Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr
Joseph Maurice Pambet was born on 13 March 1854 to Pierre Eduard Elisa Pambet and Mathilde Baudot Pambet at Commercy, Meuse. His father worked for the land registry at Ligny-en-Barrois. Pambet volunteered for army service at the town hall in Langres on 15 November 1872, at the age of 18. Nine days later he was appointed a cadet at the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr. Pambet received promotion to senior cadet on 5 April 1874 and was commissioned as a sous lieutenant in the 10th Battalion of the Chasseurs à Pied on 1 October 1874, having ranked 122nd out of his class of 304 at the academy.