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The 'École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr' ('ESM', "Special Military School of St Cyr") is the foremost French military academy. It is often referred to as '''Saint-Cyr'''. Its motto is "''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre''": "They study to vanquish." French cadet officers are named "saint-cyriens", or "cyrards".

Contents

History

Training

Distinguished alumni

External links

History

The ''École Spéciale Militaire'' was created by order of Napoleon Bonaparte on May 1, 1802 (the Law of ''11 Floréal an X'' according to the then-official revolutionary calendar), to replace the ''École Royale Militaire'' then located in Fontainebleau. Renamed the ''École Spéciale Impériale Militaire'' after Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor, it moved in 1806 to Saint-Cyr-l'École (Yvelines) in the castle of the former ''Maison royale de Saint-Louis'', a school for girls of the French nobility disbanded at the time of the Revolution.
The school trained a large number of young officers who served during Napoleonic Wars. It remained stationed in Saint-Cyr-L'École after Napoleon's deposition and through all regime changes until 1940. After the defeat of the French Army against Germany in 1940, the school moved to the free zone, in the south of France, in Aix-en-Provence. After invasion of the free zone by the Germans in 1942, the school was disbanded, but French cadet officers training went on, part in Cherchell (Algeria, then Free French territory) and part in United Kingdom (''Cadets de la France Libre'') under General de Gaulle's command.
At the Libération of France in 1944, the School was reunited under the command of General de Lattre de Tassigny and settled in the military camp of Coëtquidan, Morbihan, because the "''vieux bahut''" (old school) has been severely damaged by an Allied bombing during the Libération campaign.
The ''École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr'' has remained there to this day. A reform in 1961 split the school into two entities: the current ''École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr'' (ESM), devoted to the training of direct recruitment officers, recruited through an annual national competitive exam, and the ''École Militaire Interarmes'' (EMIA), cadets from internal recruitment (selected from non-commissioned officer (NCO) ranks and reserve officer ranks) and added a third entity, the ''École Militaire du Corps Technique et Administratif'' (EMCTA), devoted to the formation of administrative specialist officers. The school admitted its first female cadets in 1983 and underwent a minor reform in 2002 devised to broaden the diversity of its direct recruitment.

Since 1802, 65,000 saint-cyriens have been trained, along with 2,000 international cadets. Nine thousand six hundred thirty-nine of them died on the field of battle. Alumni also count 11 ''Maréchaux de France'', three French heads of state, two flying aces, six members of the ''Académie Française'', and one Blessed of the Catholic Church.

Training

The saint-cyriens are recruited through a national annual competitive exam at the academic level of Bac+2, like most other French ''Grandes écoles''. The course is three years long and covers academic training, military training, physical training and leadership training.
Upon graduation, cadets are awarded the diploma of Saint-Cyr and an academic diploma equivalent to a master's degree, depending of their major. They leave the school with the rank of lieutenant and join the specialist school of the branch they select for one additional year, before being assigned to a regiment to serve as platoon leader.

Distinguished alumni

★ Paul Legentilhomme (1884–1975): 1907

★ Hélie Denoix de Saint Marc (1922)

★ Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque (1902–1947): 1924

★ Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970): 1912

★ Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (1889–1952)

★ Alphonse Juin (1888–1967): 1912

★ Maxime Weygand (1867–1965): 1897

★ Adolphe Guillaumat (1863–1940): 1884

★ Louis Franchet d'Espérey (1856–1942): 1876

★ Philippe Pétain (1856–1951)

★ Hubert Lyautey (1854–1934)

★ Joseph Gallieni (1849–1916)

★ François Certain Canrobert (1809–1895): 1828

★ Patrice MacMahon (1808–1893): 1827

★ Aimable Jean Jacques Pélissier (1794–1864)

★ Haj Ali Razmara, former Prime Minister of Iran

★ Bahram Aryana, former Military Chief of Staff, Iran

★ Felipe Ángeles, Mexican revolutionary, (1868–1919)

★ Louis II, Prince of Monaco, (1870–1949)

★ Jean-Etienne Valluy (1899–1970)

★ Gabriel Brunet de Sairigné (1913–1948): 1933

★ Michel Arnaud (1915–1990): 1935

★ Sardar Homayoun (1850s–1930s)

★ Abdollah Khan Momtaz (1912)

★ Peter I of Serbia (1844–1921): 1862

★ Arthur Constantin Krebs (1878–1964)

★ Henry Hay de Slade, flying ace, WWI (1893–1979)

★ Auguste Lahoulle, flying ace, WWI (1891–1959)

★ Pierre Nord, writer (1900–1985)

★ Blessed Father Charles de Foucauld

External links

★ Official website (in French)

★ Presentation on St-Cyr in English, on the website of Norwich University, Vermont (Information on Norwich's study-abroad program at St-Cyr)

★ Presentation on the website of the French Ministry of Defense (in French)

★ "La Saint-Cyrienne": Association of cadets and former cadets of St-Cyr (in French)