Henri Romans-Petit (13 February 1897 – 1 November 1980) was a member of 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 ...

during 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 ...

. He organised several

maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

, notably the maquis de l'Ain et du Haut-Jura and the maquis de

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is ...

Biography

Romans-Petit was born on the 13 February 1897 at

Firminy Firminy (; oc, Frominiu) is a commune in the Loire department in central France. It lies on the river Ondaine, 13 km southwest of Saint-Étienne by rail. History The ancient name of the town was ''Firminiaco'' or ''Firminiacus'' (lit. " ...

in the Loire département. He was mobilized in 1938. After the armistice, he failed in his attempt to join

Free France 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 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. At

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

, he connected with the ''L'Espoir'' network affiliated to

Franc-Tireur (, French for "free shooters") were irregular military formations deployed by France during the early stages of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). The term was revived and used by partisans to name two major French Resistance movements se ...

. He was involved in preparing areas for parachute drops around

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. In 1942 Romans-Petit organised the maquis de l'Ain et du Haut-Jura, and on 11 November 1943 he marched in the town of

Oyonnax Oyonnax () is the second most populated commune in the Ain department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Oyonnax lies in a valley of the Jura Mountains in the far north of Ain. It is near the Parc naturel régional du Ha ...

at the head of his maquisards. This fact was said to have decided the English and French forces in London to send arms drops to the French maquisards who were in desperate need of them. An agent of the United Kingdom's clandestine

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

, Richard Heslop, arranged the air drops of arms and equipment. Romans-Petit was involved in starting maquis in Haute-Savoie, before he passed over his responsibilities to Tom Morel so that he could dedicate himself completely to the Maquis de L'Ain. Over the summer of 1944 Romans-Petit set up a full civil administration at

Nantua Nantua (; Arpitan: ''Nantuat'') is a commune in and subprefecture of the Ain département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 3,454. The commune of Nantua comprises the glacial Lac de Nantua ...

, and brought ''La voix du maquis'' into being. On 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 ...

, he was imprisoned for several weeks at Fort Lamothe at

by the new commissaire de la République,

Yves Farge Yves Farge (19 August 1899, Salon-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône − 31 March 1953, Tbilisi) was a French journalist and politician. Biography Farge was a journalist for the ''Progrès de Lyon''. His colleague, Georges Altman, put him in conta ...

. Romans-Petit died on the 1 November 1980 at

Ceignes Ceignes () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ain department The following is a list of the 393 communes of the Ain department of France. The communes cooperate in the followin ...

in the Ain département.

Works

* ''Les Obstinés'', Janicot, Lille, 1945. * ''L’Appel de l’aventure'', Dorian, Saint-Etienne, 1947. * ''Les Maquis de l'Ain'', Hachette, 1974.

Recognition

* France: ''Grand 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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Croix de guerre 1914-1918 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort d ...

'', ''

Croix de guerre 1939-1945 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

'', ''

Médaille de la Résistance The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...

'' * United Kingdom:

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

* United States of America: Officer of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

* Belgium: Officier of the

Order of Leopold (Belgium) The Order of Leopold ( nl, Leopoldsorde, french: Ordre de Léopold, ) is one of the three current Belgian national honorary orders of knighthood. It is the oldest and highest order of Belgium and is named in honour of its founder, King Le ...

* Congo: Commander of the Order of Merit * Cameroon: Officer of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...

* Tunisia: ''Grand Officier'' of the Nichan Iftikhar (order of glory)''

Sources and external links

Portrait of Henri Romans-Petit on the ''Ordre de la Libération'' site (French)
* Raymond Ruffin, ''Ces chefs du Maquis qui gênaient'', Presses de la Cité, 1980. {{DEFAULTSORT:Romans-Petit, Henri 1897 births 1980 deaths People from Firminy French military personnel of World War I French Resistance members Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Companions of the Liberation Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Resistance Medal Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Officers of the Legion of Merit