Jean Sassi (11 June 1917 – 9 January 2009) 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 For ...
colonel and intelligence service officer, former "
''Jedburgh''" (
BCRA) of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Far East
The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.
The ter ...
. Commando chief of the
SDECE's 11th Shock Parachutist Regiment (''
11e régiment parachutiste de choc''). Maquis chief in
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
through the
GCMA (1953–1955).
During the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...
in April 1954 Jean Sassi led
Mèo partisans (GCMA) in
Operation Condor
Operation Condor ( es, link=no, Operación Cóndor, also known as ''Plan Cóndor''; pt, Operação Condor) was a United States–backed campaign of political repression and state terror involving intelligence operations and assassination of o ...
, also known as Operation D.
Video with 1954 color footages and later comments by col. Jean Sassi (in French)
/ref>
Honours and awards
* 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, ...
* Croix de Guerre 1939-1945
* Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures
* Croix de la Valeur Militaire
The Cross for Military Valour (french: Croix de la Valeur Militaire) is a military decoration of France. It recognises an individual bestowed a Mention in Dispatches earned for showing valour in presence of an enemy, in theatres of operations wh ...
* Croix du combattant volontaire 1939–1945
* Medal of the
See also
*Operation Jedburgh
Operation Jedburgh was a clandestine operation during World War II in which three-man teams of operatives of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the Free French Bureau central de renseigne ...
*Groupement de Commandos Mixtes Aéroportés
The Groupement de commandos mixtes aéroportés ( en, Mixed Airborne Commando Group) commonly referred as just GCMA, was the "Action Service" of the SDECE French counter-intelligence service active during the Cold War. The GCMA's origins lay in ...
References
1917 births
2009 deaths
People from Tunis
French people of Corsican descent
French Army officers
French military personnel of World War II
French military personnel of the First Indochina War
French military personnel of the Algerian War
Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)
Recipients of the Cross for Military Valour
Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures
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