Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
Born in 1840 to Eutrope Léon Niox and Elisabeth Caroline Desrayaud, he entered the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr in 1856 to join the 10th Infantry Regiment, then l'École d'État-Major in 1859, training to command the 66th Regiment in January 1861. He served with the Zouaves of the Imperial Guard and the second regiment of the Chasseurs d'Afrique, and was part of the French intervention in Mexico in the general staff, first in the topographical service, then later in the historical services.