FRANCHET D’ESPÈREY, Louis (1856-1942)

FRANCHET D’ESPÈREY, Louis (1856-1942)

Autograph quote signed « F. d’Espèrey »
N.p., 21 January 1937, 1 p. in-8° on beige laid paper

Impressive martial sentence of Marshal Franchet d’Espèrey

« La guerre est moins onéreuse que la servitude
F. d’Espèrey »

Marshal of France and member of the Académie française, Louis Franchet d’Espèrey distinguished himself during the Tonkin expedition in 1885 and then in 1900, during the war against the Boxers in China. Commander of the 5th Army from September 1914 to March 1916, he succeeded in stopping the German army on the Oise and played a significant role in the victory of the Marne. Sent by Clemenceau to the Eastern Front in 1918, he forced Bulgaria to sign an armistice and provoked one of the Ottoman Empire in October, contributing to the surrender of Germany on November 11.