André Beaufre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
André Beaufre
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André Beaufre in 1972 being interviewed in The World at War
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| Born | 25 January 1902 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France |
| Died | 13 February 1975 (aged 73) Belgrade, Yugoslavia |
| Allegiance |  France |
| Service/ |
French Army |
| Years of service | 1921–1961 |
| Rank | Général d'Armée |
| Battles/wars | Rif War World War II First Indochina War Suez Crisis Algerian War |
André Beaufre (25 January 1902 – 13 February 1975) was a French Army officer. He became a very high-ranking general, known as a Général d'Armée, before he retired in 1961. He was also a famous thinker about military strategies.
Beaufre was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. In 1921, he joined the military academy at École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr. There, he met Charles de Gaulle, who later became a French president. In 1925, Beaufre fought in Morocco against the Rif people. They were fighting against French rule. After this, he studied at other important schools. He then joined the French army's main planning team.
By the end of World War II, he was a colonel. He became well-known around the world for his ideas on military strategy. He also strongly supported France having its own nuclear weapons. In 1956, he led French forces in the 1956 Suez War against Egypt. In 1958, Beaufre became a top leader at the main headquarters for NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in Europe. In 1960, he was promoted to a full general. He retired from the army in 1961 because of his health. Beaufre died in 1975 while giving talks in Yugoslavia.
Contents
André Beaufre's Military Career
World War II
From 1940 to 1941, Beaufre worked in national defense in Algeria. During this time, he was arrested by the French Vichy regime. This government worked with Nazi Germany. After he was released in 1942, he joined the Free French Forces. These were French soldiers who kept fighting against Germany. He served on different battlefronts until the war ended in 1945.
In his book 1940: The Fall of France, Beaufre wrote about the quick defeat of the French Army. He believed this was a very important event of the 20th century. He thought that if France had held out, Adolf Hitler's power might have fallen. This could have prevented many terrible events, like the Nazi takeover of Europe and the Holocaust. He shared these ideas in interviews for the TV show The World at War. You can watch a part of it here: Episode 3.
Indochina
In 1952, General Beaufre was in French Indochina. He was part of a group studying NATO's military plans. He thought about building small, hidden defenses called "shields." These would protect against nuclear attacks. He also suggested using very light and fast troops. These troops would have special nuclear cannons. His ideas were for a time when countries might use nuclear weapons.
Algeria
Beaufre was a general during the Algerian War. He led a group of soldiers called the "Iron Division." These troops had just come from Indochina. They didn't fully understand this new kind of war, which was about a country fighting for its freedom. They faced tough attacks from Krim Belkacem's fighters.
In his book Introduction to Strategy, Beaufre wrote about a new way to think about war. He said that the battlefield should include all parts of society. This means things like social life and ideas. He believed that the military should help organize all parts of a country. This included using radio and schools to help win a conflict.
Influence on Strategy
Total Strategy
General André Beaufre created the term "Total Strategy." This was a plan used by the security forces in South Africa. It combined many different ways to fight against groups that wanted to change the government. It used ideas from other countries and added new ones for South Africa.
Beaufre's ideas were very important in military training in South Africa. A famous expert, Philip Frankel, studied this "Total Strategy." He found that many military courses used Beaufre's writings. This idea also influenced how South Africa managed water resources shared with other countries.
Nuclear Deterrence
In the early 1960s, Beaufre became a leading thinker on military strategy. He strongly supported France having its own nuclear weapons. This was very important to French President Charles de Gaulle. Beaufre believed that France's nuclear weapons would make the West stronger. He thought it would make the Soviet Union less sure about attacking. This would help prevent war.
Beaufre wrote important books like "An Introduction to Strategy" and "Deterrence and Strategy." His ideas greatly influenced how people thought about "deterrence." Deterrence means stopping an enemy by making them fear the consequences. Military historians called "An Introduction to Strategy" one of the best books on strategy of its time. Even the Vatican studied his writings.
Beaufre said that nuclear deterrence was the only way to prevent or end a war. He believed that the threat of nuclear war worked well during the Cold War. This was a time when the world was divided into two main sides. The fear of nuclear war stopped countries from fighting directly. Countries had to think carefully about the huge damage a war would cause.
Beaufre thought that direct military action should be avoided in a nuclear world. He believed victory could be won by making the enemy unable to act. This was done through "indirect action." It wasn't just about scaring the enemy. It was also about showing strength and hiding one's own fear. This idea of "peace through terror" helped prevent a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union.
For Beaufre, the threat of nuclear war was the best way to keep peace. He felt that nuclear weapons made the world more stable than regular weapons. He saw this mainly from France's point of view. He believed that a race to build regular weapons made things unstable. But a nuclear arms race could create stability.
Beaufre's idea was that the threat of atomic weapons was the only way to keep the world stable. He thought that if one side became much stronger in regular weapons, it could lead to instability. But in a nuclear war, both sides would be destroyed. So, the simple hope of winning could make an enemy attack. Beaufre called this the "dialectic of the expectations of victory."
Quotes
- "We suffered from an illness which is not peculiar to the French - the illness of having been victorious."
- "The collapse of the French Army is the most important event of the 20th century."
- "Throughout the entire course of history, warfare is always changing."
- "The game of strategy can, like music, be played in two keys. The major key is direct strategy, in which force is the essential factor. The minor key is indirect strategy, in which force recedes into the background and its place is taken by psychology and planning."
- "Victory is a very dangerous opportunity."
Works
- Introduction to Strategy (New York: Praeger, 1965)
- Deterrence and Strategy (London: Faber, 1965)
- NATO and Europe (1966)
- 1940: The Fall of France (London: Cassell, 1967)
- Mémoires 1920–1940–1945 (1969)
- The Suez Expedition 1956 (English Translation, Faber & Faber 1969)
- La guerre révolutionnaire... (Paris : Fayard, 1972)
- La Nature de l'histoire (1974)
- La stratégie de l'action (Paris : ED. DE L'AUBE, 1997)
Images for kids
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André Beaufre in 1972 being interviewed in The World at War
