Alphonse Juin

France state institutions 1888–1967 ○ Died

Marshal of France who went over from Vichy command in North Africa to the Allies and broke the Gustav Line in Italy

Born at Bône in French Algeria, he graduated from Saint-Cyr, served with native troops in Morocco and lost the use of his right arm in the First World War. Commanding the 15th Motorised Infantry Division in 1940, he was captured in the Lille pocket and released in 1941 at Vichy's request to command French forces in North Africa. After the Allied landings of November 1942 he went over to the Allies and ordered French forces in Tunisia to resist the Germans and Italians, then led the French Expeditionary Corps in Italy, where his mountain warfare was crucial in breaking the Gustav Line. As Resident-General in Morocco from 1947 he opposed Moroccan independence; made Marshal of France in 1952, he commanded NATO's CENTAG, and his opposition to Algerian independence ended his career in 1962.

Also known as: Alphonse Pierre Juin