MOCH, JULES:
French officer; colonel of the 130th Regiment of Infantry; born at Sarrelouis Aug. 4, 1829; died at Paris Aug. 8, 1881. On completing his classical studies at the lycée of Metz, he entered the military school of Saint-Cyr (1849) and was appointed sublieutenant of infantry in 1851. Mochtook part in the campaigns in the Crimea (1855-56) and in Syria (1860-61), and in the occupation of Rome (1863-67); in the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71) he was commander of the battalion of the 3d Regiment, which had the mournful distinction of firing the last shots of the war, and took an honorable part in the battle of Sedan (Sept., 1870). During the interval between the Crimean and Syrian campaigns he was tutor at the school of Saint-Cyr, to which he returned later on as examiner.
After the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian war Moch published in the military journals a number of articles on the reorganization of the army. He was one of the founders and also vice-president of the Assembly of Officers (known later on as the "Military Club"), whose official organ was "Le Bulletin" (now the "Revue du Cercle Militaire"). Moch was a chevalier of the Legion of Honor, officer of the Academy, commander of the Order of Charles III. of Spain and of Nisham-el-Istikhar (Algiers), and was decorated with the stars of the Order of Nisan-i-Medjidie and the Order of Pope Pius IX. Moch openly professed Judaism.
- Gaston Moch, Sedan;
- les Derniers Coups de Feu, Paris, 1885;
- Zadoc Kahn, Souvenirs et Regrets, pp. 121-125, Paris, 1898.
