General André Bourachot is a leading expert on the history of the French army. He entered the military school at Saint-Cyr in 1958 and decided to specialize in engineering. During his long career he served in various roles – as a staff officer, instructor and commander. He left the French army in 1998 as Engineer in Chief. He is a former student of the Centre for Advanced Military Studies and of the Institute for Advanced National Defence Studies in Paris, and he has an engineering degree from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. He is married and is the father of two children.