Charles Huntziger

Charles Léon Clément Huntziger (French: [ʃaʁl œ̃tsiʒe]; 25 June 1880 – 12 November 1941) was a French Army general best known for his role in the Battle of Sedan in May 1940 and as Minister of War of Vichy France until his death in a plane accident in 1941. He also signed the Franco-German and Franco-Italian armistices on behalf of France in June 1940.

Huntziger distinguished himself during the First World War as head of operations for the Allied Army of the Orient on the Macedonian front from January 1918, where he served as a key architect behind the Vardar offensive that knocked Bulgaria out of the war that September. Between 1924 and 1928, he commanded French troops in the French concession in Tianjin before heading the French military mission to Brazil from 1930 to 1934. Between 1934 and 1938, Huntziger commanded French troops in the Levant, where he assisted in negotiating the 1936 Franco-Lebanese and Franco-Syrian independence treaties.

The decisions Huntziger made leading up to and during the Battle of France have been criticised by historians. In command of the Second Army, he was faced with the Schwerpunkt (main effort) of the German offensive through the Ardennes that broke through his lines. Alongside his ministerial position, Huntziger also served as commander-in-chief of the Armistice Army. Though largely forgotten, he remains a controversial figure in France.

Charles Léon Clément Huntziger was born in Lesneven, Finistère on 25 June 1880 to Léon Jacques Huntziger (b.1853), a music and German teacher, and Marie Élise Julie Manière. Following the Franco-Prussian War, his father had emigrated from Alsace in 1871 to avoid conscription into the German army.

In 1896, Huntziger enrolled at the Lycée of Nantes on a national scholarship and as a boarder, where he studied elementary mathematics. After receiving his baccalauréat, he prepared for Saint-Cyr to which he was admitted in 1898.

Upon leaving Saint-Cyr in 1900 as a second lieutenant, Huntziger joined the colonial infantry, specifically the 2nd Colonial Infantry Regiment garrisoned in Brest. In 1902, he was assigned to the 2nd Malagasy Tirailleurs Regiment [fr] in Madagascar as commander of the sub-sector of Andemaka. He transferred to the 3rd Senegalese Tirailleurs Regiment [fr] in June 1903 and returned to the 2nd Colonial Infantry Regiment in France at the end of 1904, after his end-of-campaign leave. In November 1905, Huntziger was assigned to the 2nd Senegalese Tirailleurs Regiment in Upper Senegal and Niger. He finished his stay in July 1907 and was assigned to the 21st Colonial Infantry Regiment in Paris in February 1908, entering the War College (ESG) in autumn 1909 after completing required training with the 1st Colonial Infantry Regiment.

On 30 June 1909, Huntziger married Marie Alice Maurin who was the daughter of Jean Félix Albert Maurin, the quartermaster general at the Ministry of War. He graduated from the ESG in 1911, being promoted to the rank of capitaine in September, and began his staff internship in the 4th Army Corps in Le Mans. Huntziger was sent to Indochina in 1912, where he finished his internship at the High Command of Indochina in Hanoi. In December 1913, he assumed command of the 2nd company of the 1st Tonkinese Tirailleurs Regiment [fr], where he remained at the outbreak of the First World War.

At Huntziger's request he was transferred back to France, assuming command of a company of the 6th Colonial Battalion in Morocco in November 1914. Upon arriving in France, he was sent to the front on the Somme where he distinguished himself and earned a citation to the order of the army [fr] in December. In January 1915, he was assigned to the staff of the 24th Infantry Division [fr] in Champagne and Lorraine. In June, he was transferred to the 2nd Colonial Army Corps [fr] and was in charge of supplies during the Champagne offensive in September, for which he was made a knight of the Legion of Honour the following month. Huntziger became head of the 3rd Bureau (operations) of the 2nd Army Corps in early 1916 and was promoted to chef de bataillon in October.