{{short description|French general}} {{More citations needed|date=January 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Augustin Dubail | image = Dubail, Général Augustin, Agence Meurisse, BNF Gallica.jpg | caption = General Dubail in 1921, wearing his “[[Kepi]] over one eye with the ''chic exquis'' (exquisite chic) of the [[Second French Empire|Second Empire]]”.<ref name="Tuchman 1962, p.46-7"/> | birth_date = {{birth date|1851|04|15|df=y}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1934|01|07|1851|04|15|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Belfort]], [[Second French Republic|French Republic]] | death_place = [[Paris]], [[Third French Republic|French Republic]] | resting_place = | children = | mother = | father = | spouse = | alma_mater = [[Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr|École Spéciale Militaire]] | signature = | allegiance = {{flagicon|France|1794}} [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]] | branch = [[French Army]] * [[Infantry]] | service_years = 1870 – 1916 | rank = Division general | unit = | commands = {{Collapsible list | title = List | * 14th Infantry Division * [[9th Army Corps (France)|9th Corps]] * [[First Army (France)|1st Army]] * [[Army Group East (France)|Army Group East]] }} | battles = {{Collapsible list | title = List | * [[Franco-Prussian War]] * [[First World War]] }} | office1 = [[Military governor of Paris]] | predecessor1 = [[Michel Joseph Maunoury]] | term_start1 = 1916 | term_end1 = 1918 | successor1 = [[Adolphe Guillaumat]] | office5 = 1st [[Army Group East (France)#Commanders|Commander]] of the [[Army Group East (France)|Army Group East]] | president5 = Raymond Poincaré | 1blankname5 = [[Minister of War (France)#Third Republic|Minister of War]] | 2blankname5 = [[Chief of Staff of the French Army#Third Republic|Chief of Staff]] | 1namedata5 = Alexandre Millerand <br> [[Joseph Gallieni]] <br> [[Pierre Roques]] | term_end5 = 31 March 1916 | term_start5 = 1 July 1915 | 2namedata5 = Joseph Joffre | predecessor5 = ''Military unit created'' | successor5 = Pierre Roques | office4 = 1st [[1st Army (France)#World War I|Commander]] of the [[1st Army (France)|1st Army]] | predecessor4 = ''Military unit created'' | president4 = [[Raymond Poincaré]] | term_end4 = 5 January 1915 | term_start4 = 2 August 1914 | successor4 = [[Pierre Roques]] | 1blankname4 = [[Minister of War (France)#Third Republic|Minister of War]] | 1namedata4 = Adolphe Messimy <br> [[Alexandre Millerand]] | 2blankname4 = [[Chief of Staff of the French Army#Third Republic|Chief of Staff]] | 2namedata4 = Joseph Joffre | office2 = 22nd [[Chief of Staff of the French Army|Chief of the Army Staff of France]] | term_start2 = 31 May | term_end2 = 29 July 1911 | predecessor2 = Édouard de Ladébat | successor2 = [[Joseph Joffre]] | 1blankname2 = [[Minister of War (France)#Third Republic|Minister of War]] | 1namedata2 = [[François Louis Auguste Goiran|François Goiran]] <br> [[Adolphe Messimy]] | president2 = [[Armand Fallières]] | prime_minister2 = [[Joseph Caillaux]] | office3 = 4th [[9th Army Corps (France)#Commanders|Commander]] of the [[9th Army Corps (France)|9th Army Corps]] | term_start3 = 20 January 1912 | term_end3 = 29 April 1913 | predecessor3 = [[Gaston, Marquis de Galliffet|Marquis de Galliffet]] | successor3 = [[Pierre Joseph Dubois]] | 1blankname3 = [[Minister of War (France)#Third Republic|Minister of War]] | 1namedata3 = [[Alexandre Millerand]] <br> [[Albert Lebrun]] <br> [[Eugène Étienne]] | 2blankname3 = [[Chief of Staff of the French Army#Third Republic|Chief of Staff]] | 2namedata3 = Joseph Joffre | president3 = Armand Fallières <br> Raymond Poincaré }} '''Augustin Yvon Edmond Dubail''' (15 April 1851 – 7 January 1934) was a [[French Army]] [[general]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1934/01/08/95467131.html?zoom=15.77|title=GEN. DUBAIL DEAD; FRENCH ARMY HERO; Orand Chancellor of Legion of Honor Played Vital Part' in His Nation's Victory. SAVED CITY OF NANCY, 1914 Military Governor of Paris in 1916 Began His Long Career in the Franco-Prussian War.|date=January 8, 1934|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 5, 2018|page=17|language=en}}</ref> He commanded the [[First Army (France)|First Army]]<ref name=":0" /> and Army Group East during [[World War I]].
== Biography == Augustin Dubail<ref>Dubail was named Augustin Yvon Edmond at birth. See online Base Léonore quoted below.</ref> was born in [[Belfort]] on April 15, 1851.<ref name=":0" /> He graduated from the military school of [[Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr|Saint-Cyr]] in 1870 and was commissioned an officer in the infantry. During the [[Franco-Prussian War]] Dubail fought at [[Saarbrücken]], [[Battle of Spicheren|Spicheren]], [[Battle of Borny–Colombey|Borny]] before being captured at [[Siege of Metz (1870)|Metz]]. After the war Dubail served as a professor at Saint-Cyr, as an officer on the border and in [[French Algeria|Algeria]], where in 1901 he became colonel of the 3rd Zouaves.
In 1904–1905 Dubail served twice as chief of staff of the [[Minister of Defence (France)|French Minister of War]] [[Maurice Berteaux]]. Promoted to brigadier general, Dubail commanded the 53rd Infantry Brigade, the 5th Infantry Brigade and the 14th Infantry Brigade and was commandant of Saint-Cyr (1906–1908) before being appointed to the technical committee of the infantry.
During the [[Agadir Crisis]] in 1911 Dubail was Chief of Staff of the Army,<ref name=":0" /> reporting to the new War Minister, [[Adolphe Messimy]]. Messimy and Dubail tried to have the Army adopt 105mm heavy guns, but French generals saw them as a drag on the offensive (preferring to use the lighter and more mobile ''"[[Canon de 75 modèle 1897|Soixante-Quinze]]"'' gun) and better used as a defensive weapon like machine guns, so only a few were in use by 1914.<ref>Tuchman 1962, p. 230</ref> General [[Victor-Constant Michel]], Vice-President of the Supreme War Council and commander-in-chief designate, later claimed that Dubail had privately agreed with his plans to deploy reservists in the front line and to adopt a more defensive war plan; however Michel had to resign when no senior general backed him.<ref name="Tuchman 1962, p.46-7">Tuchman 1962, p.46-7</ref> Dubail's post was abolished in Messimy's reforms.<ref>Tuchman 1962, p. 48-9 The job was merged with that of Vice-President of the Supreme War Council to create a new enhanced post of Chief of the General Staff; the generals considered for the post - [[Joseph Joffre]] (who was appointed), [[Joseph Gallieni]] and [[Paul Pau]] - were all senior to Dubail</ref>
In 1912 Dubail was given command of the [[9th Army Corps (France)|IX Corps]]<ref name=":0" /> and in 1914 he became a member of the Supreme War Council.
When the war broke out Dubail was given command of the [[First Army (France)|First Army]], which would start the invasion of Germany by [[Battle of Lorraine|taking Lorraine]] together with [[Noël Édouard, vicomte de Curières de Castelnau|de Castelnau's]] [[Second Army (France)|Second Army]]. The armies met strong German resistance and were repulsed out of Lorraine with heavy casualties. They were able to reform and defend the French border against a German attack.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}
In 1915 he was promoted to commander of [[Army Group East (France)|Army Group East]] (G.A.E) on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], around [[Belfort]] and [[Verdun]]. He became convinced that a major German offensive was coming against Verdun. He called for reinforcements and heavy artillery and the new [[Allie]] tanks for the Verdun sector, but the French commander-in-chief, [[Joseph Joffre]], wasn't convinced that an attack was imminent.
When the [[Battle of Verdun|German offensive began at Verdun]], Joffre partly blamed Dubail, who was fired in March 1916, publicly humiliated. He claimed to have been made a scapegoat for Joffre's lack of foresight, although he had himself public played down the likelihood of a German attack at Verdun. {{citation needed|date=August 2009}} Dubail was hired again in April 1916, becoming military governor of [[Paris]], a position he kept until June 1918, when he was replaced by General Guillaumat.<ref name=":0" /> Dubail died on January 7, 1934,<ref name=":0" /> aged 82.
== Decorations == *[[Légion d'honneur]] **Knight (24 June 1886) **Officer (11 July 1900) **Commander (30 December 1905) **Grand Officer (30 December 1911) **Grand Cross (18 September 1914)<ref name=":0" /> *[[Médaille militaire]]<ref name=":0" /> (8 October 1915) *[[Croix de guerre 1914-1918 (France)|Croix de guerre 1914–1918]] with 3 palms<ref name=":0" /> * [[Commemorative medal of the 1870–1871 War]] *Médaille Interalliée de la Victoire 1914-1918 *Médaille Commémorative de la Grande Guerre * [[War Cross (Belgium)|War Cross]] (Belgium) *[[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]] (US) *[[Order of St Michael and St George|Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]] (UK)<ref name=":0" /> *[[Order of Glory (Tunisia)|Officer of Nichan Iftikhar]] (Tunisia) *[[Order of Saint Stanislaus|Grand Cross of St. Stanislas]]<ref name=":0" /> *[[Order of the White Eagle (Poland)|Grand Cross of the White Eagle]]<ref name=":0" /> *[[Order of the Crown (Romania)|Grand Cross of the Crown]]<ref name=":0" /> *[[Order of the Sacred Treasure|Grand Cross of the Sacred Treasure]]<ref name=":0" /> *[[Order of the Rising Sun|Grand Cross of the Rising Sun]]<ref name=":0" />
== References == {{reflist}}
=== General references === * David F. Burg & L. Edward Purcell, ''Almanac of World War I'', The University Press of Kentucky, 1998. * [[Christopher Clark]], ''The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914'', Allen Lane, Penguin, 2012. * {{Cite book |last=Tuchman |first=Barbara |title=[[The Guns of August]] |publisher=Random House |year=1962 |isbn=978-0345476098}}. * [http://www.ecole-superieure-de-guerre.fr/promotions/biographie/100 Biography of Augustin Dubail]. * [http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/leonore_fr?ACTION=RETROUVER&FIELD_98=NOM&VALUE_98=%27DUBAIL%27&NUMBER=2&GRP=0&REQ=%28%28%27DUBAIL%27%29%20%3aNOM%20%29&USRNAME=nobody&USRPWD=4%24%2534P&SPEC=9&SYN=1&IMLY=&MAX1=1&MAX2=1&MAX3=100&DOM=All Base Léonore for his records concerning the Légion d'honneur (French decoration)].
== External links == * {{Internet Archive author |sname=Auguste Dubail}}
{{World War I}} {{Military governors of Paris}} {{Authority control}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubail, Auguste}} [[Category:1851 births]] [[Category:1934 deaths]] [[Category:Chiefs of the Staff of the French Army]] [[Category:Military personnel from Belfort]] [[Category:French Army generals of World War I]] [[Category:Military governors of Paris]] [[Category:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour]] [[Category:French recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)]] [[Category:Grand chancellors of the Legion of Honour]] [[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)]] [[Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]] [[Category:Foreign recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United States)]] [[Category:École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr commandants]] [[Category:19th-century French military personnel]] [[Category:French recipients of the Legion of Honour]]