The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (lit. 'Special Military School of Saint-Cyr', abbr. ESM), often referred to as Saint-Cyr, is a French military academy. It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. French cadet officers are called saint-cyriens or cyrards.
French students who enter Saint-Cyr as cadets are about 21 years old, and undergo three years of training. All ESM cadets graduate with a Master of Arts or a Master of Science and are commissioned officers.
Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (French: [filip petɛ̃]; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (French: maréchal Pétain, [maʁeʃal petɛ̃]), was a French military officer who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the collaborationist regime of Vichy France, from 1940 to 1944, during World War II.
Pétain was admitted to the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in 1876 and pursued a career in the military, achieving the rank of colonel by the outbreak of World War I. He led the French Army to victory at the nine-month-long Battle of Verdun, for which he was called "the Lion of Verdun" (French: le lion de Verdun). After the failed Nivelle Offensive and subsequent mutinies, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief and succeeded in restoring control. Pétain remained in command for the rest of the war and emerged as a national hero. During the interwar period, he was head of the peacetime French Army, commanded joint Franco-Spanish operations during the Rif War and served twice as a government minister. During this time he was known as le vieux Maréchal ("the Old Marshal").