Charles de GAULLE, fondateur et grand maître de l’Ordre

The post « A dedicated life », episode 29: The 118 Companions of the Liberation who were Great War veterans first appeared on The News blog.

Claude Raoul-Duval (born in 1919, fighter pilot)
“In my family, we had no anti-German feelings: my great-grandmother was German and my father spoke German. Very often, my father brought all his friends together at our home. They had all been in the Great War together, and they mostly talked about the cold, the mud, the rats, the stench of life in the trenches. That’s what persuaded me that if I had to fight, I would choose a different weapon.

Louis Cortot (1925-2017, FTP-FFI Resistance fighter)
“In my family and at state school, I had been warned of the horrors of war. My uncle, born in 1856, reminded me of the war of 1870; for my father, it was the 14-18 war; and I experienced the 39-45 one. I say all this because life is a constant struggle – in all eras. Our lovely motto “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”, inscribed on the pediments of our town halls, is good but it’s not enough. It has to be applied and above all defended.”

The post « A dedicated life », episode 28: Words of Companions… first appeared on The News blog.

We found it useful to hear the words of a few of these young – sometimes very young – people, who often enrolled as early as 1940 in order to fight for the liberation of France.

Henri Malin (1912-2003, tank officer)
“I set off, revolver in hand. Being taken prisoner without having fired a shot was just not on. I was all for continuing the fight, my father had been killed in ’14. On the eve of the armistice, I said: I want to go to England.”

Marius Guyot (1918-2006, mechanic and machine gunner)
“Personally, I was raised in a patriotic household. My father died in 1918. My mother had married a wounded veteran of ’14. Doing nothing while France was occupied: that was impossible.”

Daniel Cordier – Chancelor of honor of the Order of the Liberation (born in 1920, Free French, secretary to Jean Moulin)
“The anniversary of the armistice fell on a Monday [11 November 1940]. That earned us a day’s rest, an opportunity to connect with our parents in thought: most of our fathers fought in the Great War. The time spent in the mud of Old Dean, although it was safe, enabled us to understand what they endured. We admire them even more today than we did in our childhood.”

The post « A dedicated life », episode 27: Words of Companions… first appeared on The News blog.

Firstly, the very high rate of volunteers, 40% compared to 3% of the French Army as a whole after the declaration of war in August 1914.

Next, the considerable proportion of pilots, 13 out of 118, i.e. over 10% (versus 0.20% in the French Army), which demonstrates both their attraction to a new weapon but also their pronounced taste for action. Apart from this exception, their distribution across the various armies reflects the military realities of the conflict, hence the major role of infantry and the importance of artillery. Thus, 96 were mobilised in the territorial army (62 infantrymen, 22 artillerymen and 7 cavalrymen) versus only 8 marines.

Lastly, during this particularly bloody war, 45 of them were wounded at least once, suffering a total of 95 wounds. Their value in combat earned them 99 Croix de Guerre decorations and 287 military citations, an average of 2.5 each.

The post « A dedicated life », episode 26: The 118 Companions of the Liberation in the Great War first appeared on The News blog.

The first tank offensive in history took place on 16 April 1917, in the first hours of the Battle of the Chemin des Dames. The Schneider CA1 tanks had to clear a path for the infantry. This initial grouping formed the 501^st Special Artillery Regiment or RAS (Régiment d’artillerie spéciale) in May 1918. Its Renault FT tanks proved their effectiveness in Aisne and in Champagne by repelling Ludendorff’s attacks in spring 1918, then by leading a victorious counter-offensive. In 1920, the 501^st RAS became the 501^st Tank Regiment.

The Free French Forces’ 1^st independent company of tanks was created in July 1940. With two other companies, it resurrected the 501^st RCC in May 1943. From the equatorial forest of Gabon to the Bavarian Alps, in Syria and Libya against Rommel’s Panzers, the regiment had a glorious career. Within the 2^nd Armoured Division, it took part in the liberation of Paris and then, after crossing the Vosges and fighting hard in Alsace, rounded off the war by capturing Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest.

Credits: Standard of the 501^st RCC © Musée de l’Armée (Dist. RMN-Grand Palais) photo Emilie Cambier

The post « A dedicated life », episode 25: 501st Tank Regiment first appeared on The News blog.

During the Battle of the Marne in August 1914, the 1^st RAC distinguished itself particularly thanks to the famous 75 mm field gun. By repelling waves of attacks, it helped to foil the German plan for a quick invasion of France. It was then deployed in Champagne, in the Somme and on the Chemin des Dames. In summer 1918, the regiment fought hard and was victorious in front of Reims, against an enemy that sought in vain to break through the Allied front.

Dissolved after the armistice in June 1940, the 1^st RAC was reborn in the sands of the Free France battles, becoming the 1^st RAFFL in June 1941. In Libya in 1942, it covered itself with glory at Bir-Hakeim, where the 75 mm “king of guns” once more inflicted heavy losses on the enemy, defending the French position against the Axis forces, which were ten times more numerous. The regiment once more fought the Afrikakorps at El Alamein and in Tunisia in 1943. It took part in the Italy campaign and in the liberation of France, from the Provence landings to the last attacks in the Authion massif.

Credits: 75 mm gun near Aspach-le-Haut (Haut-Rhin), 23 June 1915. © BDIC

The post « A dedicated life », episode 24: 1st Colonial Artillery Regiment first appeared on The News blog.

In October 1914, the 1^st Marine Regiment was sent to Belgium to lift the siege of Antwerp and repel the German advance. From 24 October to 10 November, the Marines held the position of Dixmude. At the cost of heavy sacrifices, they drove back a fierce enemy and saved Dunkirk. In 1916, the Marines were grouped together into a battalion that fought in Belgium until spring 1918. In September, the battalion suffered heavy losses while fighting at the Moulin de Laffaux.

In July 1940 in London, the officers and students at the Marines School in Lorient rallied around Free France and helped to set up the 1^st Marine Battalion or BFM (Bataillon de fusiliers marins). The 1^st BFM took part in the attack on Dakar then several operations in French Equatorial Africa. In Libya, it became an anti-aircraft defence unit which distinguished itself at Bir-Hakeim and then in Tunisia. After becoming the 1^st Marine Regiment in September 1943, it was integrated into the 1^st Free French Division, and distinguished itself in combat in Italy and France in 1944 and 1945.

Credits: Machine-gunner Marines in Coxyde (Belgium), 4 February 1917. Operator: Albert Moreau. © ECPAD

The post « A dedicated life », episode 23: 1st Marine Regiment first appeared on The News blog.

The First World War broke out just as Ship-of-the-line Ensign Thierry d’Argenlieu was serving in the Adriatic on the destroyer Dehorter, on patrol in the fight against enemy submarines. In June 1916, he joined the torpedo-armed aviso D’Iberville in the Mediterranean. In this commerce raiding operation, the long waiting periods were interspersed with moments of anguish involved in the hunt for the Central Powers’ unseen U-Boote. As skipper of the patrol boat La Tourterelle in spring 1918, he commanded his first ship in wartime.

Following his vocation, he joined the Carmelite Order in 1921 but the war tore him away from contemplation. Called up as a reserve officer and taken prisoner in June 1940, he escaped and headed to London. A close associate of General de Gaulle, he was made Chief of Staff of the Free French Naval Forces and became the first Chancellor of the Order of the Liberation. Despite being wounded in front of Dakar in September 1940, he took part in the Gabon operations. He then undertook several political and diplomatic missions with the Allies. By now an admiral, he returned to the Carmelite Order in 1958, for good this time.

Credits: Ship-of-the-line Lieutenant Thierry d’Argenlieu, on the eve of his first role in command at sea, in January 1918. © Famille de Georges Thierry d’Argenlieu

The post « A dedicated life », episode 22: Georges Thierry d’Argenlieu first appeared on The News blog.

When war broke out in Europe, Adolphe Sicé already had experience of fighting in Morocco, where he took part in military operations as a medical adjutant. On the western front, he served brilliantly in the 1^st Moroccan Mixed Division. Wounded by shrapnel in June 1915 in Oise, and cited four times, he was assigned to a scientific research mission in Cameroon in 1916. He did not return to France until a few weeks before the armistice.

In June 1940, as Surgeon General, he was made General Director of the Health and Medical Services of French Equatorial Africa, and spontaneously decided to serve General de Gaulle. Instrumental in rallying the colonies to the cause of Free France, he planned the epic journey of the future 2^nd Armoured Division from Chad to Tripoli with Colonel Leclerc. He accomplished various missions in Africa and with the Allies, then took change of organising the health service for the Allied Expeditionary Force which was due to land in France. He continued to practise medicine after the war.

Credits: Doctor Adolphe Sicé in November 1916. © Musée de l’ordre de la Libération / Fonds Sicé

The post « A dedicated life », episode 21: Adolphe Sicé first appeared on The News blog.

She was 16 in October 1914 when the Imperial Army occupied her village of Loos-en-Gohelle in Pas-de-Calais. When the British counterattacked in September 1915, she provided Scotland’s 9th Black Watch with information about the enemy positions, enabling them to attack the Germans from the rear. The family home was turned into a makeshift hospital and the young woman joined in the battle. Armed with grenades, she attacked the enemy and shot down two German infantrymen with a revolver. Decorated with the Croix de Guerre and the British Military Medal, she was a guest of President Poincaré at the Élysée. Her portrait was printed on postcards, Le Petit Parisien published her story, the Imagerie d’Epinal printworks exalted her courage, and the British even compared her to Joan of Arc. She was 17 years old. The legend of “the heroine of Loos” was born.

She joined the Resistance at the end of 1940 and became a liaison agent in Lyon before heading to London in July 1944 to avoid arrest.

Credits: Émilienne Moreau in 1916. © Musée de l’ordre de la Libération

The post « A dedicated life », episode 20: Émilienne Evrard-Moreau first appeared on The News blog.