He became Captain in 1878 and Officer of Ordnance for Minister of War Georges Boulanger in 1886.

Later, when he was publicly Jewish, Pierre Rocolle wrote that "there is nothing which proves the claim of the anti-Semites that there was a correlation between the Dreyfuss affair and the flattering promotions which... they received."

Promoted to squadron leader in 1889, he became Colonel in 1902, when he was commander of the École d'application de l'artillerie et du génie.

[1] He was named Brigadier General in 1905, commander of the École de Guerre in 1907, Divisional General in 1908, commander of the 12th Infantry Division and of the garrison at Reims from October 10, 1908, to March 14, 1911, commander of the 3rd Army Corps in 1911, and finally member of the Conseil Supérieur de la Guerre in 1914, when Joffre was Chief of Staff.

At the onset of the First World War, he commanded a group of reserve divisions in the Fifth Army of General Charles Lanrezac.