Birth: 27 March 1898
Death: 2 May 1998
Companion of the Liberation – Decree of 25 March 1943
After volunteering at the age of 18, he went to the frontline in Verdun with the 116th Chasseurs à Pied Battalion (light infantry) and in December received his first citation for his courage under fire during the Bezonvaux assault. Promoted to warrant officer, he was wounded in April 1918 during the Somme offensive, after which the Germans’ ambition of breaking through the front lay in tatters. Refusing to be evacuated, he commanded his company for several days in situ. Now a second lieutenant, he was wounded twice in Aisne, in September 1918, in the fight against the Hindenburg defence line.
Mobilised to the infantry in 1939, a bullet wound sustained on 16 June 1940 did not prevent him from heading to London immediately. He was one of the first agents sent to France to create a network. He was arrested several times and interned, then escaped and made three clandestine return trips to England. With many years of experience under his belt, after the war he occupied important positions in the French secret services.
Credits: Pierre Fourcaud in the uniform of the 116th Chasseurs Battalion. © Famille de Pierre Fourcaud
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