General Henri Mathias Berthelot, born on December 7, 1861 in Feurs, France, was a leading military figure who played an essential role in the history of Romania during World War I. A graduate of the prestigious Saint-Cyr military school, "Egypt" class (1881), Berthelot began his career in Algeria and then in Tonkin, and in 1893 he became a diplomat at the Superior War School. In 1906, he became an orderly officer to General Brugere and secretary of the General Staff Committee, thus preparing himself for high-level missions.
In December 1913, he was promoted to brigadier general and called by Joffre, the supreme commander of the French army, to become adjutant to General Castelnau. In this capacity, Berthelot participated in the reform of the French army, retiring numerous incompetent generals, a fact that earned him both respect and much dislike. However, he played an important role in the development of the offensive plans of the French army at the beginning of the war and in the general direction of operations, including the crucial victory on the Marne.
In November 1914, he became a general of division and commanded divisions in Champagne, and in 1916, his troops fought heroically at Verdun. Due to his remarkable qualities, he was sent to Romania, at the request of the authorities in Bucharest, to reorganize the Romanian army after the defeats of 1916. The French mission led by Berthelot succeeded in rebuilding the Romanian army during the winter of 1916-1917, contributing decisively to the successes of the summer of 1917 in the battles of Mărăști, Mărășești and Oituz.
Although he failed to create a new Romanian-Russian army due to the collapse of the Russian front caused by the Bolshevik Revolution, his diplomatic efforts delayed the total collapse of the Eastern Front, giving the Allies valuable time to reorganize. After the signing of the Peace of Bucharest in 1918, Berthelot was expelled by the German authorities, but returned to the Eastern Front under the command of General Sarrail. During this period, he managed to inform King Ferdinand of the imminent armistice of 11 November 1918, which allowed Romania to declare war on Germany again the day before, thus rejoining the victorious camp and securing a place at the peace negotiations at Versailles and Trianon.
On 1 December 1918, Berthelot returned triumphantly to Bucharest, alongside King Ferdinand, Queen Maria and the Romanian troops. Having become an ardent supporter of the Romanian cause, he came into conflict with his superior, General Franchet d’Esperey, and even with President Clemenceau. He later received other missions, including to the United States and then to France, where he was military governor of Metz (until 1922) and Strasbourg (from 1923).
Berthelot was deeply involved in consolidating the memory of Romanian heroism, supporting the creation of places of commemoration, such as the Soultzmatt cemetery, where over 680 Romanian prisoners are buried. He remained close to the Romanian royal family, visiting Romania and being decorated with the highest distinctions, including the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor and the War Cross, and also becoming an honorary citizen of Romania. He died in Paris on January 29, 1931, and was buried in Nervieux.
General Berthelot’s memory reflects Romanian-French relations and the dynamics of Romanian internal politics. If gratitude dominated until World War II, the communist regime erased this memory, sometimes replacing it with a mythic vision among emigrants. The Ceausescu period oscillated between denial and rehabilitation, influenced by Russophobia. In the post-communist era, his image varied between historical rigor and nationalist interpretations, but he still remained little known to the general public.
Former members of the Berthelot mission formed an association called “Poftim!”, inspired by a word often heard in Romania. They continued to visit Romania until the 1980s, but the communist regime tried to use this presence for ideological purposes. The magazine “Poftim!” was maintained for decades, but disappeared with the last veterans of the mission. Thus, Berthelot’s legacy remains an important, but often forgotten, part of modern Romanian history.
Sursa: historia.ro
