Victor Bourret
Victor Bourret (22 September 1877 – 5 August 1949) was a French general and military administrator. He was born in Bastia, Corsica, the son of a gendarme. He joined the army in 1895 and trained at France’s officer schools in 1900 and 1913. He served in World War I on various staffs.
In the interwar years he led infantry units and worked in the Ministry of War. He was chief of Édouard Daladier’s military cabinet three times between 1932 and 1937. The British described him as a political general of little worth, and he was accused of isolating the minister from his officers.
He rose through the ranks: Brigadier-General in 1932, Major-General in 1935, Lieutenant-General in 1936, and General in 1939. At the start of World War II he commanded the Fifth Army in Alsace. One notable officer under his command was Colonel Charles de Gaulle, who led five tank battalions.
During the Battle of France, on 17 June 1940 Bourret was replaced as commander of the Fifth Army and placed in charge of reserves. As the army retreated, he stayed at Fort de Girancourt. He was captured on 25 June 1940 at Gérardmer and spent five years as a prisoner at Königstein Fortress in Saxony.
He was released on 9 May 1945 and returned to France a few days later. After the war he wrote The Tragedy of the French Army about the fall of France. Bourret died on 5 August 1949 in Cérans-Foulletourte, Sarthe.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:08 (CET).