Paul Arvers graduated from Saint-Cyr and participated in the Italian campaign in 1859 and then the war against Germany in 1870. He commanded the 12th mountain infantry battalion in Lyon from 1879 to 1885, and engaged it in a real and modern mountain training. Finding its inspiration in history, he experimented both tactically and materially what will later be implemented in the whole Alpine army. With artillery and engineer elements, he created the first Alpine group, which was the first example of a combined battle group. He thus created military mountaineering and led to a strong, sought after and enduring capability. As the Head of the “2e bureau de la Direction de l’infanterie”, he contributed to the long legislative process which led to the law modifying the organization of the infantry battalions. This law was passed on 24th December 1888 and is to this day seen as the “birth certificate for the French Alpine troops”. General Paul Arvers, though sometimes a forgotten figure of the Great history, can legitimately be considered as the founder and real “inventor of French military mountaineering”