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Alain De Boissieu
Alain de Boissieu Déan de Luigné (; 5 July 1915 – 5 April 2006) was a French general who served in the Free French Forces during World War II, later becoming Army chief of staff (1971–1975). He was the son-in-law of General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French and postwar President of France. Life Son of a French noble family with title coming from Forez and Lyon (de Boissieu), Alain de Boissieu was a pupil at École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (French military academy) in 1936 and Saumur (French cavalry school) in 1938. He was a cavalry officer during World War II and, with horses and sabre, made a successful charge (one of the last in cavalry history) against German troops on 11 June 1940. A prisoner of the Germans, he managed to escape to the Soviet Union in March 1941. However Joseph Stalin was, at this time, an ally of Hitler. He was then sent for a while to a Soviet internment camp. Finally, after Germany invaded the Soviet Union in mid-1941, he joined ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army General (France)
Army general (french: Général d'armée) is the highest active military rank of the French Army and the National Gendarmerie. It is also used in the Air and Space Force, where it is called . Officially, it is not a rank but a position and style bestowed on some divisional generals, which is the highest substantive rank, in charge of important commands, such as Chief of Staff of the French Army or Chief of the Defence Staff. It is an OF–9 NATO rank, equivalent to the French Navy rank of . In the army, only a Marshal of France has precedence; however, Marshal of France is not a rank but a dignity in the State, and the last Marshal of France died in 1967. There is no higher rank in the Air Force and Gendarmerie. History The rank was created on 6 June 1939 by a decree of the President of the French Republic published in the ''Journal Officiel de la République Française'', following a joint report by the Ministers of War, of the Navy and of the Air. They came to the conclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2nd Armored Division (France)
The French 2nd Armored Division (french: link=no, 2e Division Blindée, 2e DB), commanded by General Philippe Leclerc, fought during the final phases of World War II in the Western Front for the liberation of France. The division was formed around a core of units that had fought in the North African campaign, and re-organized into a light armored division in 1943. The division embarked in April 1944 and shipped to various ports in Britain. On 29 July 1944, bound for France, the division embarked at Southampton. During combat in 1944, the division liberated Paris, defeated a Panzer brigade during the armored clashes in Lorraine, forced the Saverne Gap and liberated Strasbourg. After taking part in the Battle of the Colmar Pocket, the division was moved west and assaulted the German-held Atlantic port of Royan, before recrossing France in April 1945 and participating in the final fighting in southern Germany, even going first into Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" (Americans captured the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
