Antoine Chanzy

Antoine Alfred Eugene Chanzy is a Général French, born with Nouart in the the Ardennes the March 18th 1823 and deceased with Châlons in the night of the 4 with the January 5th 1883.

Biography

Of a family of farmers, his father and his uncle engaged in the Napoleonean troops. If the uncle had remained in the army and had become captain of Cuirassier S, his/her father on the other hand had left the service after having been warrant officer and knight of the Légion of honor. He had obtained, with his return in 1821, a station of direct tax collector, administrative office which made of him a modest civil servant but guaranteed to him a correct life for him and its family.

After having followed some time the classes of the college of Holy-Menehould, Chanzy engages at 16 years in 1839 like Timonier on Neptune , but the lack of naval battle disappoints it. Frustration, and especially vexations of the sailors and a chronic sea sickness, were right of its short vocation and it left the navy on its return in France, on December 10th 1840. It engages in 1841 with the 5 {{E}} Régiment of Artillery of Metz, then follows the courses to the royal Collège.

Entered in 1841 with Saint-Cyr military school (133e on 138 with the entrance examination), raises studious, it leaves in the twenty-five first of its promotion, is named second lieutenant in 1843 and is joined the Zouaves ordered by Cavaignac with Blida. There will remain 16 years in Algérie.

Present at the rendering of Abd el-Kader, lieutenant in 1848 with the 43 {{E}} Regiment of Infantry of Line, Captain in 1851 with the 1 {{er}} Foreign Regiment of the Foreign legion, it joined the service of the Arab offices with Tlemcen then with Oran.

Major in 1856 with the 23 {{E}} of line, it takes part in the war in Italy (battles of Magenta and Solférino in June 1859).

Lieutenant-colonel with the 71 {{E}} Regiment of Infantry of Line in April 1860, it leaves in August with the Task force to Syria, where it is ordering HQ in charge of the political matters, thanks to its knowledge the Arab .

It accomplishes a stay with the body of occupation of Rome, with the 72 {{E}} of Line, of 1861 with 1864.

Colonel in 1864 of the 48 {{E}} Regiment of Infantry of Line, it is of return in Algérie with its regiment, where it fights on the Moroccan border.

Brigadier general in 1868, it exerts the command of subdivision to beautiful Sidi Abbès, where it " nettoie" the south-west of the raids of Moroccan tribes. It associates at that time like nearer collaborator the future Général to Boisdeffre, which will follow it in all its stations. It becomes Commandeur of the Légion of honor in June 1870.

With the declaration of war he sees himself refusing a station with the Armée with the Rhine. Major general on October 20th 1870 on intervention of Mac-Mahon near Gambetta, it is named chief of the 16 {{E}} Corps of the first Armée with the Loire. It takes part in the combat of Coulmiers and Loigny. December 6th, it is named Commander-in-chief second army of the Loire, stops a time the German offensive with Villorceau. But it cannot progress and is folded up on Vendôme, then on Mans where its army is beaten January 10th and 11th 1871. It is withdrawn then on Laval on January 16th and Right Bank of the Mayenne, where the Armistice finds it January 28th 1871.

The battles of Mans is an important defeat for the French Army. In 1871, a board of inquiry is created whose report/ratio, overpowering for the French Army, is written by the Breton historian Arthur of Borderie.

Elected official Appointed of the the Ardennes in 1871, without same to have made act of Candidature, so much his prestige is tall, it joined the government with Bordeaux, where it preaches the continuation of the resistance. March 7th, the army of the Loire is dissolved. Chanzy goes to Paris on March 18th, whereas the Commune is organized. Decree, it is threatened of execution, then released. With Versailles, it lines up in the republican moderated and sits at the Center-left. Then it is named Senator. With the head of the 7 {{E}} Army corps in 1872, it becomes General governor of Algeria in July 1873. Named irremovable Senator in 1875 and elected president of the general advice of the the Ardennes, he sees himself entrusting the station of Ambassadeur in Russia to Saint-Petersbourg in February 1879, station which he occupies during three years before resigning about it on dissension with Gambetta. He obtains some votes (13,88%) against Jules Grévy with the presidential election of 1879.

In 1882, it is reinstated in the État-Major general and named member of the Superior council of the war. It takes the command of the 6 {{E}} Army corps with Châlons-sur-Marne.

He succumbs abruptly to Châlons of a brain hemorrhage, in the night from January 4th to 5th 1883. He is buried with Buzancy in the the Ardennes. There exist many statues of the Chanzy general, of which that of the monument to the second army of the Loire to the Mans, due to the sculptor inhabitant of Lille Crauk, and various versions of the of the Ardennes sculptor Aristide Croisy, in Buzancy, Nouart, the Senate, etc

Chanzy was catholic enthusiast and, although shown to be clerical, seems to be always opposite with the Ultramontanisme.

See too

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