Generals' affair


The Generals' Affair was a political-military scandal that happened under the French Fourth Republic during the First Indochina War. It lasted from September 1949 to November 1950.

Revers Mission (May–June 1949)

French Army Chief of Staff General Georges Revers was sent to French Indochina in the summer of 1949 to inquire about the military situation on the ground and the morale of the French troops. The report of his mission was to become known as the Rapport Revers.

Generals' Affair (September 1949)

The scandal burst in September 1949; by December, General Revers was dismissed.
The Revers Report drew a very pessimistic conclusion about the French situation in Indochina. Due to gross negligence, the confidential report soon fell into the hands of the Viet Minh, who broadcast it on radio in August 1949, deeply embarrassing the French.
In France, the newly created news magazine, L'Express, which was the first one in France, also published a part of the confidential report.

Generals' Affair Commission of Inquiry (January 1950)

In January 1950, the National Assembly of France created a Commission of Inquiry about the Generals' Affair.

Jules Moch's trial (November 1950)

On November 28, 1950, the National Assembly of France brought socialist Defense Minister Jules Moch to court over the Generals' Affair.