LIEUTENANTS - DESTINIES OF FRENCH LIEUTENANTS FROM 1800 TO THE PRESENT DAY

DESTINIES OF FRENCH LIEUTENANTS FROM 1800 TO THE PRESENT DAY

WHATEVER THE BATTLEFIELD, EVERYWHERE, ALWAYS, A LIEUTENANT LEADS FROM THE FRONT

At twenty, they are leaders in the making yet already on the front line: they are the lieutenants. They bear responsibility for their men, the terrain, the reality of combat — where there is no room for error. They embody nascent authority, raw courage, the apprenticeship of war… and often pay with their blood. At an age when one still doubts oneself, they must inspire confidence, decide quickly, lead, drive men forward… and sometimes accept the ultimate risk. This book recounts the moment when everything begins: the entry into the reality of command, at ground level, where theory yields to the human and war is lived at platoon height. For the first time, two military historians, Julie d'Andurain and François Cochet, devote a complete study to this essential yet often overlooked rank. From the Empire to overseas operations (OPEX), by way of the trenches of 1914–1918, Indochina and Algeria, they trace two centuries of the history of training and field command. Through historical analyses, prosopographical studies, archives and deeply moving testimonies, they show how the lieutenant is the cornerstone of the French army — the interface between the troops and the commanders, between the military ideal and the reality of fire.