Charles Mangin
Charles Emmanuel Marie Mangin (6 July 1866 – 12 May 1925) was a French general during World War I. Early career Charles Mangin was born on 6 July 1866 in Sarrebourg. After initially failing to gain entrance to Saint-Cyr, he joined the 77th Infantry Regiment in 1885. He reapplied and was accepted in Saint-Cyr in 1886 attaining the rank of sub-lieutenant in 1888. He joined the 1st Marine Infantry Regiment based in Cherbourg. He was sent to Sudan, serving under Jean-Baptiste Marchand and gained further experience in Mali, French North Africa. During this period he learnt Bambara, the lingua-franca of Mali. He was wounded three times and returned to France in 1892. In 1893 he was made a Knight of the Legion d'honneur. In 1898, Mangin joined Marchand on his expedition to Fashoda with children in tow. In 1900 he attained the rank of Officer of the Legion d'honneur. He was given the command of a battalion in Tonkin from 1901 to 1904. He was then promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1905 and served during the French occupation of Senegal from 1906 to 1908 under General Audéoud. In 1910 he published La force noire, where he called for the use of