Chief of Staff of the French Army

The Chief of the Army Staff (French: Chef d'état-major de l'armée de terre,^{[lower-alpha 1]} CEMAT)^[2] is the military head of the French Army.^[3] The chief directs the army staff and acts as the principal advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff on subjects concerning the Army.^[4] As such, they ensure the operational preparedness of their service branch, express their need for military and civilian personnel, and are responsible for maintaining the discipline, morale and conduct of their troops.^[5] Special responsibilities can be assigned to them in relation to nuclear safety.^[6]

Chief of the Army Staff
Chef d'état-major de l'armée de terre
Honor flag[1]
Incumbent Army General Pierre Schill since 22 July 2021
Ministry of the Armed Forces
Type	Chief of Staff
Abbreviation	CEMAT
Member of	Chiefs of Staff Committee
Reports to	Chief of the Defence Staff
Seat	Hexagone Balard, Paris
Appointer	President of the Republic Requires the Prime Minister's countersignature
Formation	8 June 1871; 153 years ago (1871-06-08)
First holder	François Hartung
Deputy	Major General of the Army
Website	defense.gouv.fr/terre

The chief does not have a fixed term, nor an attached rank. In practice, however, a term has never exceeded five years and all chiefs since the late 1950s have been five–stars generals (OF–09). They are assisted in their duties by the Major General of the Army who will deputise if needed.

General Pierre Schill is the current chief and has been serving since 22 July 2021.

History

Creation

The office was originally created on 8 June 1871 as Chief of the General Staff of the Army.^[7] Following the fall of the Second French Empire, the central administration of the Ministry of War was reorganized. The Chief of Staff had full control of the operations of the army, military engineering services, military justice, and general resources such as the historic and geographic departments. The Chief reported directly to the Minister of War.

However, under some governments, the position was given a lesser importance and was attributed to a Général de brigade, the lowest of the two flag officer ranks existing at the time in the French Army. In normal circumstances, it was filled by a Général de division.

First World War

In times of war, the Chief of Staff of the French Army took charge of general headquarters (Grand Quartier Général (1914–1919) (GQG)). During the First World War, the leader of the French Armies was variously referred to as generalissimo or commander-in-chief.^{[lower-alpha 2][8]} In the closing years of the First World War I, the establishment of the Supreme War Council in 1917 led to overall command being held by General Ferdinand Foch, and by mid-1918 French Army Chief Philippe Pétain was subordinate to Foch. Although the war ended with the armistice in November 1918, the war-time organisation persisted until 1920.

Interwar

During the interwar period, command of the French Army was divided between the vice president of the Superior War Council and the chief of the general staff of the Armies. Marshal Philippe Pétain was vice president from 1920 to 1931, when he was replaced by General Weygand. After Weygand retired in 1935 he was succeeded by Gamelin who held the two positions simultaneously.

Second World War

The position was abolished during the Battle of France and not reestablished until the end of the war.^[9][10][11]

Postwar

The modern-day office of Chief of Staff of the Army was created in 1951.^[12] The Chief is placed under the authority of the Chief of the Defence Staff and is member of the Chiefs of Staff committee.

Office holders

Third Republic

No.	Portrait	Rank & Name	Term			Minister	Commander-in-Chief	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Duration
Office established
1		Brigade general Edmond Hartung	9 June 1871	2 June 1873	1 year, 358 days	Ernest de Cissey François du Barail	Adolphe Thiers	[13] -
2		Division general Jean-Louis Borel	2 June 1873	2 June 1874	1 year, 0 days	François du Barail Ernest de Cissey	Patrice de MacMahon	[14] -
3		Division general[lower-alpha 3] Henri Gresley	2 June 1874	29 November 1877	3 years, 180 days	Ernest de Cissey Jean Berthaut Gaëtan de Rochebouët		[15] -
4		Division general Joseph de Miribel	29 November 1877	25 January 1879	1 year, 57 days	Gaëtan de Rochebouët Jean-Louis Borel Henri Gresley		[16] -
5		Division general Léopold Davout	25 January 1879	11 January 1880	351 days	Henri Gresley Jean-Joseph Farre	Jules Grévy	[17] -
6		Division general Omer Blot	11 January 1880	16 November 1881	1 year, 309 days	Jean-Joseph Farre Jean-Baptiste Campenon		[18] -
7		Division general Joseph de Miribel	16 November 1881	18 February 1882	94 days	Jean-Baptiste Campenon Jean-Baptiste Billot		[19] -
8		Division general Achile Vuillemot	18 February 1882	5 January 1885	2 years, 322 days	Jean-Baptiste Billot Jean Thibaudin Jean-Baptiste Campenon Jules Lewal		[20] -
9		Division general[lower-alpha 3] Charles Warnet	5 January 1885	9 April 1885	94 days	Jules Lewal Jean-Baptiste Campenon		[21] -
10		Division general Amédée de Cools	9 April 1885	10 January 1886	276 days	Jean-Baptiste Campenon Georges Boulanger		[22] -
11		Division general Eugène Galland	10 January 1886	14 January 1886	4 days	Georges Boulanger		[23] -
12		Division general[lower-alpha 3] Savin de Larclause	14 January 1886	6 July 1887	1 year, 173 days	Georges Boulanger Théophile Ferron		[24] -
13		Division general[lower-alpha 3] Charles Haillot	6 July 1887	7 May 1890	2 years, 305 days	Théophile Ferron François Logerot Charles de Freycinet	Sadi Carnot	[25] -
14		Division general Joseph de Miribel	7 May 1890	29 September 1893	3 years, 145 days	Charles de Freycinet Julien Léon Loizillon		[26] [27]
15		Division general Raoul de Boisdeffre	29 September 1893	3 September 1898	4 years, 339 days	Julien Loizillon Auguste Mercier [...] Jean-Baptiste Billot Jacques Cavaignac		[28] [27]
							Jean Casimir-Perier
							Félix Faure
16		Division general Jean Renouard	3 September 1898	5 November 1898	63 days	Jacques Cavaignac Charles Chanoine Édouard Locroy Charles de Freycinet		[29] -
17		Division general Paul Brault	5 November 1898	27 September 1899†	326 days	Charles de Freycinet Camille Krantz Gaston de Galliffet		[30] [27]
							Émile Loubet
18		Brigade general[lower-alpha 4] Alfred Delanne	27 September 1899	5 July 1900	281 days	Gaston de Galliffet Louis André		[31] -
19		Division general[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4] Jean Pendézec	5 July 1900	2 August 1905	5 years, 28 days	Louis André Maurice Berteaux		[32] [27]
20		Division general Jean Brun	2 August 1905	5 August 1909	4 years, 3 days	Maurice Berteaux Eugène Étienne Georges Picquart Jean Brun		[33] [27]
							Armand Fallières
21		Division general Édouard de Ladébat	5 August 1909	31 May 1911	1 year, 299 days	Jean Brun Aristide Briand Maurice Berteaux François Goiran		[34] [27]
22		Division general Augustin Dubail	31 May 1911	29 July 1911	59 days	François Goiran Adolphe Messimy		[35] [27]
23		Division general Joseph Joffre	29 July 1911	14 December 1916	5 years, 138 days	Adolphe Messimy Alexandre Millerand [...] Pierre Roques Hubert Lyautey		[36] [37]
							Raymond Poincaré
24		Division general Robert Nivelle	14 December 1916	30 April 1917	137 days	Hubert Lyautey Lucien Lacaze Paul Painlevé		[38] -
25		Division general Philippe Pétain	30 April 1917	16 May 1917	16 days	Paul Painlevé		[39] -
26		Division general[lower-alpha 5] Ferdinand Foch	16 May 1917	29 December 1918	1 year, 227 days	Paul Painlevé Georges Clemenceau		[40] -
27		Division general Henri Alby	29 December 1918	25 January 1920	1 year, 27 days	Georges Clemenceau André Lefèvre		[41] -
28		Division general Edmond Buat	25 January 1920	30 December 1923†	3 years, 339 days	André Lefèvre Flaminius Raiberti Louis Barthou André Maginot	Paul Deschanel	[42] [43]
							Alexandre Millerand
29		Division general Eugène Debeney	9 January 1924	3 January 1930	5 years, 359 days	André Maginot Charles Nollet [...] Paul Painlevé André Maginot		[44] -
							Gaston Doumergue
30		Division general Maxime Weygand	3 January 1930	10 February 1931	1 year, 38 days	André Maginot Louis Barthou André Maginot		[45] -
31		Division general Maurice Gamelin	10 February 1931	20 May 1940	9 years, 100 days	André Maginot André Tardieu [...] Louis Maurin Édouard Daladier		[46] [47]
							Paul Doumer
							Albert Lebrun
Office disestablished (1940–1945)

Fourth Republic

No.	Portrait	Rank & Name	Term			Minister[lower-alpha 6]	Commander-in-Chief	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Duration
Office reestablished
32		Army general Jean de Lattre	30 November 1945	12 March 1947	1 year, 102 days	Edmond Michelet Félix Gouin Georges Bidault François Billoux	Charles de Gaulle	[48] -
							Félix Gouin
							Georges Bidault
							Vincent Auriol
33		Corps general Georges Revers	12 March 1947	15 December 1949	2 years, 278 days	François Billoux Yvon Delbos [...] Paul Ramadier René Pleven		[49] [50]
34		Corps general Clément Blanc	15 December 1949	16 June 1955	5 years, 183 days	René Pleven Jules Moch [...] Jacques Chevallier Marie-Pierre Kœnig		[51] -
							René Coty
35		Army general André Zeller	16 June 1955	2 March 1956	260 days	Marie-Pierre Kœnig Pierre Billotte Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury		[52] -
36		Corps general Jean Piatte	2 March 1956	11 November 1956	254 days	Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury		[53] -
37		Corps general Henri Lorillot	11 November 1956	2 July 1958	1 year, 233 days	Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury André Morice Jacques Chaban-Delmas Pierre de Chevigné Charles de Gaulle		[54] -

Fifth Republic

No.	Portrait	Rank & Name	Term			Minister	Commander-in-Chief	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Duration
38		Army general André Zeller	2 July 1958	1 October 1959	1 year, 91 days	Charles de Gaulle Pierre Guillaumat	René Coty	[55] -
							Charles de Gaulle
39		Army general André Demetz	1 October 1959	18 July 1962	2 years, 290 days	Pierre Guillaumat Pierre Messmer		[56] -
40		Army general Louis Le Puloch	18 July 1962	3 April 1965	2 years, 260 days	Pierre Messmer		- [57]
41		Army general Émile Cantarel	3 April 1965	1 May 1971	6 years, 28 days	Pierre Messmer Michel Debré		- [58]
							Georges Pompidou
42		Army general Alain de Boissieu	1 May 1971	1 April 1975	3 years, 335 days	Michel Debré Robert Galley Jacques Soufflet Yvon Bourges		[59] [60]
							Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
43		Army general Jean Lagarde	1 April 1975	1 October 1980	5 years, 183 days	Yvon Bourges Joël Le Theule		[61] -
44		Army general Jean Delaunay	1 October 1980	10 March 1983	2 years, 160 days	Robert Galley Charles Hernu		[62] [63]
							François Mitterrand
45		Army general René Imbot	10 March 1983	25 September 1985	2 years, 199 days	Charles Hernu		[64] [65]
46		Army general Maurice Schmitt	25 September 1985	16 November 1987	2 years, 52 days	Paul Quilès André Giraud		[66] [67]
47		Army general Gilbert Forray	16 November 1987	17 April 1991	3 years, 152 days	André Giraud Jean-Pierre Chevènement Pierre Joxe		[68] [69]
48		Army general Marc Monchal	17 April 1991	28 August 1996	5 years, 133 days	Pierre Bérégovoy François Léotard Charles Millon		[70] [71]
							Jacques Chirac
49		Army general Philippe Mercier	28 August 1996	21 January 1999	2 years, 146 days	Charles Millon Alain Richard		[72] -
50		Army general Yves Crène	21 January 1999	1 September 2002	3 years, 223 days	Alain Richard Michèle Alliot-Marie		[73] [74]
51		Army general Bernard Thorette	1 September 2002	16 July 2006	3 years, 318 days	Michèle Alliot-Marie		[75] [76]
52		Army general Bruno Cuche	16 July 2006	3 July 2008	1 year, 353 days	Michèle Alliot-Marie Hervé Morin		[77] [78]
							Nicolas Sarkozy
53		Army general Elrick Irastorza	3 July 2008	1 September 2011	3 years, 60 days	Hervé Morin Alain Juppé Gérard Longuet		[79] [80]
54		Army general Bertrand Ract-Madoux	1 September 2011	1 September 2014	3 years, 0 days	Gérard Longuet Jean-Yves Le Drian		[81] -
							François Hollande
55		Army general Jean-Pierre Bosser	1 September 2014	31 July 2019	4 years, 333 days	Jean-Yves Le Drian Sylvie Goulard Florence Parly		[82] -
							Emmanuel Macron
56		Army general Thierry Burkhard	31 July 2019	22 July 2021	1 year, 356 days	Florence Parly		[83] [84]
57		Army general Pierre Schill	22 July 2021	Incumbent	3 years, 62 days			[85] -

See also

• Chief of the Defence Staff
  • Chief of Staff of the Air Force
  • Chief of Staff of the Navy
  • Special Operations Command
  • Directorate General of the National Gendarmerie

References

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Notes

1. lit. 'Chief of Staff of the Land Army'
2. This official title (sometimes referred to as Généralissime) gave the Chief of Staff full authority over all French armies.
3. Brigade general at the time of his appointment, promoted to Division general while in office.
4. Appointed "Chef d'état-major général avec le titre faisant fonction"; faisant fonction is a locution indicating that an officer is holding an office usually attached to a higher rank.
5. Subsequently appointed Supreme Allied Commander (1918–1920).
6. The Minister of War was responsible until 1947, after which the Minister of the Armed Forces took over.