Allegiance France Awards Legion of Honour Name Marcel Carpentier | Rank General d'Armee Years of service 1914-1956 Service/branch French Army | |
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Born 2 March 1895
Marseille, France ( 1895-03-02 ) Battles/wars World War I
World War II
First Indochina War Died September 14, 1977, Mettray, France Commands held French Far East Expeditionary Corps Battles and wars World War I, World War II, First Indochina War Similar People Jean Etienne Valluy, Henri Navarre, Raoul Salan, Vo Nguyen Giap, Jean de Lattre de Tassigny | ||
Marcel Maurice Carpentier (2 March 1895 – 14 September 1977) was a French Army general who served in World War I, World War II and First Indochina War.
Born on 2 March 1895 in Marseille, he was the eldest son in his family. He studied at the School of St Cyr. In 1937 he was Chef d'état-major (chief of staff) of the Commandant supérieur of Levantine Troops. From 1940-1941 he served under Jean de Lattre de Tassigny as chief of staff of the commander in chief of North Africa at the headquarters of Vichy French forces in Tunisia. In 1942 Carpentier joined General Charles de Gaulle's Free French forces, becoming chief of staff of the French Expeditionary Corps in 1943. He continued in this post until 1944, when he became Commander of the 2nd Moroccan Division, with which he served until 1945.
After World War II he was in charge of France's 15 military region and was appointed Commandant supérieur of Tunisian Troops in 1946. He was made Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honor in 1947.
In 1949 he was appointed commander-in-chief of French Union forces in Indochina, but in 1950 following the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Route Coloniale 4 he was replaced by de Lattre. Carpentier then returned to Europe to become chief of staff assigned to NATO in 1951, serving there until 1952. In 1956 he was appointed Inspector General of Infantry, eventually retiring as Commander in Chief of NATO for Central Europe.