During the Algerian War, Gambiez was commander-in-chief of the French Army in Algeria.

He served with the Foreign Legion in Morocco before studying at the Superior War School in 1935.

He trained and commanded a Choc battalion in 1943, taking part in the fighting to liberate Corsica in 1944.

Gambiez served as chief of staff to the French commander-in-chief Henri Navarre during the First Indochina War, including the Battle of Dien Bien Phu where one of his sons died.

He was also elected member of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques in 1974.