Maurice Gamelin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maurice Gamelin
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General Gamelin c. 1940
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| 31st Chief of the Army Staff | |
| In office 10 February 1931 – 20 May 1940 |
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| Preceded by | Maxime Weygand |
| Succeeded by | Jean de Lattre de Tassigny |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 September 1872 Paris, French Republic |
| Died | 18 April 1958 (aged 85) Paris, French Republic |
| Nationality | French |
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| Alma mater | École Spéciale Militaire |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Third Republic |
| Branch/service | French Army |
| Years of service | 1891 – 1940 |
| Rank | Army general |
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Maurice Gustave Gamelin (born September 20, 1872 – died April 18, 1958) was a top general in the French Army. He is mostly remembered for leading the French military during the difficult Battle of France in World War II. This battle took place from May to June 1940.
At the start of World War II, Gamelin was the Commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. People saw him as a very smart leader. Even in Germany, generals respected his intelligence. He had served well in World War I. However, his command during the key days of May 1940 did not go well. Some historians say Gamelin tried to fight World War II using old World War I methods.
Gamelin served under General Joseph Joffre in World War I. He is often given credit for planning the French counter-attack in 1914. This plan helped France win the First Battle of the Marne. In 1933, Gamelin became the head of the French Army. He worked to make the army more modern and added new machines. He also oversaw the building of the Maginot Line defenses.
French leader Édouard Daladier supported Gamelin a lot. This was because Gamelin kept politics out of military plans. He also strongly believed in France's republican government. This was important at a time when some groups wanted to change the government.
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Early Life and Training
Maurice Gamelin was born in Paris, France, on September 20, 1872. His father, Zéphyrin, was a soldier who fought in the Battle of Solferino in 1859. From a young age, Maurice seemed like he would become a soldier. He grew up at a time when many French people wanted revenge on Germany. This was because Germany had taken Alsace-Lorraine after the Franco-Prussian War.
Becoming a Military Leader
Gamelin joined the army on October 19, 1891. Soon after, he entered the military academy at Saint-Cyr on October 31. In 1893, he finished first in his class, showing he was a very talented student.
He started his career with the French tirailleurs (a type of infantry) in Tunisia. Later, he joined a mapping team. When Gamelin returned to Paris in 1897, he went to the famous École Supérieure de Guerre. He finished second in this school, which trained the best future officers. His teachers saw him as smart and hardworking. They believed he would reach high positions in the army.
In 1904, Gamelin commanded a company of soldiers called the Chasseurs Alpins. His superiors praised him for how well he worked during training.
Early Military Achievements
In 1906, Gamelin wrote a book called Philosophical Study on the Art of War. Experts liked the book and thought he would become an important military thinker. He then worked for General Joseph Joffre, who later became a very important French leader in World War I. This job helped Gamelin learn a lot about war strategies and tactics.
In 1911, Gamelin took command of the 11th battalion of the Chasseurs Alpins. In March 1914, he joined Joffre's main staff. Early in World War I, Gamelin helped create the plans for the First Battle of the Marne. This battle led to a big French victory. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel and fought in Alsace and on the Somme. He became a colonel in April 1916. Just eight months later, he was promoted again to brigadier general. From April 1917 until the end of the war, he led the French 11th Infantry Division. He showed great skill in gaining ground without losing too many soldiers' lives.
Between the World Wars
From 1919 to 1924, Gamelin led the French military group in Brazil. After that, he commanded the French Army in the Levant, which is now Syria and Lebanon. He was also a commander in Nancy from 1919 to 1931. In 1931, he became the head of the French Army's general staff.
In 1932, Gamelin knew that Germany's army was planning to grow much larger. He worked to prepare France's military for a possible war. However, he faced problems like limited money and political leaders who were slow to react to Germany's growing power. When World War II began in September 1939, Gamelin was seen as one of Europe's best generals. Even the German army respected him.
Role in World War II
When war was declared in 1939, Gamelin was France's top commander. His main office was at the Château de Vincennes. This office had a big problem: it lacked phone or electronic links to his commanders in the field. This was a huge mistake, especially with Germany's fast and flexible Blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactics.
The Phoney War and Early Plans
France saw little fighting during the first months of the war, known as the "Phoney War". A few French divisions crossed into Germany in the Saar Offensive, but they only went a short distance. They stopped before reaching Germany's unfinished Siegfried Line. Some German generals later said that if France had attacked harder in September 1939, Germany might not have lasted long. Gamelin ordered his troops back behind the Maginot Line. He had expected the Polish Army to hold out against Germany for six months. Gamelin's long-term plan was to wait until France and Britain had fully built up their forces, possibly until 1941. He also stopped any bombing of German factories to avoid Germany bombing France back.
Gamelin believed France's defense should be a strong, fixed line along the border with Germany, using the Maginot Line. However, this line did not go all the way along the border with Belgium. During the cold winter of 1939–40, work to extend the line into Belgium was slow. Also, the Ardennes forest area was thought to be impossible to cross. So, Gamelin decided to defend it with only a few reserve divisions and weak defenses. Most of the French army was placed further northwest, along the Belgian border.
The German Attack and Its Impact
Gamelin's ideas about defense had changed. He thought Germany would attack across northern Belgium, just like in 1914. Gamelin wanted to move French forces north into Belgium and the Netherlands to meet the German attack there. This plan, called the Dyle Plan, fit with Belgium's defense plans and Britain's goals. Gamelin sent many of France's motorized forces and the entire British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to follow this plan. This meant most of the French Army left its prepared defenses in northern France to fight on an unknown Belgian line.
Even though Gamelin knew German forces were building up and even knew the date of the planned attack, he did nothing until May 1940. He said he would "await events." When the Germans attacked, Gamelin insisted on moving 40 of his best divisions, including the BEF, north to follow the Dyle Plan.
In the first days of the Battle of Belgium, many Allied planes were destroyed on the ground. The remaining air support focused on the French advance, not on attacking the long German supply lines. Soon, the French and British feared being surrounded and pulled back from their defensive lines in Belgium. But they did not retreat fast enough. German tank divisions managed to get around them.
The German forces attacking further south crossed the River Meuse faster than expected. They were helped by strong air attacks from the Luftwaffe. Most bridges over the Meuse were destroyed by the French. However, one small dam near Sedan was left untouched and was only lightly defended. The Germans quickly captured it and used it to cross. Meanwhile, French guns were told to fire less to save ammunition. German General Heinz Guderian ignored his orders and attacked very aggressively on this front. In response, Gamelin moved forces from this area to defend Paris. He thought Paris was the Germans' main target, not the coast.
Believing he had been betrayed, Gamelin then replaced many of his front-line commanders.
Further north, German forces led by Major-General Erwin Rommel also advanced quickly, even against orders. He reached the sea west of the British Expeditionary Force. This trapped the British and French forces that had gone into Belgium and the Netherlands around Arras and Dunkirk. Moving from France to Belgium and back, many Allied tanks broke down. The French and British could no longer launch a strong tank counter-attack to break out. The speed of the German advance, their control of the air, and the Allies' inability to counter-attack weakened their position so much that Britain decided to leave the continent. Over 338,000 soldiers (including 120,000 French) were evacuated across the English Channel during the Dunkirk evacuation.
The Netherlands surrendered within five days of the attack, and Belgium in 18 days. France was left with only a small part of its army to defend itself. Gamelin was removed from his position on May 18, 1940. Paul Reynaud, who had become Prime Minister in March, replaced him with 73-year-old Maxime Weygand.
After the Fall of France
Gamelin was replaced by Maxime Weygand. The Vichy government later put Gamelin on trial. He was tried along with other important political and military figures from the Third Republic. Gamelin refused to answer the accusations against him, staying silent. The trial eventually fell apart.
He was held prisoner by the Vichy government in Fort du Portalet in the Pyrenees mountains. Later, the Germans sent him to Itter Castle in North Tyrol with other French officials. He was freed from the castle after the Battle for Castle Itter. After the war, he wrote his memories in a book called Servir, which means "to serve."
Maurice Gamelin passed away in Paris in April 1958, at the age of 85.
See also
In Spanish: Maurice Gamelin para niños
