Maxime Weygand

Maxime Weygand (January 21, 1867 - January 28, 1965) was a French military commander in both World War I and World War II.

Inter-war period

Weygand in Poland

After the war his career continued well despite the retirement of Foch. Weygand was briefly sent as an advisor to Poland in 1920 during the Polish-Soviet War, trying without much success to aid Józef Pi?sudski. The mission also included French diplomat Jean Jules Jusserand and the British diplomat Lord Edgar Vincent D'Abernon. It achieved little; indeed, the crucial Battle of Warsaw was fought and won by the Poles before the mission could return and make its report. Subsequently, for many years, the myth that the timely arrival of Allied forces saved Poland was begun, a myth in which Weygand occupies the central role.

Related Topics:
Poland - 1920 - Polish-Soviet War - Józef Pi?sudski - Jean Jules Jusserand - Edgar Vincent D'Abernon - Battle of Warsaw - Myth

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Weygand travelled to Warsaw in the expectation of assuming command of the Polish army, yet he met with a very disappointing reception. His first meeting with Pi?sudski on 24 July started on the wrong foot, as he had no answer to Pi?sudski's opening question, "How many divisions do you bring?" Weygand had no divisions to offer. On 27 July, he was installed as adviser to the Polish Chief of Staff, Rozwadowski, but their cooperation was poor. He was surrounded by officers who regarded him as an interloper and who deliberately spoke in Polish, depriving him not only of a part in their discussions but even of the news from the front. His suggestions for the organization of Poland's defence were systematically rejected. At the end of July he proposed that the Poles hold the line of the Western Bug; a week later he proposed a purely defensive posture along the Vistula. Neither plan was accepted. One of his few contributions was to insist that a system of written staff orders should replace the existing haphazard system of orders passed by word of mouth. He was of special assistance to General W?adys?aw Sikorski, to whom he expounded the advantages of the River Wkra. But on the whole he was quite out of his element, a man trained to give orders yet placed among people without the inclination to obey, a proponent of defence in the company of enthusiasts for the attack. On 18 August, when he met Pi?sudski again he was told nothing of the great victory, but was "regaled instead with a Jewish tale". It offended his dignity as a "representant de la France" and he threatened to leave. Indeed there was nothing to do but leave. The battle was won; armistice negotiations were beginning; the crisis had passed. He urged D'Abernon and Jusserand to pack their bags and make as decent an exit as possible. He was depressed by his failure and dismayed by Poland's disregard for the Entente. On the station at Warsaw on 25 August he was consoled by the award of the medal, the Virtuti Militari; at Cracow on the 26th he was dined by the mayor and corporation; at Paris on the 28th he was cheered by crowds lining the platform of the Gare de l'Est, kissed on both cheeks by the Premier Alexandre Millerand and presented with the Grand Order of the Legion of Honour. He could not understand what had happened and has admitted in his memoirs that "the victory was Polish, the plan was Polish, the army was Polish". He was the first uncomprehending victim, as well as the chief beneficiary, of a legend already in circulation that he, Weygand, was the victor of Warsaw. This legend persisted for more than forty years even in academic circles.

Related Topics:
24 July - 27 July - Western Bug - Vistula - W?adys?aw Sikorski - 18 August - 25 August - Virtuti Militari - Alexandre Millerand - Grand Order of the Legion of Honour

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Weygand in the peace

Weygand was elected a member of the Académie française (seat #35) in 1931. He also served as high commissioner in Syria and as Inspector-General of the army from 1931 before retiring in 1935. Weygand was recalled to active service by Edouard Daladier in August 1939 to head the French forces in the Middle East.

Related Topics:
Académie française - 1931 - Syria - 1935 - Edouard Daladier - 1939 - Middle East

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