Chief of Staff of the French Army


The Chief of Staff of the French Army is the head of the French Army and is responsible to the Minister of the Armed Forces in relation to preparation and deployment. They are a subordinate of the Chief of the Defense Staff and their deputy is the Major General of the Army. Since the 50's, the office has been held only by five stars generals. The current Chief is Général Thierry Burkhard since 31 July 2019.

History

Creation

The office was originally created on 8 June 1871 as Chief of the General Staff of the Army. 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 ). During the First World War, the leader of the French Armies was variously referred to as generalissimo or commander-in-chief. 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 period

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.

After the Second World War

The modern-day office of Chief of Staff of the Army was created in 1951. The Chief is placed under the authority of the Chief of the Defence Staff and is member of the Chiefs of Staff committee. The position is traditionally held by a Général d'armée.

Name of the office

The office took various names during its history:
The following is a list of chiefs that served under the Third Republic, the Fourth Republic and the Fifth Republic:

Third Republic

Fourth Republic

Fifth Republic