Antoine-Marie-Benoit Besson (1876–1969) was a French military officer. In World War II he was a general commanding the Third Army Group stationed along the river Rhine manning the Maginot Line.[1][2]
Benoît Besson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) General Besson in 1932 | |
| Native name | Benoît Antoine Marie Besson |
| Born | September 14, 1876 Pomeys |
| Died | July 23, 1969 (aged 92) Paris |
| Allegiance | France |
| Branch | French Army |
| Years of service | 1896 - 1940 |
| Rank | Army general |
| Commands | 3rd Army Group (France) 6th Army 16th Army Corps 15th Infantry Division 58th Brigade 4th Zouaves Regiment |
| Conflicts | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor |
Military career
editWorld War I: 1914–1918
editDuring World War I, Besson commanded the 4th Zouaves Regiment.
Interwar period: 1918–1939
editIn the interbellum, he commanded the 58th Brigade, the 15th Infantry Division and the 16th Army Corps.
World War II: 1939–1940
editIn September 1939, he commanded the 6th Army deployed in the Alps.
In October 1939, he took command of the French 3rd Army Group, which covered the section of the Maginot Line along the Rhine and the Swiss frontier. He and his command surrendered after 25 June as German Panzer units had reached the Swiss border and cut off the Maginot Line from the rest of France.
Sources
editM Romanych & M Rupp, Maginot Line 1940, Battles on the French frontier, Osprey Publishing, page 13
References
edit- ^ "Biography of General Antoine-Marie-Benoit Besson (1876–1969), France".
- ^ Georg Zivkovic Army- and Navy-leaders of the world: 1971 - Page 158 1940 6. Armee: Besson, Antoine-Marie-Benoît AG. lX.-X. 1939
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