Henri d'Astier de La Vigerie (11 September 1897 – 10 October 1952) was a French soldier, ''Résistance'' member, and conservative politician.

Life

Henri d'Astier was born in

Villedieu-sur-Indre Villedieu-sur-Indre (, literally ''Villedieu on Indre'') is a commune in the Indre department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Indre department The following is a list of the 241 communes of the Indre department of F ...

, a small village in the Indre département of central France. His military career began in 1915, and, by the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he had reached 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 ...

, and he had been awarded the Legion of Honor. Politically, d'Astier was strongly conservative and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. In particular, he believed that the

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

form of government was inherently weak and ineffective and that France would be stronger under a traditional

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

. He was an admirer of

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-par ...

, a prominent monarchist intellectual and poet. It is possible that d'Astier was involved in La Cagoule, a fascist-leaning organisation that sought the French Republic's overthrow. When

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 ...

broke out, d'Astier was called back into active service. Although his political views could be deemed close to

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

, he was also determined to see France stand as a strong nation, and, therefore, he vehemently opposed the German invasion. His reaction contrasted sharply with the attitude of some of his ideological colleagues, who urged collaboration and alliance with the Nazis against a perceived threat from

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. After the French defeat in June 1940, d'Astier became active in 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 ...

. He was eventually forced to flee, however, when the capture of a colleague threatened to expose him. He escaped to

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, in 1941. There, d'Astier and the local Resistance infiltrated the

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

infrastructure in North Africa. The allies invaded North Africa in 1942, and, as the invasion troops were approaching the shore, approximately four hundred members of the French Resistance, under the command of d'Astier and

José Aboulker José Aboulker (5 March 1920 – 17 November 2009) was a French Algerian Jew and the leader of the anti-Nazi resistance in French Algeria in World War II. He received the U.S. Medal of Freedom, the Croix de Guerre, and was made a Compani ...

, staged a coup in the city of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. They seized key facilities, including the telephone exchange, the radio station, the governor's house, and the headquarters of the French 19th Corps. They arrested General

Alphonse Juin Alphonse Pierre Juin (16 December 1888 – 27 January 1967) was a senior French Army Army general (France), general who became Marshal of France. A graduate of the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr, École Spéciale Militaire class of 1912, ...

, commander of all Vichy troops in North Africa and Admiral

François Darlan Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan (7 August 1881 – 24 December 1942) was a French admiral and political figure. Born in Nérac, Darlan graduated from the ''École navale'' in 1902 and quickly advanced through the ranks following his service d ...

, the commander-in-chief of the Vichy military. Early the next morning, the Vichy gendarmerie arrived and released Juin and Darlan. However, afterwards, Vichy troops lost time retaking the positions seized by the Resistance during the coup, and this allowed the Allied forces to encircle Algiers with little opposition. Breaking with the Vichy régime, Darlan negotiated a surrender with the Allies that allowed him to retain control of the local civil administration. Despite his surrender, however, Darlan was soon assassinated by

Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle (4 November 1922 – 26 December 1942) was a royalist member of the French resistance during World War II. He assassinated Admiral of the Fleet François Darlan, the former chief of government of Vichy France and t ...

, a member of the Resistance. Although La Chapelle is believed to have acted alone, Darlan's successor,

Henri Giraud Henri Honoré Giraud (18 January 1879 – 11 March 1949) was a French general and a leader of the Free French Forces during the Second World War until he was forced to retire in 1944. Born to an Alsatian family in Paris, Giraud graduated from ...

, accused the Resistance of organising the assassination, and he launched a crackdown. Many of the key figures in the Resistance were arrested, and d'Astier went into hiding. He was found and arrested in early 1943. When

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

became the sole head of the

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 ...

forces, d'Astier was released. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed to De Gaulle's Commission of National Defense. In 1944, d'Astier led a 45-man detachment in France, operating behind enemy lines to prepare the way for the Allied invasion. He continued to fight in France for the remainder of the war. Henri d'Astier died in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

in 1952.

Bibliography

War Official reports

* Les Cahiers Français, ''La part de la Résistance Française dans les événements d'Afrique du Nord'' (Official reports of French Resistance Group leaders who seized Algiers on 8 November 1942, to allow allied landing), Commissariat à l'Information of Free French Comité National, London, Aug. 1943.

Academic works about these events

* George F. Howe, ''North West Africa: Seizing the initiative in the West'', Center of Military History, U.S Army, Library of Congress, 1991. * Arthur L. Funck, ''The politics of Torch'', University Press of Kansas, 1974. * Professeur Yves Maxime Danan, ''La vie politique à Alger de 1940 à 1944,'' Paris, L.G.D.J., 1963. * Christine Levisse-Touzé, ''L'Afrique du Nord dans la guerre, 1939-1945,'' Paris, Albin Michel, 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Astier de la Vigerie, Henri 1897 births 1952 deaths People from Indre French Roman Catholics French nobility French military personnel of World War I French military personnel of World War II French Resistance members People affiliated with Action Française Companions of the Liberation Officiers of the Légion d'honneur