Correspondence from French General Maurice Gamelin

"One of the most auspicious facts in our history is the arrival of the Mission, which brings us the precious teachings of French military art"

• Unpublished correspondence from French General Maurice Gamelin, consisting of three letters from 1919, 1921 and 1929.
• In Portuguese.
• Good state.
• Unique set.
• High definition images for reading, on demand.

Military exploits are always filled with remarkable characters, war stories populate our imagination, literature and cinema. Europe in the 20th century, the scene of the First and Second World Wars, was the epicenter of battles that shaped the course of humanity and revealed the names of both villains and heroes. One of these notable figures was Maurice Gustave Gamelin (1872 - 1958), senior general in the French army. A great strategist, who saved countless soldiers with his tactics, Gamelin also played an important role in the New World, and, from 1919 to 1924, he headed the French military mission in Brazil, with the aim of modernizing the Brazilian army.

Gamelin arrived in the country with an important task, firstly, to reorganize the military schools, and then the army itself. The contract signed between France and Brazil stipulated that French officers would command officer training schools, a step towards the professionalization of the army. This reformulation also gave rise to the Brazilian Aviation School, the embryo of the now respected Brazilian Air Force (FAB). The French brought to Brazil an idea that was in vogue in Europe at the time: the purpose of the army was to prepare national forces for war. And it was from this period that military mobilization began to be seen as a national mobilization.

The general was received with laurels in the country, as can be seen from the letter written to him in 1919 by the National Defense League, which expressed great happiness at his arrival and the desire for rigorous training for the Brazilian army. The letter also states that military service has great value in the formation of nationality and, therefore, the League sees the arrival of the mission led by him as one of the most auspicious facts in the history of Brazil.

Maurice Gamelin carried out exemplary work in command of the French military mission, which is why José Caetano de Faria, Brazilian marshal, in 1921, dedicated a letter to him praising the exercises he implemented in the army and the improvement of the national cavalry. His dedication to the mission is also remembered in the letter sent by a Brazilian friend to congratulate him on his marriage, back in 1929. The admirer cannot avoid commenting that the French mission lost a lot with his departure.

After transforming the Brazilian national army, Gamelin returned to Europe where he actively participated in the Second World War, having been arrested in France, interned in Germany and Austria, and only released in 1945 with the arrival of the Americans. The legacy of this great strategist can still be seen today in the conception of the Brazilian military army, even though more than a century has passed. Society's perception of both the army and the idea of ​​war itself has profoundly transformed over the years, yet Gamelin's importance outweighs his collaboration with the military; In the face of such a mixed and culturally diverse country, his work contributed to the construction of the idea of ​​a Brazilian nationality.

Here we have three cards with very relevant content that will delight collectors interested in the military history of Brazil and the world.