Léon Amédée François Raffenel dating history

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Léon Amédée François Raffenel was a general of the French army. Enlisting into the army in 1875 he quickly rose through the ranks and was accepted into the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr in 1876. He saw extensive active service with the French colonial army in the Pacification of Tonkin between 1887 and 1892, being cited in the order of the day for his adept command of columns of native infantry. Having married in 1893 Raffenel requested transfer to the France-based metropolitan army in 1894. This unusual move was complicated by the separate organisation of the two French armies but was approved by presidential decree. Raffenel spent 16 years in the metropolitan army and commanded the 27th Infantry Regiment and the elite 82nd Light Infantry Brigade. He was promoted to général de brigade in 1911 and received command of the 3rd Colonial Infantry Division, one of the finest divisions of the French Army. He fought with this unit at the Battle of Rossignol on 22 August 1914 and was killed in action in what was a heavy defeat for the French troops.