Franchet d'Ésperey, Louis-Felix-Marie-François

(1856-1942)

   marshal

   Born in Mostaganem, Algeria, Louis-Felix-Marie-François Franchet d'Ésperey served in Tunisia, Algeria, and then in Tonkin. He was made a member of the army's General Staff and also of the cabinet of charles de freycinet (1886), taking part in the expedition to China against the Boxers, who sought to expel all foreign presence from their country (1900). Subsequently, he was called to Morocco by Marshal louis lyautey (1912). Appointed at the beginning of World War I by General joseph joffre to lead the Fifth Army (after the battle of Guise, 1914), he then commanded the army divisions of the East (1916) and the North (1917). Commander in chief of the Allied armies on the eastern front, he achieved a quick and victorious offensive against the Bulgarians (taking of Dobro Polje), who were then forced to sign the armistice in september 1918. Promoted to the rank of marshal, he became inspector general of the troops in North Africa (1923), where he helped to install the large trans-saharan communication lines. Franchet d'Ésperey was elected to the Académie Française in 1934.