Raoul Castex
Encyclopedia
Raoul Castex was a French
Navy officer and admiral, and a military theorist.
. He became professor at the École de Guerre Navale.
In 1919, he was tasked with reorganising the historical services of the Navy
In 1928, he was promoted to contre-amiral.
On 2 July 1936, he was made Grand officer of the Legion of Honour. The same year, he founded the Institut des hautes études de la défense nationale, which he headed until 1939. He rose to vice-amiral in 1937, and finished his career heading the naval forces of the Northern fleet.
In 1939, Castex suggested granting independence to French Indochina
, deemed indefensible against the Japanese Empire, and to Syria and Lebanon, then under French mandate, as to make allies out of them.
In 1955, Castex published an article in the Revue de la Défense Nationale (National Defence review) titled "La Russie, rempart de l'Occident" (Russia, the wall of the West) where he theoricises the rise of China and her upcoming rivalry with the West, including Russia.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Navy officer and admiral, and a military theorist.
Naval career
Castex joined the Navy in 1896, becoming the best student of his promotion at the École NavaleÉcole Navale
The École Navale is the French Naval Academy in charge of the education of the officers of the French Navy.The academy was founded in 1830 by the order of King Louis-Philippe...
. He became professor at the École de Guerre Navale.
In 1919, he was tasked with reorganising the historical services of the Navy
In 1928, he was promoted to contre-amiral.
On 2 July 1936, he was made Grand officer of the Legion of Honour. The same year, he founded the Institut des hautes études de la défense nationale, which he headed until 1939. He rose to vice-amiral in 1937, and finished his career heading the naval forces of the Northern fleet.
Institut des Hautes Études de la Défense Nationale
One of Castex' main achievements was the creation of the Institut des Hautes Études de la Défense Nationale (IHEDN, Institute of Higher Studies of National Defence), where he aimed at reducing the gap between civilian and military officials.Theories
Between 1929 and 1939, Castex wrote Théories Stratégiques, where he exposes a thesis on the link between land and naval warfare, and on a national "gravity centre" which, in the case of France, would be situated off Europe. He argues that the "gravity centre" should have been displaced to Northern Africa before 1939, with installation of main armament factories and government centres.In 1939, Castex suggested granting independence to French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, deemed indefensible against the Japanese Empire, and to Syria and Lebanon, then under French mandate, as to make allies out of them.
In 1955, Castex published an article in the Revue de la Défense Nationale (National Defence review) titled "La Russie, rempart de l'Occident" (Russia, the wall of the West) where he theoricises the rise of China and her upcoming rivalry with the West, including Russia.
Works
- Le Grand État-major naval, question militaire d'actualité (1909)
- Les Idées militaires de la marine du XVIIIe. De Ruyter à Suffren (1911)
- L'Envers de la guerre de course. La vérité sur l'enlèvement du convoi de St-Eustache par Lamotte-Picquet (avril-mai 1781) (1912)
- Synthèse de la guerre sous-marine. De Pontchartrain à Tirpitz (1920)
- Questions d'état-major. Principes. Organisation. Fonctionnement (1923–1924)
- Théories stratégiques (1929 ; 1935). Reedited in 1995 by Economica.
- De Gengis-Khan à Staline ou les Vicissitudes d'une manœuvre stratégique, 1205-1935 (1935)