# List of French generals who died during the First World War

This is a list of French generals who died during the First World War (1914–1918). The list is published by the French war graves authority Le Souvenir français and includes all generals they have determined to have mort pour la France (lit. 'died for France'). It includes those killed in action or died of wounds but also those who died from illness contracted on active duty. The list includes generals who died as late as 1923.

## Background

In 1914 the French Army of around 770,000 men maintained 21 army corps of around two divisions each. There were a total of 47 infantry and 10 cavalry divisions which included 92 infantry brigades, 38 cavalry brigades, and 21 field artillery brigades; these formations would typically have been commanded by a general officer. By the war's end in 1918 the army had expanded to 3,000,000 men in 113 divisions. During that time it had suffered 1,327,000 men killed, died of wounds, or missing and presumed dead.
There were only two general officer ranks in the French Army, that of général de brigade (equivalent to brigadier-general) and of général de division (equivalent to major-general). Généraux de brigade (and sometimes colonels) commanded brigades and sub-divisions of larger units, while armies, corps and divisions were led by généraux de division; additional generals were required to serve in staff positions. The military distinction (not rank) of Marshal of France, held for life, was sometimes granted to senior generals. At the start of the war in 1914 there had been no living marshals since the death of François Certain de Canrobert in 1895. During the course of the war it would be awarded to two generals, Joseph Joffre and Ferdinand Foch, with Philippe Pétain receiving the honour shortly after the 11 November 1918 armistice. Five other generals were granted the honour in the early 1920s, in two cases (Michel-Joseph Maunoury and Joseph Gallieni) the men had died as generals during the war.
Age limits for active service were 62 years for généraux de brigade and 65 for généraux de division. Generals tended to be towards the upper limit of these ages, with all army commanders in August 1914 aged between 61 and 64. Low pay and slow career progression led to a shortage of officers and non-commissioned officers in the pre-war French Army. At the outbreak of the war the army was short 400 officers of all ranks. It could put into the field only 120 généraux de division out of a requirement of 160 and just 220 généraux de brigade, out of a requirement of 260. Additional generals were recalled from retirement, though many of these were elderly and ill suited for campaigning.

## List

The Le Souvenir français is responsible for maintaining French war memorials and cemeteries and providing information about war dead. It maintains a list of military personnel determined to have mort pour la France ("died for France"), a designation granted under the French Code des pensions militaires d'invalidité et des victimes de guerre [fr] ("code for military disability pensions and victims of war"). The designation is granted for those killed in action, died of wounds, died from illness contracted on active duty or executed by an occupying power among other categories.
Le Souvenir français publishes selections of those who died in the First World War as Livre d'or des morts pour la France de la guerre de 1914-1918 [fr] ("Golden book of those who died for France in the 1914-1918 war"). This list is extracted from Le Souvenir français member Gérard Gehin's Livre d'or des officiers superieurs morts pour la France guerre 14-18 ("Golden book of superior officers who died for France in the 1914-1918 war"). Gehin's work lists all officers of lieutenant-colonel rank or above, but only the 81 officers who held general rank at the time of their death are listed here. It includes some officers who died as late as 1923 where Le Souvenir français has determined they qualify as mort pour la France. Where details are missing from Gehin's list additional information has been taken from the sources cited.
French historian Laurent Guillemot published a book, La Liste de Foch (French: Foch's list), in 2017 that discussed the French generals who died during the war. He notes that Foch prepared a list of 40 he deemed to have been killed in action (plus Admiral Victor-Baptistin Senès), whose names were inscribed on the memorial at Les Invalides. To this list Guillemot adds Général de Brigade Corneille Trumelet-Faber who died of wounds following a German shell explosion. Guillemot noted that the average age of the men he listed was 56.5 years and that two-thirds were killed by shell fire and the remainder shot. He notes that around 76 British generals were killed in the war, 2 Belgian, 2 Italian, and 2 Romanians. On the opposing side he notes around 70 German generals, 40 Austro-Hungarian, and one Ottoman killed.
In the list below generals listed by Foch are denoted in red.
| Name | Rank | Unit commanded | Date of death | Department or country of death | Cause of death |
| Ernest Jean Aime [fr] | Général de brigade | 67th Infantry Division | 6 September 1916 | Meuse, France | Enemy action |
| Ernest Anselin [fr] | Général de brigade | 214th Infantry Brigade | 24 October 1916 | Meuse, France | Enemy action |
| Emile Olivier Paul Arlabosse | Général de brigade | 45th Infantry Brigade | 5 February 1920 | Lot-et-Garonne, France | Sickness contracted on service |
| Paul Arrivet [fr] | Général de brigade | 109th Reserve Infantry Brigade | 29 October 1914 | Somme, France | Enemy action |
| Albert Baratier [fr] | Général de division | 134th Infantry Division | 17 October 1917 | Marne, France | Died suddenly |
| Ernest Auguste Barbade [fr] | Général de brigade | 25th Infantry Brigade | 10 September 1914 | Marne, France | Enemy action |
| Ernest Jacques Barbot [fr] | Général de brigade | 77th Infantry Division | 10 May 1915 | Pas-de-Calais, France | Enemy action |
| Joseph Louis Alphonse Baret [fr] | Général de division | 6th Military Region | 28 August 1920 | Isère, France | Sickness |
| Marie Désiré Pierre Bataille [fr] | Général de brigade | 41st Infantry Division | 8 September 1914 | Vosges, France | Enemy action |
| Jules Augustin Williams Léon Battesti [fr] | Général de brigade | 52nd Reserve Infantry Division | 25 September 1914 | Marne, France | Enemy action |
| Victor Paul Bouttieaux | Général de brigade | Engineers, 4th Army Corps | 22 July 1918 | Seine-et-Oise, France | Accident on service |
| Marie Joseph Eugène Bridoux [fr] | Général de division | Bridoux Cavalry Corps | 25 September 1914 | Somme, France | Enemy action |
| Paul Constant Caudrelier [fr] | Général de brigade | 6th Colonial Infantry Brigade | 30 November 1914 | Marne, France | Enemy action |
| Georges Challe [fr] | Général de brigade | 148th Infantry Brigade | 11 October 1917 | Meuse, France | Enemy action |
| Aimé Charles Henri de Clermont-Tonnerre | Général de brigade | 113th Infantry Brigade | 22 December 1916 | Côte-d'Or, France | Sickness |
| Jean Lambert Alphonse Colin | Général de brigade | Infantry, 30th Infantry Division | 30 December 1917 | Serbia | Enemy action |
| Camille Cousin | Général de brigade | 165th Territorial Infantry Brigade | 16 April 1917 | Seine, France | Enemy action |
| Etienne Albert Crepey | Général de division | 14th Infantry Division | 24 October 1917 | Haute-Garonne, France | Sickness |
| Achille Pierre Deffontaines | Général de brigade | 24th Infantry Division | 26 August 1914 | Marne, France | Died of wounds |
| Gilbert Etienne Defforges [fr] | Général de division | 5th Military Region | 28 March 1915 | Loiret, France | Sickness |
| Louis Gabriel Alexandre Delarue [fr] | Général de brigade | 121st Reserve Infantry Brigade | 20 March 1915 | Marne, France | Enemy action |
| Nicolas Victor Delmotte | Général de brigade | 33rd Infantry Division | 22 January 1916 | Somme, France | Sickness |
| Pierre des Vallières [fr] | Général de brigade | 151st Infantry Division | 28 May 1918 | Aisne, France | Enemy action |
| Paul Emile Diou | Général de brigade | 63rd Infantry Brigade | 23 August 1914 | Aisne, France | Died of wounds |
| Léon Adrien Duflos | Général de brigade | Inspector-General of the National Gendarmerie | 15 May 1919 | Bouches-du-Rhône, France | Sickness |
| Gaston Dupuis [fr] | Général de brigade | 67th Infantry Brigade | 9 September 1914 | Marne, France | Enemy action |
| Georges Jacques Durand | Général de brigade | 69th Infantry Brigade | 18 November 1914 | Charente-Maritime, France | Died of wounds |
| François Eugène Durupt | Général de brigade | 147th Infantry Brigade | 15 August 1922 | Seine, France | Died of wounds |
| Joseph Gallieni | Général de division (also a Marshal of France) | Military Governor of Paris | 27 May 1916 | Seine-et-Oise, France | Sickness |
| Marie François Adolphe Ganeval | Général de brigade | 3rd Infantry Brigade of the Oriental Expeditionary Corps | 7 June 1915 | Ottoman Empire | Enemy action |
| Auguste Gérôme | Général de division | 1st Group of the Eastern Division | 10 May 1919 | Bouches-du-Rhône, France | Sickness |
| Pierre Girodon [fr] | Général de brigade | 12th Infantry Division | 25 September 1916 | Somme, France | Enemy action |
| Charles Antoine Grand D'Esnon | Général de brigade | 149th Reserve Infantry Brigade | 21 September 1914 | Meuse, France | Enemy action |
| Paul François Grossetti | Général de division | Army of the Orient | 7 January 1918 | Somme, France | Sickness |
| Pierre Amable Guignabaudet | Général de division | 41st Infantry Division | 30 May 1918 | Belgium | Died of wounds |
| Alfred Emile Hollender | Général de brigade | Assistant commander of the 3rd Military Region | 1 October 1919 | Moselle, France | Sickness |
| Charles Jacquot | Général de division | 35th Army Corps | 22 June 1922 | Vosges, France | Died of wounds |
| Henri Pierre Jullien | Général de brigade | Military Governor of Langres | 27 December 1918 | Seine, France | Sickness |
| Athanase Marie Krien | Général de brigade | 35th Infantry Brigade | 9 May 1916 | Meuse, France | Died of wounds |
| Emile Eugène Ladoux | Général de brigade | Depot of the 12th Artillery Brigade | 12 November 1921 | Seine, France | Sickness |
| Pierre Henri Lafont | Général de brigade | French Military Mission to Romania | 12 December 1918 | Romania | Sickness |
| Paul Lancrenon | Général de division | Assistant to the General Commander of the Staff | 10 July 1922 | Seine, France | Sickness |
| Henri Armand de Laporte d'Hust | Général de brigade | 55th Infantry Division | 3 October 1916 | Meuse, France | Sickness |
| Victor Emmanuel Largeau [fr] | Général de brigade | 37th Infantry Brigade | 27 March 1916 | Meuse, France | Sickness |
| Jean Pierre Larroque [fr] | Général de brigade | 10th Colonial Infantry Division | 31 December 1921 | Tarn-et-Garonne, France | Sickness |
| Emile Charles Lavisse | Général de brigade | Assistant Commander of the 15th Military Region | 28 June 1915 | Seine, France | Died of wounds |
| Pierre Auguste Georges Léré | Général de brigade | 92nd Territorial Infantry Division | 15 February 1915 | Pas-de-Calais, France | Sickness |
| Lucien Lizé [it] | Général de brigade | Artillery of the French Army in Italy | 5 January 1918 | Italy | Enemy action |
| Louis Loyzeau de Grandmaison | Général de division | 5th Group of Reserve Divisions | 19 February 1915 | Aisne, France | Died of wounds |
| Gabriel Malleterre | Général de brigade | Director, Army Museum | 26 November 1923 | Seine, France | Died of wounds |
| Louis François Marcot [fr] | Général de division | 81st Territorial Infantry Division | 4 October 1914 | Pas-de-Calais, France | Enemy action |
| Louis Joseph Margueron | Général de brigade | 120th Infantry Brigade | 30 December 1917 | Seine, France | Sickness |
| Georges Marquet | Général de brigade | 17th Infantry Brigade | 16 September 1914 | Meuse, France | Enemy action |
| Joseph Georges Antoine Masnou [fr] | Général de division | 1st Division of the Oriental Expeditionary Corps | 17 July 1915 | Mediterranean | Died of wounds |
| Michel Joseph Maunoury | Général de division (also a Marshal of France) | On reserve list | 28 March 1923 | Loiret, France | Sickness |
| Victor Joseph Antoine Meunier [fr] | Général de division | Military Governor of Lyon | 13 July 1916 | Seine, France | Sickness |
| Frédéric Henry Micheler [it] | Général de division | 5th Army Corps | 15 August 1917 | Rhône, France | Died of wounds |
| Marie Henry Louis de Montangon | Général de brigade | 105th Reserve Infantry Brigade | 29 July 1919 | Seine, France | Sickness |
| Louis Fernand Montaudon | Général de brigade | Cavalry depots, 9th Military Region | 29 March 1916 | Maine-et-Loire, France | Sickness |
| Alphonse Jean André Monterou | Général de brigade | 30th Infantry Division | 19 May 1919 | Haute-Garonne, France | Sickness |
| Charles Montignault | Général de brigade | 1st Colonial Infantry Brigade | 24 November 1921 | Ille-et-Vilaine, France | Sickness |
| Jean Baptiste Albert Moussy | Général de brigade | 33rd Infantry Division | 21 May 1915 | Pas-de-Calais, France | Enemy action |
| Joseph Maurice Pambet | Général de division | Assistant to the commander of the 12th Military Region | 6 January 1916 | Dordogne, France | Accident on service |
| Louis Victor Plessier | Général de brigade | 88th Infantry Brigade | 27 August 1914 | Rhône, France | Died of wounds |
| Jean Baptiste Joseph Proye | Général de brigade | 45th Infantry Brigade | 10 December 1915 | Seine, France | Died of wounds |
| Léon Amédée François Raffenel | Général de brigade | 3rd Colonial Infantry Division | 22 August 1914 | Belgium | Enemy action |
| Camille Marie Emile Ravenez | Général de brigade | 315th Infantry Brigade | 7 November 1917 | Alpes-Maritimes, France | Sickness |
| Marius Abel Rey | Général de brigade | Military Government of Paris | 17 December 1918 | Seine, France | Sickness |
| Edouard Auguste Reymond | Général de brigade | 4th Colonial Infantry Brigade | 27 December 1914 | Marne, France | Enemy action |
| Georges Emile Riberpray | Général de brigade | 128th Infantry Division | 11 September 1917 | Meuse, France | Enemy action |
| Charles Rondony | Général de brigade | 3rd Colonial Brigade | 22 August 1914 | Belgium | Enemy action |
| Charles Auguste Henri Roques [fr] | Général de brigade | 10th Infantry Division | 26 September 1914 | Meuse, France | Died of wounds |
| Jean Louis Théodore Rousseau | Général de brigade | 137th Reserve Infantry Brigade | 20 September 1914 | Marne, France | Enemy action |
| Christian Léon Sauret | Général de brigade | 2nd Section of General Officers | 30 June 1920 | | Sickness |
| Marcel Serret [fr] | Général de brigade | 66th Infantry Division | 6 January 1916 | Haut-Rhin, Germany | Died of wounds |
| Charles Antoine Sibille | Général de brigade | 64th Infantry Brigade | 27 September 1914 | Meurthe-et-Moselle, France | Enemy action |
| Jean Paul Ernest Stirn [fr] | Général de brigade | 77th Infantry Division | 12 May 1915 | Pas-de-Calais, France | Enemy action |
| Corneille Gustave Ernest Trumelet-Faber | Général de brigade | 81st Territorial Infantry Division | 11 April 1916 | Seine, France | Died of wounds |
| Henri Alexis Joseph Vanwaetermeulen | Général de brigade | Infantry, 165th Division | 16 July 1918 | Marne, France | Died of wounds |
| Paul Venel | Général de brigade | With the Army of the Orient | 25 March 1920 | Meurthe-et-Moselle, France | Sickness |
| Walter Waddington | Général de brigade | 12th Dragoon Brigade | 23 June 1920 | Germany | Sickness |