Edmond Buat


Edmond Alphonse Léon Buat, was a general in the French Army.

World War I

In World War I, Buat commanded first the 121st Infantry division and then the 2nd Army Corps. In January 1917, he became the head of the General Reserve of the Artillery. From February 1918, he commanded successively the 33rd Infantry division, the 17th Army Corps and from 12 June, the 5th Army.

Chief of Staff

Buat was appointed Chief of Staff of the French Army on 20 January 1920, and attended the first meeting of Conseil supérieur de la guerre following the armistice on 31 January. When asked by Alexandre Millerand whether the French Army had the capacity to occupy the Ruhr he replied that this would only be possible by mobilising the reserves.

Death

He was buried in the Cemetery Miséricorde, Nantes. On 10 July 1927 Petain, Alexandre Millerand and Ragueneau attended the inauguration of a monument to Buat in Nantes.

Publications

He wrote several books on military history specialising in artillery tactics:
His journal, Journal du général Edmond Buat 1914-1923 was published posthumously by the French Ministry of Defense in 2015.

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