Degoutte joined the 31st Artillery Regiment on 7 March 1887 and then attended
Saint Cyr where he graduated 9th out of 435. After graduating he joined a
Zouave unit in
Tunisia. In 1895 his request to join the
French expedition to
Madagascar was denied, resulting in him taking a three-month leave. During that leave he accompanied a group of
Jesuits that traveled to Madagascar on a civilian steamer. Arriving there amidst the landing of the
French expeditionary forces, he was arrested by General
Dechesnes, but Colonel Bailloud was able to persuade his senior officers to release Degoutte and utilise his language skills. Degoutte returned to Tunisia in March 1896 where he remained until 1899, when he entered the
Ecole Superieure de Guerre. He joined Bailloud in his invasion of China, being mentioned twice in dispatches. In 1905 he was promoted to
adjutant general in command of a division in Algiers. In 1906 he was briefly commander of the 20th Corps, before returning to Zouaves, then in 1909 he returned to command the Algiers Division. In 1911 he took part in operations in Western
Morocco during the
Agadir Crisis, returning to France in 1912 with promotion to
lieutenant-colonel. After attending the
Centre des Hautes Etudes Militaires he was given command of the
4th Corps. ==First World War==