Georges Roger Pierre Bergé (3 January 1909 – 15 September 1997) was a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

general who served 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 opposing ...

. He enlisted in 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 ...

, where he took command of the ''1re compagnie de chasseurs parachutistes'' (1st Parachute Chaser Company). He is mentioned by

David Stirling Sir Archibald David Stirling (15 November 1915 – 4 November 1990) was a Scottish officer in the British army, a mountaineer, and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). He saw active service during the Second World War. ...

as one of the co-founders of the Special Air Service (SAS). In Britain and Egypt he organised the training for Allied agents sent to France and led the first airborne mission in occupied France, named

Operation Savannah Operation Savanna (or Operation Savannah) was the first insertion of SOE trained Free French paratroops into German-occupied France during World War II. This SOE mission, requested by the Air Ministry, was to ambush and kill as many pilots as ...

. He fought in Syria and

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

. After his capture by the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

he was imprisoned in

Colditz Castle Castle Colditz (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the r ...

Biography

Youth

Georges Bergé was born on January 1909 in Belmont, in the Gers département, France. He was drafted in 1929, and incorporated in the 24th infantry regiment in

Mont-de-Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Military installations The French Air and Space Force operates the '' Constantin Roza ...

, where he trained as a reserve officer. In April 1930, he demobilised as a second lieutenant. In 1933, he eventually chose a military career and integrated ''l'école de l'Infanterie et des Chars'' (Infantry and tanks school) in

Saint-Maixent Saint-Maixent () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. See also *Communes of the Sarthe department The following is a list of the 354 communes of the Sarthe department of France. ...

. He became a lieutenant in 1934.

Second World War

1940

*May. He fought on the frontline. On 18th, while leading a successful counter-attack near Bousies in the North, he was wounded twice and transported to Arras. After hospitalisation in Caen, he was evacuated further south. *June. :17 - While visiting his parents in

Mimizan Mimizan (; oc, Mamisan) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. There are two separate districts of the town: Mimizan-Bourg (town center) and Mimizan-Plage (resort). Geography Mimizan is a seaside ...

, Landes, he heard marshal Pétain's radio-broadcast speech. :21 - Refusing the armistice, Georges Bergé embarked on a Polish boat in

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; eu, Donibane Lohitzune,Donibane Lohitzune
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 ...

in London, he met general Charles de Gaulle at Saint Stephen's House and suggested that he form an airborne battalion. *He integrated the air force staff 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 ...

. *September. The ''1re Compagnie d'Infanterie de l'Air'' or 1re CIA (1st Airborne Infantry regiment) was formed with Bergé as its commanding officer. *He trained in the Ringway school (

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

). *December. Bergé and his men were now paratroopers.

1941

*March. :15 - He parachuted in France as leader of the first

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

mission in occupied France,

, planned by the SOE. :22- He joined

and contacted friends to form a resistance network. *April. On the 5th, he came back to England by submarine. Mission Savannah was over. *Under the supervision of the

Deuxième Bureau The Deuxième Bureau de l'État-major général ("Second Bureau of the General Staff") was France's external military intelligence agency from 1871 to 1940. It was dissolved together with the Third Republic upon the armistice with Germany. Howeve ...

(then the

Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action The Bureau Central de Renseignements et d'Action (, Central Bureau of Intelligence and Operations), abbreviated BCRA, was the World War II-era forerunner of the SDECE, the French intelligence service. The BCRA was created by the Free French chief- ...

, the

external

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

agency) and the SOE, he established a special agents school – 36th station of the SOE, Inchmery House, New Forest – where most of the agents sent in France in 1941 and 1942 were trained. *July. On the 25th, with the 1re CIA, he was allocated in Damascus (Meze airfield)

1942

*January. Allocated in Kabret in the Combined Training Center, west bank of the Suez Canal, he formed the French SAS squadron. As the SAS expanded, the French squadron would be the first of a range of units to be 'acquired' by

. *June. His unit was tasked to attack enemy airfields in the mediterranean zone. Bergé chose the

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban Ar ...

airfield, in

(

Operation Albumen Operation Albumen was the name given to British Commando raids in June 1942 on German airfields in the Axis-occupied Greek island of Crete, to prevent them from being used in support of the Afrika Korps in the Western Desert Campaign in the Seco ...

). With a group of four men, he managed to destroy 20 enemy planes. 19 - He was captured at the conclusion of his mission. He was imprisoned in XC

Oflag An Oflag (from german: Offizierslager) was a type of prisoner of war camp for officers which the German Army established in World War I in accordance with the requirements of the 1899 Hague Convention, and in World War II in accordance with the r ...

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

, from which he tried in vain to escape.

1943

*January. Transferred in

(Oflag IV-C), he found there Major Stirling, captured in a 1943 raid in Tunisia, and captain Augustin Jordan.

1945

*April. On 16, he was set free by Patton's army.

Post war

Lieutenant-colonel Bergé was successively allocated to the Parachute inspection administration, to the military cabinet of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, to the National Defense' staff. He was then the military attaché for the French embassy in Rome. *August 1951 – July 1953. He commanded the 14th Régiment d'infanterie parachutiste de Choc (RIPC) in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

. *1953–1957. Colonel Bergé was the assistant of General Pierre Barjot, commander of the French airborne forces during the Suez Crisis.

Honours and awards

;France * Commander of the

Legion of Honour 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 ...

* Companion of the Liberation (17 November 1945) * Grand Officer of the Order of Merit * Croix de Guerre 1939-1945, 4 citations * Cross of Military Valour, with palm * Aeronautics Medal ;Foreign * Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

(United Kingdom) * Cruz Militar (Spain) * Commander of the

Order of George I The Royal Order of George I ( el, Βασιλικόν Τάγμα Γεωργίου Α') is a Greek order instituted by King Constantine I in 1915. Since the monarchy's abolition in 1973, it has been considered a dynastic order of the former Greek r ...

(Greece) * Commander of the

Order of Ouissam Alaouite Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(Morocco)

Sources

*
Georges Bergé on the Order of the Liberation's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berge, Georges 1909 births 1997 deaths People from Gers French generals French military personnel of World War II French military personnel of the Suez Crisis French military personnel of the Algerian War Special Air Service officers Free French Forces Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Companions of the Liberation Grand Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Cross for Military Valour Recipients of the Aeronautical Medal Honorary Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Commanders of the Order of George I