Alphonse Juin

After the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Juin helped arrange the despatch of units from the Armée d'Afrique to help defend metropolitan France. On 4 December, he was given command of the 15e Division d'Infantrie Motorisée (15e DIM). After the German attack began on 10 May 1940, the 15e DIM was ordered into Belgium to hold the area around Gembloux. This was held against German attacks on 14 and 15 May, before the defenders were compelled to retreat to Valenciennes. The 15e DIM came under heavy German attack on 24 May, and retreated into the Lille pocket, where it covered the British and French forces fighting in the Battle of Dunkirk. Some units of his division managed to escape to Dunkirk; the remainder fought until their ammunition ran out. Juin surrendered on 29 May.[19][22]

Juin became a prisoner of war, and was held in Oflag IV-B Koenigstein, a prison camp for officers in Königstein Fortress in Saxony. While in prison he was promoted to Général de division. He was released in June 1941 at the request of Pétain, now the head of the Vichy Government, in exchange for thirty German sailors, as a specialist in North African affairs. He was promoted to Général de corps d'armée on 16 July, and became commander of the troops in Morocco. Admiral François Darlan offered him the post of Minister for War following the death of Général d'armée Charles Huntziger in November 1941, but Juin turned down the offer, saying that he only wished to serve in North Africa. On 20 November, he was promoted to Général de corps d'armée, replacing Maxime Weygand as commander of French land forces in North Africa. In December he led a French mission to Germany that met with Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring to discuss what would happen if the German-Italian Panzerarmee Afrika was driven out of Libya by Operation Crusader. This did not occur, but a dispute over what should be done led to Juin relieving de Lattre of command of the forces in Tunisia, permanently damaging their friendship.[19][23]

Operation Torch, the invasion of Algeria and Morocco by British and American forces, came as a complete surprise to Juin, who had not been brought into secret discussions concerning the operation.[24] He was informed of the landings by Robert Daniel Murphy, the American consul-general in Algiers, on the morning of 8 November 1942 as the first waves were heading toward the beaches. Juin had previously told Murphy that his orders were to resist an invasion of North Africa, but he agreed to immediately consult with Darlan, who arrived at Juin's villa within minutes. Darlan, in turn, sent a message to Pétain in Vichy. Murphy was placed under house arrest in Juin's villa, the pro-Allied troops who had surrounded the villa were driven away, and Général de division Charles Mast, who had collaborated with the Allies, was relieved by Général de division Louis Koeltz.[25]

American Major General Geoffrey Keyes (left) with British Major General A. L. Collier (centre), and Juin (right). Note how he salutes with his left arm.

Juin did not want Algeria occupied by the Americans any more than he wished France to be occupied by the Germans, but he recognized the reality of the situation.[26] Darlan authorised Juin to negotiate a local ceasefire in Algiers, so Juin met with American Major General Charles W. Ryder, commander of the U.S. 34th Infantry Division, and the two arranged for an end to the fighting. Algiers was handed over to the Americans, French troops were confined to barracks but retained their weapons, and French police maintained law and order.[27] French resistance to the Allies continued elsewhere in North Africa until Darlan issued a ceasefire on 10 November, and directed Juin to order French forces in Tunisia to resist the Germans and the Italians. Juin's orders were not always obeyed by his subordinates in Tunisia, many of whom believed that Darlan and Juin were being held prisoner by the Americans,[28] but he was able to personally persuade Noguès to work with the Allies.[26]

In the reorganisation of French forces in North Africa on 13 November, Juin became commander of the Eastern Sector.[28] His command, known as the Détachement d'armée Français, held two distinct sectors on the Tunisian front, one in the north under Général de brigade Fernand Barré, and one in the south under Koeltz.[29] His forces were poorly equipped, and when the Germans and Italians counter-attacked, he had to call on the British and Americans for assistance. In January 1943, Juin agreed to a more regular command arrangement, with French forces being concentrated in Koeltz's XIX Corps, which was placed under Lieutenant General Kenneth Anderson's British First Army.[30]

Juin was promoted to Général d'armée.[31] He was given a tumultuous welcome from the populace when he entered Tunis after the Allies captured the city in May.[32] De Gaulle appointed Mast as Resident-General in Tunisia, but Mast was injured in an air crash, and Juin was asked to fill in for him.[31] In this role, Juin joined General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Général d'armée Henri Giraud, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder and Lieutenant General Kenneth Anderson on the review stand for the victory parade on 20 May.[33] A less savoury part of the job was informing Muhammad VII al-Munsif, the Bey of Tunisia, that he was being deposed. When Juin was informed that Pétain had stripped him of his French nationality and membership in the legion of honour, he merely noted that he was grateful he had not been sentenced to death.[31]

In July 1943, Eisenhower, now the Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), raised the possibility of French troops being used in the upcoming Italian campaign with Juin, who accepted on behalf of Giraud, who was in Washington, D.C.[34] Juin was placed in charge of a force known as Détachement d'armée A, which was intended to eventually grow into an army headquarters. Since it would form part of the U.S. Fifth Army, under the lower-ranking American Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, Juin styled his command the Corps Expéditionnaire Français (CEF), and took a reduction in rank to Général de corps d'armée. When the first division of the CEF, the 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division (2e DIM), arrived in November 1943, it was initially placed under the command of American Major General John P. Lucas's U.S. VI Corps. In his diary Lucas noted that Juin "turned out to be not only a splendid soldier but a fine and courteous gentleman as well."[35]

Clark (left) and Juin (right) in Siena, Italy, July 1944.

Juin's CEF relieved Lucas's VI Corps in the line when the CEF's second division, the 3rd Algerian Infantry Division (3e DIA) arrived in December.[36] For the CEF, the First Battle of Monte Cassino began on 12 January 1944, with the CEF advancing four miles to the upper Rapido River and the main defences of the German Gustav Line.[37] After the Allied landings at Anzio on 22 January 1944, he began an attack on Monte Belvedere, about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Monte Cassino.[38] On 29 January, he reported to Clark that "At the cost of unbelievable efforts and great losses," the 3rd Algerian Infantry Division had "accomplished the mission which you gave them."[39]

After three unsuccessful attempts to break the Gustav Line, British General Sir Harold Alexander, Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Allied Armies in Italy (AAI, later designated 15th Army Group), decided to make a coordinated attack with both the U.S. Fifth Army and Lieutenant General Sir Oliver Leese's British Eighth Army,[40] codenamed Operation Diadem.[41] As was the British custom, General Alexander gave his subordinates considerable latitude in how they went about implementing his orders. This allowed Juin to put forward a major modification to the plan. He proposed that the CEF, now increased to four divisions, advance through the rugged Aurunci Mountains and outflank the German positions. He was aware of the difficulty of trying to advance, much less exploit a breakthrough over the mountain trails, but felt that the 4th Moroccan Mountain Division and Moroccan Goumiers could do it.[42]

A Moroccan Goumier.

According to Clark:

Meantime, the French forces had crossed the Garigliano (River) and moved forward into the mountainous terrain lying south of the Liri River. It was not easy. As always, the German veterans reacted strongly and there was bitter fighting. The French surprised the enemy and quickly seized key terrain including Mounts Faito Cerasola and high ground near Castelforte. The 1st Motorized Division helped the 2nd Moroccan division take key Mount Girofano and then advanced rapidly north to S. Apollinare and S. Ambrogio. In spite of the stiffening enemy resistance, the 2nd Moroccan Division penetrated the Gustav Line in less than two day's fighting.

The next 48 hours on the French front were decisive. The knife-wielding Goumiers swarmed over the hills, particularly at night, and General Juin's entire force showed an aggressiveness hour after hour that the Germans could not withstand. Cerasola, San Giogrio, Mt. D'Oro, Ausonia and Esperia were seized in one of the most brilliant and daring advances of the war in Italy, and by May 16 the French Expeditionary Corps had thrust forward some ten miles on their left flank to Mount Revole, with the remainder of their front slanting back somewhat to keep contact with the British Eighth Army.

Only the most careful preparations and the utmost determination made this attack possible, but Juin was that kind of a fighter. Mule pack trains, skilled mountain fighters, and men with the strength to make long night marches through treacherous terrain were needed to succeed in the all-but-impregnable mountain ranges. The French displayed that ability during their sensational advance which Lieutenant General Siegfried Westphal, the chief of staff to Kesselring, later described as a major surprise both in timing and in aggressiveness. For this performance, which was to be a key to the success of the entire drive on Rome, I shall always be a grateful admirer of General Juin and his magnificent FEC.[43]

Alphonse Juin Memorial in the Place du Maréchal-Juin in Paris, France.

Clark made a triumphal entry into Rome, with Juin sitting next to him. For Juin, the experience was bittersweet. He felt that the fruits of his victory had been lost through British caution and the American obsession with Rome's capture. The French command rejected his support for continuing the campaign in Italy now that the Allies were winning. On 4 July, the CEF captured Siena, where it celebrated Bastille Day, and then was withdrawn to participate in Operation Dragoon, codename for the Allied invasion of Southern France. In the wake of allegations of raping and pillaging by his North African troops in the Marocchinate, he took steps to curtail the abuses,[44] with drastic measures, including the death penalty, that were not entirely successful owing to the animosity between the French and Italian people over the events of 1940.[45]

Following this assignment Juin was appointed chief of staff of French forces ("Chef d'État-Major de la Défense Nationale"). He helped persuade Eisenhower to allow Philippe Leclerc's 2nd Armoured Division to carry out the liberation of Paris, and he entered the city with de Gaulle on 25 August 1944. He restored order to the liberated areas, suppressing elements of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) that refused to disband with Spahis that he brought in from North Africa. He arranged with Eisenhower for FFI personnel to be absorbed into four new divisions that guarded the German forces that remained in bypassed garrisons along the Atlantic coast, and the frontier with Italy. [46]

During the German Operation Northwind in January 1945, he clashed with Eisenhower's chief of staff, Lieutenant General Walter B. Smith, over a proposed Allied withdrawal from Alsace and Lorraine. In the event, Eisenhower gave way to political pressure from the British and the French, and the withdrawal was not carried out. Juin also opposed the attack on Royan in April 1945, but it was carried out anyway over his objections.[46]

For his promotion to Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour:

Officer who stands out everywhere for his courage, his glance and his decision. Wounded by a shrapnel that took away his hand for weeks, he insisted on remaining, despite the suffering he felt, at the head of his section. On 17 September, separated from his battalion by the emptiness caused by a deadly attack, remained in his position despite heavy losses suffered by his troop. Continues to give daily proof of his bravery.

— Journal Officiel de la République Française, 22 January 1915[73]

For his promotion to Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour:

General commanding a motorized division, has asserted himself, during the operations of the 1st Army, as a leader and an outstanding maneuver. In Gembloux, from the moment of contact, pushed back a particularly aggressive enemy by inflicting the heaviest losses. During the retreat ordered by the High Command, placed at the extreme protruding of the device, cleared by three times in particularly difficult circumstances. During the final leap that he was to make, hung by the enemy on a flank discovered by the rupture of a large framing unit, locked himself in Lille and offered the enemy a strong resistance to the complete wear and tear of all his ammunition. Made his division, the 15th DMI, a great unit that deserves to be cited as an example for its maneuverability, its tenacity, and the high morale that has always animated it.

— Journal Officiel de l'État français, 2 February 1941[71]