Gabriel Bablon (1 September 1905 - 27 March 1956) was a French army officer and

Compagnon de la Libération The Order of Liberation (french: Ordre de la Libération) is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a very high honour, second only after the ''Légion d’Honneur'' (Legion of Honour ...

. A

Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

Officer seconded from the ranks, who had already accumulated more than fifteen years of service, when the

Second World War 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 ...

began, he refused defeat and continued fighting in the ranks of the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

. Engaged in the Western Desert Campaign, he illustrated capability during the

Battle of Bir Hakeim The Battle of Bir Hakeim () took place at Bir Hakeim, an oasis in the Libyan desert south and west of Tobruk, during the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June 1942). The 1st Free French Brigade under Marie-Pierre Kœnig defended the position from ...

and the

Second Battle of El Alamein The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian Railway station, railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa ...

. Later he participated to the Italian campaign and the

Liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...

. Pursuing later his military career after the war, he served in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

before retiring.

Prior to the war

Gabriel Bablon was the son of a French infantry division

général is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level offic ...

. He enlisted at the age of eighteen, was sent to

, occupied by France (french: occupée par la France), in the ranks of the 17th Algerian Tirailleurs Regiment (french: 17^e Régiment de Tirailleurs Algériens). Promoted to Sergent in 1924, he went to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

where he was wounded in the knee by a bullet in 1925. Selected to become an officer from the ranks, he integrated the officer active student course at Saint-Cyr in 1926. He became a

Sous-Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 1928, then at his sortie from the school in 1929, was assigned to the 30th Chasseur Battalion à Pied (french: 30^e Bataillon de Chasseurs à Pied). In 1932, with the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

, he interacted for a first time with the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

, while being assigned to the

1st Foreign Regiment The 1st Foreign Regiment (french: 1er Régiment étranger, 1er RE) and the 2nd Foreign infantry Regiment are the original and most senior founding regiments of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is also responsible for running sp ...

, then in 1933 to the

4th Foreign Regiment The 4th Foreign Regiment (french: 4e Régiment étranger, 4e RE) is a training regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. Prior to assuming the main responsibility of training Legion recruits, it was an infantry unit which participated ...

Second World War

During the

Battle 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 Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, Gabriel Bablon remained stationed in Morocco and did not engaged in any combats. Choosing to pursue combats, he decided to rally to Free France when he was placed in armistice vacation in December 1941. The next month, he was able to join London via Gibraltar and joined the

. He was immediately assigned to the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion 13^e DBLE in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. Moved to North Africa with his unit in 1942, he illustrated combat capabilities during the Western Desert Campaign (french: guerre du desert) and was wounded a first time by the blast of a shell in January, then by a mine in June during the

(french: bataille de Bir Hakeim). Heading the second battalion after having been promoted to

Chef de bataillon Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, he distinguished again capability during the

(french: seconde bataille d'El Alamein). On 23 October colonel

Dimitri Amilakvari Prince Dimitri Zedginidze-Amilakhvari, more commonly known as Dimitri Amilakhvari ( ka, დიმიტრი ამილახვარი, french: Dimitri Amilakvari) (31 October 1906 – 24 October 1942) was a French military officer of ...

, regimental commander of the 13^e DBLE, was killed and Gabriel Gabon replaced him at the head of the unit. He led the latter during the campaigns of

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

(french: Tunisie) and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

(french:

Italie Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the Italy (geographical region) ...

). On 17 May 1944, at San Giorgio a Liri, he was wounded again by the blast of a grenade. Disembarked on 31 August 1944 in the disembarking of Provence (french: débarquement de Provence), he participated to the Liberation of France (french: libération de la France). In September, with the rank of

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

, he headed the 24th Infantry Regiment (french: 24^e Régiment d'Infanterie) at the corps of the 10th Infantry Division (french: 10^e Division d'Infanterie) commanded by général

Pierre Billotte Pierre Armand Gaston Billotte (8 March 1906 – 29 June 1992) was a French Army officer and politician. He was the son of General Gaston Billotte, who commanded parts of the French Army at the start of World War II. Pierre Billotte was himself no ...

(french:

After-war

In December 1945, he reassumed the command of the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion 13^e DBLE and directed the latter during the

Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

starting 1946. In April 1948, the 4th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion, formed from elements of the former elements of the

was dissolved in 1940, and reassumed the designation of 4^e RE. Gabriel Bablon headed the contingent. He was then assigned to Germany and then took his retirement in 1954 after having been promoted to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

one year prior. Attained by severe health challenges, he succumbed and died on 27 March 1956.

Decorations

References

Sources