 1849 Saint-Béat, French Republic
Died	27 May 1916(1916-05-27) (aged 67) Versailles, French Republic
Nationality	French
Spouse	Marthe Savelli
Children	Théodore François Gaëtan Gallieni
Alma mater	École Spéciale Militaire Prytanée Militaire
Military service
Allegiance	Second Empire Third Republic
Branch/service	French Army Marine Troops
Years of service	1868 – 1916
Rank	Division general[a]
Commands	13th Corps 14th Corps 5th Army
Battles/wars	Franco-Prussian War World War I

Joseph Simon Gallieni (24 April 1849 – 27 May 1916) was a French military officer, active for most of his career as a military commander and administrator in the French colonies where he wrote several books on colonial affairs.^[1]

He was recalled from retirement at the beginning of the First World War. As Military Governor of Paris he played an important role in the First Battle of the Marne, when Maunoury's Sixth Army, which was under his command, attacked the German west flank. A small portion of its strength was rushed to the front in commandeered Paris taxicabs.

From October 1915 he served as Minister of War, resigning from that post in March 1916 after criticizing the performance of the French Commander-in-Chief, Joseph Joffre (formerly his subordinate, earlier in their careers), during the German attack on Verdun. He died later that year and was made Marshal of France posthumously in 1921.

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