Maurice Gustave Gamelin

Maurice Gustave Gamelin , 1872-1958, French army officer. During World War I he served on General Joffre's staff and as a division commander. He was made chief of the French general staff (1931) and chief of staff of national defense (1938). When World War II broke out, he commanded the Allied forces. Considering France ill prepared for war, he relied on the Maginot Line and on passive warfare. In May, 1940, Germany began to overrun France; on May 19, Gamelin was replaced by Gen. Maxime Weygand. Arrested by the Vichy government, Gamelin was a defendant at the abortive trial at Riom . He was freed from imprisonment in Germany in 1945.

Gamelin, Maurice Gustave (1872–1958) French general. As a staff officer in World War I he helped to plan the successful Battle of the MARNE (1914) and served with distinction through the war. In World War II as commander-in-chief of the Allied forces, he was unprepared for the German thrust through the Ardennes which resulted in disaster for his forces. In mid-May 1940 Gamelin was replaced by General WEYGAND.