Benoît Besson

Antoine-Marie-Benoit Besson (September 14, 1876 – July 23, 1969) was a French military officer. In World War II he was a general commanding the Third Army Group stationed along the river Rhine manning the Maginot Line.

Military career World War I: 1914–1918 During World War I, Besson commanded the 4th Zouaves Regiment.

Interwar period: 1918–1939 In the interbellum, he commanded the 58th Brigade, the 15th Infantry Division and the 16th Army Corps.

World War II: 1939–1940 In September 1939, he commanded the 6th Army deployed in the Alps.

In October 1939, he took command of the French 3rd Army Group, which covered the section of the Maginot Line along the Rhine and the Swiss frontier. He and his command surrendered after 25 June as German Panzer units had reached the Swiss border and cut off the Maginot Line from the rest of France.