Eugène Bridoux (; June 24, 1888 – 6 June, 1955) was a French general. He served as Secretary of State for War, later Secretary of State for Defence, under

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

Eugène Bridoux was born on 24 June 1888 in Doulon, now a suburb of

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, France. He graduated from the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (, , abbr. ESM) is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre'', litera ...

Career

Bridoux served as Secretary of State for War from 1942 to 1943, and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1943 to 1944, under Prime Minister

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. He served as Prime Minister of France three times: 1931–1932 and 1935–1936 during the Third Republic (France), Third Republic, and 1942–1944 during Vich ...

during

. He fled to the

Sigmaringen enclave The Sigmaringen enclave was a temporary government-in-exile formed by remnants of France's Nazi-collaborating Vichy regime during the final stages of World War II. Established in the requisitioned Sigmaringen Castle in southwestern Ger ...

in 1944, and he was arrested by the United States Army in 1945. He was jailed at the Val-de-Grâce, but he escaped in 1947, settling in

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

. He was sentenced to death

in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

and dégradation nationale on 18 December 1948.

Death

Bridoux died in 1955 in Madrid, Spain.

References

1888 births 1955 deaths People from Loire-Atlantique École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni French generals People of Vichy France French exiles French politicians convicted of crimes People convicted of indignité nationale 20th-century French criminals French military personnel of World War II {{France-mil-bio-stub