A French general whose 1940 command exposed the tension between mountain-war expertise and an old command system
Robert Touchon was a French general who built his reputation through mountain warfare and infantry instruction, rising on the strength of First World War combat and Alpine commands. After the German breakthrough in May 1940, he commanded the Sixth Army, hastily placing forces moved from the Maginot Line along the Aisne and committing Charles de Gaulle’s 4th Armoured Division at Montcornet. The armoured force lacked full integration and coordinated support, while his army could only hold parts of the front before retreating. Retired after the armistice, Touchon later served on Vichy’s National Council and the Lyon section of its State Court, leaving a record that joins military authority to collaboration with an authoritarian regime.
Career Timeline
- 1899–1901Cadet at the Saint-Cyr military academy
- 1914–1918Commanded Alpine Chasseur battalions; served in the First World War and received multiple citations
- 1928–1930Commander of the 159th Infantry Regiment at Briançon
- 1932–1935Commandant of the Infantry and Combat Tanks Application School at Saint-Maixent
- 1938–1939Military governor of Lyon and commander of the 14th Military Region
- 1939.11–1940.02Commander of the XXIII Army Corps
- 1940.02–07Commander of the Sixth Army during the Aisne defence and the Montcornet counterattack
- 1941–1942Member of Vichy’s National Council and judge on the Lyon section of the State Court