General Maxime Weygand, 1867-1965: Fortune and Misfortune

176 Pages·2015·1.944 MB·English

by  Anthony Clayton

GENERAL MAXIME WEYGAND, 1867–1965

ANTHONY CLAYTON
GEN ERA L
M A X I M E
W EYGA ND
(cid:2)1867-1965
FORTUNE AND MISFORTUNE
Indiana University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis
This book is a publication of
Indiana University Press
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
iupress.indiana.edu
© 2015 by Anthony Clayton
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’
Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of the American National Standard for Information
Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ANSI Z39.48–1992.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Clayton, Anthony, [date]
General Maxime Weygand, 1867–1965 : fortune and misfortune / Anthony Clayton.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-253-01582-2 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-01585-3 (ebook) 1. Weygand,
Maxime, 1867–1965. 2. Generals—France—Biography. 3. France. Armée—Officers—
Biography. 4. World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns—France. 5. World War, 1939–1945—
Campaigns—Africa, North. I. Title.
DC373.W4C53 2015
355.0092—dc23
[B]
2014029045
1 2 3 4 5 20 19 18 17 16 15
In the summer of 1920, in
the Polish capital city, Warsaw,
a French officer and a British officer
worked closely together for a common good.
The personality of the French officer left its mark
on his British colleague. Almost a century later,
a by-product was to be this work.
(cid:2) (cid:2) (cid:2)
The British officer was this author’s father.
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgments ix
1 Birth and Early Years, 1867–1914 3
2 Chief of Staff, 1914–18 14
3 Versailles, Warsaw, Syria, 1919–24 45
4 Defense Policy in a Fractured France, 1925–39 55
5 Commander in Chief, May–June 1940 77
6 Minister for National Defense, June–September 1940 102
7 A General Out of Step: North Africa, 1940–41 115
8 Final Misfortunes and Final Years, 1941–65 128
Notes 143
Selected Bibliography 153
Index 157
This page intentionally left blank
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
General Maxime de Nimal Weygandlived an extraordinary life, achieving a
pinnacle of fame and prestige, but then later finding himself, in the words
of Shakespeare’s Rosalind, “out of suits with fortune,” a life that presents
a challenge to any biographer.
From the circumstances of his birth to the arrangements for his funeral
Weygand aroused controversy. After an outstanding First World War ca-
reer as chief of staff for Marshal Foch and service after the war in Poland
and Syria, Weygand became increasingly alarmed by the accession to
power of the Nazis in Germany and German rearmament. As a national
figure of great prestige and until 1935 France’s senior soldier, Weygand had
to face the first of two of the most difficult decisions that could confront
an army commander in peacetime: what should he do when faced with
a clear and highly dangerous military threat likely to bring catastrophe
upon his country when the civilian political leadership largely chose to
deny the threat? Weygand’s concerns over the state of the French army,
concerns also expressed by some right-wing groups, led to accusations
that he was anti-democratic. He always personally disassociated himself
from the political activities of these groups, but the accusations were to
reappear after the end of the Second World War.
Summoned to be commander in chief in mid-May 1940, Weygand was
very quickly faced with his second and even more difficult decision: what
does an army commander do when before him lies a crushing military
ix