Léon Amédée François Raffenel

Léon Amédée François Raffenel (14 August 1856 – 22 August 1914) was a general of the French army. Enlisting into the army in 1875 he quickly rose through the ranks and was accepted into the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr in 1876. He saw extensive active service with the French colonial army in the Pacification of Tonkin between 1887 and 1892, being cited in the order of the day for his adept command of columns of native infantry. Having married in 1893 Raffenel requested transfer to the France-based metropolitan army in 1894. This unusual move was complicated by the separate organisation of the two French armies but was approved by presidential decree. Raffenel spent 16 years in the metropolitan army and commanded the 27th Infantry Regiment and the elite 82nd Light Infantry Brigade. He was promoted to général de brigade in 1911 and received command of the 3rd Colonial Infantry Division, one of the finest divisions of the French Army. He fought with this unit at the Battle of Rossignol on 22 August 1914 and was killed in action in what was a heavy defeat for the French troops.

Early life and non-commissioned career Raffenel was born at midday on 14 August 1856 at Saint-Servan, Ille-et-Vilaine. He was the son of Ame Jean Baptiste Raffenel, a marine commissioner and chevalier of the Legion of Honour; and of Hortense Marguerite Hoël, who lived in Saint-Servan. Raffenel enlisted in the army on 8 July 1875 for a five-year term and was posted to the 82nd Infantry Regiment as a 2nd class private. He was promoted to corporal on 15 January 1876 and to quartermaster-sergeant on 15 July that year. Raffenel served as adjutant of the regiment from 31 March 1884. Raffenel was transferred to the 1st Marine Infantry on 22 December 1888 and returned to France on 12 March 1889, serving as regimental adjutant from 19 August 1889 to 8 August 1890. Raffenel was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour on 29 December 1892. This was an unusual occurrence owing to the difficulty of transfer from the Troupes de Marine, under the authority of the naval office, to the army under the war office. He made the request in order to reduce the time he spent abroad on campaign, though whether this was due to family difficulties or health problems is unclear. He was promoted to colonel in the 27th Infantry Regiment on 8 July 1904 and was commended for his "military qualities : tact, firmness, discipline, excellent service and devotion to his duties", serving with them at Dijon. French losses were devastating - some 11,000 of the 15,000 men in the division were casualties, making Rossignol the deadliest action of the Battle of the Frontiers. The 1st colonial Brigade ceased to exist as a formed unit; the 1st Colonial Infantry Regiment lost 2,500 killed and wounded, the 2nd lost 2,850, the 3rd 2,085 and the 7th 1,500. Of Raffenel's cavalry, the 3rd African Chasseurs Regiment, there remained just one and a half squadrons fit for duty. His body was discovered after the battle by Captain Hartmann of the 3rd Colonial Infantry Regiment but was later recovered and buried at Tintigny by the German forces.