Ernest Joseph Blondlat
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Ernest Joseph Blondlat | |
|---|---|
.jpg) General Blondlat in 1918 | |
| Born | December 2, 1862 |
| Died | August 22, 1938 (aged 75) |
| Allegiance |  France |
| Branch |  French Army |
| Service years | 1881 – 1924 |
| Rank |  Général de Division |
| Commands | 2nd Colonial Army Corps Moroccan Division |
| Conflicts | Sino-French War First Franco-Dahomean War Second Franco-Dahomean War World War I |
| Alma mater | École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr |
Ernest Joseph Blondlat (2 December 1862 – 22 August 1938) was a French divisional general who participated in World War I. During the war, he was a commander of the 2nd Colonial Army Corps as well as the Moroccan Division.
Ernest was born on December 2, 1862, as the son of Claude Nicolas and Marie Dumagnon at Charleville-Mézières.[1]
Ernest Blondlat enlisted in the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr as a student of the Class of Egypt from October 29, 1881, to October 1, 1883.[1] He took part in the Sino-French War, the First Franco-Dahomean War and the Second Franco-Dahomean War. Major Blondlat then went to French Madagascar in 1899, where he served under the orders of General Hubert Lyautey. Seriously wounded during the Siege of Androy in October 1901, he later came back from January to April 1902, seizing 4,500 rifles. Blondlat was appointed colonel in 1905 and he commanded Tonkinese units in 1907.[1] In Morocco, from August to September 1912, he commanded the column of the Zaers at the Battle of El-Fedj. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1913.
World War I
At the outbreak of World War I, Blondlat was at the head of the 1st Brigade of the Moroccan Division with many reforms under his command as well as personally knowing all the men within his brigade.[2] He took part in the First Battle of the Marne, fighting with his unit west during the Battle of the Marshes of Saint-Gond. He took command of the Moroccan Division from September 14, 1914 to June 26, 1915. He obtained two commands while at the 10th Army. In June 1915, he was in command of the 2nd Colonial Army Corps and participated at the head of his unit in the Champagne offensive of September 1915. Still in command of the 2nd Colonial Corps, he participated in the battles of the Somme, Second Aisne and the Battle of Saint-Mihiel.[3]
