TROCHU, LOUIS JULES (1815-1896), French general, was born at Palais (Belle-Ile-en-Mer) on March 12, 1815. He served as a captain in Algeria and as a colonel throughout the Crimean campaign. He commanded a division in the Italian campaign of 1859. In 1866 he was employed at the ministry of war in the preparation of army reorganization schemes, and he published anonymously in the following year L'Armie francaise en 1867, a work inspired with Orleanist sentiment, which brought him into bad odour at court. He left the war office on half-pay, and was refused a command in the field at the out break of the Franco-German War. After the earlier disasters in 187o, he was appointed by the emperor first commandant of the troops of Chalons camp, and soon afterwards (Aug. 17) governor of Paris and commander-in-chief of all the forces destined for the defence of the capital, including some 120,000 regular troops, 8o,000 mobiles, and 330,00o National Guards. He put Paris in
a state of defence, and showed himself a master of the passive defensive. At the revolution of Sept. 4, he became president of the government of national defence. His "plan" for defending the city failed ; the successive sorties were unsuccessful, and when capitulation became inevitable he resigned the governorship of Paris on Jan. 22, 1871 to General Vinoy, retaining the presidency of the government until after the armistice in February. He was elected to the National Assembly by eight departments, and sat for Morbihan. In July 1872 he retired from political life, and in 1873 from the army. He published in 1873 Pour la verite et pour la justice, in justification of the government of national defence, and in 1879 L'Armie francaise en 1879, par un officier ern retraite. He died at Tours on Oct. 7, 1896.