Pierre-Étienne de Perier (31 October 1893 – 22 June 1968) was a French

divisional general Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

, Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, and magazine editor.

Early life

Origins

Antoine-Léonor de Perier (1842-1908) portrait

Antoine Pierre-Étienne de Perier was a member of the de Perier family. Its coat of arms bears "Silver, a fess of vert accompanied by four cinquefoils of the same laid one to each canton of the shield". He was born on 31 October 1893 in Laghouat,

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

, to Antoine Léonor de Perier (1842–1908), commander of the 2nd Battalion of African Light Infantry and Officer of the Legion of Honour, and Louise Loubère (1862–1939), daughter of colonel

Jean-Louis Loubère Jean-Louis Loubère (18 August 1820 – 28 December 1893) was a French career soldier who served as governor of French Guiana from 1870 to 1877. He is known for the many improvements he made to the colony's roads using convict labour. Military car ...

, governor of French Guiana. Antoine Léonor de Perier, born in

Pressagny-l'Orgueilleux Pressagny-l'Orgueilleux () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Eure department The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure department of France. The communes ...

where his father Antoine René de Perier (1800-1880), the mayor of the village, owned the château of la Madeleine, enlisted as a private in 1859 before becoming an officer in 1867. General de Perier's great-grandfather, colonel Antoine Daniel de Perier d'Oudalle (1751–1844), commanded the first brigade of the sedentary National Guard of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

Education

De Perier entered the

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the "Special Military School of Saint-Cyr") is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ...

, class of Montmirail (1912–1914), and enlisted the same year, quickly being promoted to corporal.

Service during World War I

On 28 August 1914, in the battle of La Besace (

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

), he was seriously wounded in the jaw by a bullet while charging the Germans. This action earned him a mention in the army order: "Well behaved in combat on 28 August 1914, brilliantly charged with the

bayonet A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...

at the head of his section, was seriously wounded". In 1916, he was posted to the Armée d'Orient, and became a captain in the

Zouave The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...

s in 1917.

Inter-war period

A regional topographer in Morocco from 1919 to 1921, he joined the colonial infantry. He was sent to Germany, in the French army of the Rhineland, from 1921 to 1925. Then a commander, he was aide-de-camp to General Franchet d'Esperey from 1932 to 1934.

Service during World War II

In June 1940, the Third Army, of which he was sub-chief of staff, was surrounded in Lorraine by Guderian, who led Operation Tiger. De Perier was captured by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

but managed to escape: "was particularly noted for his initiative, energy and courage during the period from 1 June to 22 June 1940. Taken prisoner after the encirclement of his army, he escaped and managed to elude the horsemen in pursuit and reached the unoccupied zone of French territory after having circulated for eight days in the German lines". He was awarded the

Escapees' medal 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 ...

by decree in 1945. From September 1940 to May 1942, promoted to colonel, he became

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

to General Maxime Weygand. In 1941, the African Army had to be put in a position to enter the

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed * Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * B ...

. To this end, it was necessary to complete its units, create security formations to replace the garrisons and reconstitute their maintenance services. These objectives could only be achieved by mobilization, which colonel de Perier decided to do. From 1942, he took part in the Tunisian campaign.

Service during First Indochina War

Inspector general of Colonial troops in October 1944, he was assistant to generals Valluy and Salan during the First Indochina War. He was cited in the army order in 1947.

End of career

In 1948, de Perier was heard at Weygand's trial before the High Court. He gave a long deposition in which he defended the accused. He chaired the ''Revue Économique Française'' when it was reissued in 1952 under the Société de Géographie Commerciale. This journal dealt with economic issues and overseas territories. After his retirement in 1950, General de Perier died on 22 June 1968 in Paris and was buried in

Allier Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named afte ...

Military ranks

Aspirant Aspirant is a rank in the Royal Canadian Navy, Estonian Defence Forces, French military, Brazilian military, Portuguese military, Swiss military, Italian Air Force, Argentinian Armed Forces, Romanian Navy, Polish Policja and Państwowa Straż ...

(11 October 1913) *

Second 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 ...

(5 August 1914) *

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 ...

(6 July 1917) *

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

(25 December 1929) * Lieutenant-colonel (24 March 1936) * Colonel (25 June 1940) * Brigadier general (1 June 1943) *

Divisional general Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

(1 November 1950)

Decorations

French, French Colonial or Inter-Allied decorations

Croix de Guerre des Theatres d'Operations Exterieurs ribbon

Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opération extérieurs * Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 ribbon

Croix de guerre 1914-1918 * Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 ribbon

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 ...

Escapees' Medal 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 ...

(1945) *

Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (1950) * Croix de la Valeur Militaire ribbon

Cross for Military Valour 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 ...

Morocco commemorative medal * World War I Victory Medal ribbon

Victory Medal 1914-1918 The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a ...

Medaille commemorative de la Guerre 1914-1918 ribbon

1914–1918 Commemorative war medal 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 fig ...

Croix du Combattant (1930 France) ribbon

Combatant's Cross * Medaille commemorative des Operations du Moyen-Orient ribbon

Orient campaign medal The Orient campaign medal (french: "Médaille commémorative d'Orient") was a French military medal bestowed for participation in the battles against the Central Powers by the Allied Eastern Army between 1915 and 1918. These battles culminated i ...

Medaille_(Insigne)_des_Blesses_Militaires_ribbon

Medal for the War Wounded

Foreign decorations

* Moroccan Peace Medal * Commemorative Cross for the 1914-1918 Liberation War and the Union * MAR Order of the Ouissam Alaouite - Officer (1913-1956) BAR

Order of Ouissam Alaouite

Works

* Study on the landings by sea in the French Military Review