COLIN, Jean Lambert Alphonse, French general and military historian; b. 1864; d. 1 Jan. 1918. Educated for the army, he entered the artillery and had attained the rank of cap tain when, in 1898, he published 'Etudes sur la Campagne de 1796-97 en Italic.' This anony mous essay on Napoleon's first campaign immediately attracted the attention of military historians and critics by its masterly style of narration, exactitude and criticism. The work became a classic and at once superseded all pre viously-written accounts of that campaign. Cap tain Colin was soon attached to the historical section of the French general staff and for sev eral years a number of important works by him were published. 'The Military Education of Napoleon' (1900) threw the first clear and full light on Napoleon's early studies and on the sources of his theory and practice in war. This was followed by a series of brilliant histories, (Les Campag.nes du Marechal de Saxe' ; (Louis XV et les Jacobites); (Projets de Debarque ment en Angleterre;' and (La Campagne de 1805 en Allemagne,) which is regarded as the standard work on the campaign of Ulm and Austerlitz. Colin meanwhile also published monographs on 'Hannibal in Gaul) (1904) ; (Tactics and Discipline in the Armies of the Revolution) (1902) ; and (L'Infanterie au XVIII° siecle La Tactique,) a review of the progress of tactics from Marlborough to Na poleon. In 1911 he published (Les Trans
formations de la Guerre,) which appeared in an English translation under the title of 'France and the next War' (London 1914). (Les Grandes Battailles de l'Histoire' (1914) aimed at showing how the procedure of great military leaders is fundamentally always the same. His last work was a volume on Napo leon in the series (Les Grands Hommes de Guerre,) a concise account of Napoleon's wars and battles. Colin at times had thoughts of leaving the army and devoting himself entirely to literature. He had planned a series of vol ume.s on military history intended for popular reading. At the outbreak of the war General Joffre employed him on the general staff of the army. He commanded the artillery of a large division at the Marne and that of an army corps at Verdun. In 1916 he was sent to Macedonia as brigade-general and there commanded a brigade of artillery at the side of a British heavy battery. He was in com mand of an infantry division when he received his death wounds. It is said that no European officer of our time equalled Colin in his mas tery of the strategy and tactics of the great commanders.