He studied at the Lycée Henri-IV in Paris, where he was a brilliant pupil, then attended the Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (1904–06).

[1] With the outbreak of World War I (1914–18), Touny was recalled to the army in August 1914 and assigned to the General Staff of the Cavalry Corps.

[1] With the start of World War II (1939–45), Touny was recalled in August 1939 to again serve on the 2nd Bureau of the General Staff of the Cavalry Corps in Saint-Quentin.

Alfred Touny refused to accept defeat and in November 1940 began to establish contacts and seek information.

[2] Arthuys led the movement and was assisted by Roger Souchère as Chief of Staff, Jean Mayer in charge of the first and third Bureaus, Touny for the 2nd Bureau, and Blocq-Mascart for Civil matters.

The group also published Cahiers, which discussed the post-war economy and politics, which gave it the reputation of being elitist and technocratic.

[1] In 1942 Touny met Gilbert Renault, alias Colonel Rémy, founder of the Confrérie Notre-Dame network, through which OCM information was transmitted to the secret services of Free France, the Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action (BCRA).

In the fall of 1943 there were growing numbers of arrests of OCM members, but Touny would not accept advice to move to Algiers or London.