Auguste Marie Émile Laure (3 June 1881 – 1957) was a French general He was born on 3 June 1881 in

Apt Apt. is an abbreviation for apartment. Apt may also refer to: Places * Apt Cathedral, a former cathedral, and national monument of France, in the town of Apt in Provence * Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France * A ...

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Hyères Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The old town lies from the sea clustered around t ...

in 1957. He married Eugénie Marguerite Degasquet in Draguignan on 27 September 1908. Just prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he commanded the 9th Military Region. At the time of the outbreak of World War II, he commanded 9^e Corps d'Armée. At the

Fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

, he commanded 8th Army until his capture. After his release, he served the

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

as Secretary-General to the Head of State until April 1942. In 1940, he was the commanding officer of the VIII^e Armée on the

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

front. He was imprisoned in

La Bresse La Bresse () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. The area is known for its ski resorts and outdoor activities. La Bresse is located about 45 km west of Colmar and 55 km north west of Mulhouse in ...

, with four other generals, on 22 June 1940. Freed following the intervention of Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...

, Laure became secretary general of the office of the head of state (secrétaire général du cabinet du chef de l'État) on 15 November 1940 and, in December, secretary general of the Légion française des combattants (LFC), the Vichy veterans organization, replacing

Xavier Vallat Xavier Vallat (December 23, 1891 – January 6, 1972), French politician and antisemite who was Commissioner-General for Jewish Questions in the wartime Vichy collaborationist government, and was sentenced after World War II to ten years in pr ...

. He left this position in 1942 after the return of

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. During the Third Republic, he served as Prime Minister of France from 27 January 1931 to 20 February 1932 and 7 June 1935 to 24 January 1936. He again occu ...

to the government. He was arrested by the Germans in December 1943 and deported to Germany. He was not released until May 1945. He was tried in the ''

Épuration légale The ''épuration légale'' (French "legal purge") was the wave of official trials that followed the Liberation of France and the fall of the Vichy regime. The trials were largely conducted from 1944 to 1949, with subsequent legal action continui ...

'' (French: "legal purge") anti-collaborator trials that followed World War II in France. He was acquitted on 2 July 1948. His son, René Laure, also became a general in the French army. Another son, Henri Laure, became an admiral.

Publications

*Under the pseudonym Henri-René, ''Au 3^e Bureau du troisième GQG (1917-1919)'', Plon, Paris, 1921, 279 pages. *''Pétain, biographie du maréchal jusqu'à la capitulation'', Berger-Levrault, 1942, 442 pages

References

*''Translated in part from the corresponding article in the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has article ...

.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Laure, Emile 1881 births 1957 deaths People from Vaucluse French generals French military personnel of World War I French Army generals of World War II French prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany