Adrien Pommier (14 September 1919 – 22 November 1973) was a member of the
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
during
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 ...
.
Life prior to the Resistance
Adrien Pommier was born on 14 September 1919 in
Saint-Dier-d'Auvergne, a small village in the center of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, to Helene Huc the daughter of a local doctor and Simeon Pommier a World War I veteran. As a child he grew up in
Billom, France. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Adrien became a horseman, a Republican, and studied to become a radio engineer.
The Youngest Captain
In 1939 Pommier volunteered to be enlisted but was refused as he did not yet have the required age. Leaving the recruiting center he met a member of the secret army of Billom, and after being recruited served as an intelligence liaison until he joined the Resistance's
Maquis
Maquis may refer to:
Resistance groups
* Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance
* Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War
* The network ...
and was wanted by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
.
[
]
The secret army
During 1940 at the age of 21 Adrien Pommier was enlisted in and joined the 28th regiment as a transmission operator. In parallel he had already been serving in the secret army one year prior and he continued to work on counter intelligence missions in Clermont Ferrand and the surrounding regions with (alias Mazieres) and Pierre Dejussieu-Pontcarral
Pierre Dejussieu-Pontcarral (14 February 1898, Lyon - 1 August 1984, Paris) was a French military man who fought during World War I, and again during World War II when he became one of the leaders of French Resistance.
Biography
Dejussieu-Pontca ...
(alias Felicien, Chief of the secret army region R6).
The resistance maquis
From 1941 to 1942 Adrien Pommier was known by the alias Arthur chief of the secret army 7th sub-district to then later become Captain Hoche in command of the 4th company F.F.I. (4th corps franc of Auvergne region) of the region Maquis du Mont Mouchet headed by Colonel Emile Coulaudon alias Gaspard. From 1942 to 1944 the 4th company, headed by its young commandant, participated in many guerrilla and sabotage attacks on the German occupants and French authorities collaborating with the enemy stealing gas, guns, ammunition, food, etc.
Captain Hoche's 4th Company
During the period of June–July 1944 and in the center of France in the Mont-Mouchet forest at the confines of Cantal, Haute Loire and Lozere was the theater of a battle between the German army and the French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
. Captain Hoche's (alias of Adrien Pommier) 4th Company and other FFI companies were posted between Saint-Flour and Clavières during the Battle of Mont Mouchet. Outgunned and with almost no ammunition they engaged the German motorized columns from the Jesser Divisions between Claviere, Pinols and Saugues. The sacrifices of these Maquisards, with the heavy losses of 260 deaths and 180 injured, blocked 2 German divisions that were heading to the Normandy front.
His Role in the Liberation
At the end of June and in early July, the F.F.I. Companies were regrouped, equipped and kept up the fight until the country was completely liberated. The 4th company, like most of the other F.F.I. units, joined the 1st army commanded by General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French général d'armée during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952.
As ...
. Adrien Pommier then assumed command of the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th companies that then became the 2nd Battalion (the Rapid Column 3) which participated to the liberation of Thiers, Puy de Dôme, and later Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
(the second largest French city at the time).
Medals / Recognitions
* Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
* Croix de guerre 1939–1945 with star
* Resistance Medal
The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...
* Combatant cross
* Volunteer combatant cross
* Volunteer resistance combatant cross
See also
* Billom
*Clermont Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...
*Croix de guerre 1939-1945
Croix (French for "cross") may refer to:
Belgium
* Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut
France
* Croix, Nord, in the Nord department
* Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...
*Émile Coulaudon
Émile Coulaudon (29 December 1907 - 1 June 1977), known as Colonel Gaspard, was one of the principal leaders of the French Resistance in Auvergne during the Second World War.
Life prior to the Resistance
Coulaudon was born on 29 December 1907 ...
*French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
*Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French général d'armée during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952.
As ...
*Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
* Saint Dier d'Auvergne
References
* Rispal, Manuel. Billom, 1941-1943: Résistance, Adrien Pommier, Jacques Meunier, Maquis D'Isserteaux, Rafles De Décembre 1943, Fusillés Du 92, Crimes De Guerre Nazis, Déportation: Dans L'est Du Puy-de-Dôme. Ytrac: Éd. Authrefois, 2013. Print. http://www.lecteurs.com/livre/billom-1941-1943/3701301
* Rispal, Manuel. Tout Un Monde Au Mont-Mouchet: 1940–1945. Ytrac (15130): Éd. Authrefois, 2014. Print.
* La Montagne lermont Ferrand1972: n. pag. Print.
* Espace culturel E. Leclerc
*