Gustave Fourreau (1920-1994) was a

Général de brigade Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

of the

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 For ...

and

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the Foreign Legion.

Military career

Gustave engaged as a volunteer at the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr, 129th promotion « Croix de Provence » (namesake in reference to (french: Croix de Provence)) on October 14, 1942. He escaped from France by Spain, on August 15, 1943. Nominated to a Caporal-chef (Senior

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

) on June 1, 1943. He disembarked in Morocco, 87th company garrisoned in Rabat on December 15, 1943, where he was promoted to the rank of

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 19 ...

at the officer school at Rabat. He served as a section chief (french: Chef de section) in the 6th company of the 4th Moroccan Tirailleurs Regiment (french: 4^e Régiment de Tirailleurs Marocains, 4^e RTM ) on September 23, 1944. With the same regiment and company, he partook to the campaign of Germany on March 3, 1945. Wounded on May 5, 1945, he was evacuated. Promoted to 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 ...

on June 25, 1945. He then served with the 4th Moroccan Tirailleurs Regiment at Taza in Morocco as of January 24, 1946. In the same regiment, hen then served in the 7th company on May 1, 1946, and with the second support company February 11, 1947. On December 20, 1947, he was assigned to the DCRE and the served in the 2nd battalion, 6th company of the 4^e DBLEM, on January 21, 1948. During the same year, he was reassigned to the DCRE on August 5, 1948. Sent in reinforcement to the Far East (french: L'Extrême-Orient), he disembarked in at Saigon, and was assigned to the 3rd battalion of the 12th company of the

3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (french: 3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie, 3e REI) is an infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is stationed in French Guiana. Its mission includes the protection of the C ...

3^e REI, on September 21, 1948. He was then nominated as the chief of the 9th company of the

3^e REI, on February 13, 1949. He was repatriated on November 25, 1950, and promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, on April 1, 1951. He was assigned to the DCLE-SMOLE, on April 2, 1951, as the Editor-in-Chief of Képi Blanc until 1953. He was the assigned to the

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

n Sections Studies of the Center of High Studies of

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Administration (french: Sections d'etudes de l'Asie au Centre des Hautes Etudes d'Administration Musulmane) in Paris, on September 19, 1953. Set in reinforcement again to the Far East on February 15, 1954, he disembarked at Saigon with the 2nd battalion of the

5th Foreign Infantry Regiment The 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment (abbr. 5th REI, french: 5e Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie), nicknamed the "Regiment of Tonkin" (french: "Régiment du Tonkin"), was a regiment of the Foreign Legion of the French Army created under the Thir ...

5^e REI, on February 17, 1954, as a Captain Adjudant Major. He then commanded the 2nd battalion, 8th company of the

5^e REI, on May 1, 1955. He was repatriated with his unit to Oran April 6, 1956. He served again with 2nd battalion, 8th company of the

on July 26, 1956, and was designated as the operations officer of the battalion on October 17 of the same year. He was nominated as Aide-de-camp at the general staff headquarters of the Armies (french: État-Major des Armées) at Paris, on July 1, 1957. He was then assigned to the ILE at Vincennes as chief of the contentious bureau on August 1, 1958. He was promoted accordingly to a

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 ...

(

Major 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 ...

) on July 1, 1959. He was assigned to the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion 13^e DBLE on four different occasional tours. The first assignment was at Bougie on July 22, 1960, on August 10, 1960, on November 3, 1960, then on November 17, 1961. He was then nominated to the 1st Mounted Chasseur Groupment (french: 1^er Groupement de Chasseurs Portés) at Reims. He was promoted to 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. ...

, on October 1, 1964. In October, he was nominated to the Command of the general staff headquarters of Supreme Allied Armed Forces (french: L'état-major du Commandement Supreme des Forces Armées Alliées) in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe SHAPE. Two years later, he was assigned to the Superior War School (french: Ecole Supérieur de Guerre), as an instructor on July 1, 1966. He was nominated as the regimental commander of the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion 13^e DBLE, on July 3, 1968. Accordingly, he was 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 ...

on July 1, 1969. Repatriated for end of tour on July 15, 1970, he was nominated as the general staff headquarters of the 65th Military Division, on September 8, 1970. He was nominated at 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 ...

1^er RE in Aubagne, as colonel assistant (french: adjoint) to the

of the Foreign Legion Groupment GLE, on April 24, 1972. Respectively, he assumed

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...

of the GLE on September 1, 1973. Nominated as a

, he was admitted to the 1st section of officers generals on May 1, 1976, and was accordingly admitted to the 2nd section of officers generals on November 11, 1976. Général Gustave Fourreau passed away on December 2, 1994.

Recognitions and Honors

Officier of the

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 ...

Chevalier of the

Médaille des Évadés The Escapees' Medal (french: Médaille des Évadés) is a military award bestowed by the government of France to individuals who were prisoners of war and who successfully escaped internment or died as a result of their escape attempt. The "Escap ...

Medaille commemorative de la Guerre 1939-1945 ribbon

Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1939–1945 * Medaille commemorative de la Campagne d'Indochine ribbon

Médaille commémorative de la campagne d'Indochine * Médaille commémorative des opérations de sécurité et de maintien de l'ordre en Afrique du Nord

References

Sources

* Répertoire des chefs de corps * Centre de documentation de la Légion étrangère * Répertoire des citations (BCAAM) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fourreau, Gustave French Army officers 1920 births 1994 deaths

Military career

Recognitions and Honors

See also

References

Sources