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GENERAL GOURAUD
“I lost my right arm in battle against the Turks, today I extend my other arm to you as a hand of friendship.”
Henri Joseph Étienne Gouraud (November 17th, 1867 – September 16th, 1946),
French soldier. In May 1915, he participated in the Gallipoli War with the 10th Division under his command. During the First Battle of Kerevizdere and the Battle of Zığındere in June 1915, his right arm was severed and both legs were broken. Returning to military service, Gouraud served in Morocco and Europe.
General Gouraud arrives at the Çankaya Mansion at 4.00 p.m. on Thursday, 5 June 1930, for a meeting with Atatürk. The meeting lasted more than two hours. Gouraud told M. Kemal, who welcomed him at the door, “I lost my right arm while fighting against the Turks at Gallipoli, and today I have come to offer you my other arm as a hand of friendship”.
Mustafa Kemal was touched by these words and had a long conversation with Gouraud.
Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major
On the 1st World War western front, just like Gouraud.
there was another soldier who lost his right arm. Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who represented both the cruelty of war and the triumph of perseverance, only played for Maurice Ravel after he lost his arm so that he would not give up music.
Composed the Piano Concerto in D Major, which is played with the left hand.