Georges-Pierre de Froment (alias ''Pierre Foureix'' and ''Deblé'') (17 November 1913 – 14 November 2006) was a French soldier and a member of 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 ...

resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

Early life and background

Froment was born in Châteauroux, in the garrison town of his father. His father was a graduate of the Saint-Cyr military academies who had been killed leading his company in Artois in May 1915. De Froment enrolled at Saint-Cyr and, after a standard beginning to his career, in 1939 he was sent on as special mission to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, where he was present for the debacle. He returned to France and, in May 1940, took part in operations to block the German army which had crossed the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

Resistance (1940-1943)

After the French army's defeat, Froment met Captain Henri Frenay in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

towards the beginning of September 1940. Frenay was engaged in forming an embryonic resistance movement, which became ''

Combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

'', the most important movement in the '' zone libre''. Frenay made de Froment his representative in the occupied zone. It was de Froment's responsibility to create a massive information network in the north, assigned directly to passing on clandestine news which Frenay intended would inform the general population and promote a spirit of resistance. Along with Frenay, Robert Guédon and Jacques-Yves Mulliez, Froment was involved in the creation of the newspaper '' Les Petites Ailes de France'', which was first circulated on 17 May 1941. Towards the beginning of February 1942, '' Combat Zone Nord'', the group led by Guédon and to which de Froment was attached, was scourged by a wave of arrests. Greatly isolated, de Froment nonetheless continued to expand his network in industrial and railway circles across the whole of the ''

zone occupée The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

''.

Deportation (1943-1945)

On 14 January 1943, de Froment, whose hideout had been spotted by a treacherous comrade, was arrested by two men from the ''

Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' (German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. A ...

''. He was imprisoned in Fresnes prison and, in summer 1943. deported to Mauthausen concentration camp in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In May 1945, the camp was liberated by

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

. Terribly weakened, de Froment reached France and recuperated in the sanatorium at Briançon where, in 1946, he transcribed the history of his deportation to Mauthausen. Published in 2004, it is a text infused with fervent Christian humanism.

After the war

*1947: Reintegrated into 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 ...

. *1953: '' École supérieure de guerre''. After graduation, he became

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

for four years in

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. *1961: Arrived in

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

as ''adjoint'' of the sector commandant of Blida. After the Algiers putsch of 1961, became commandant of Blida sector. *1962-1964: Head of ''

Action Service The Action Division (french: Service Action), commonly known by its predecessor's title Action Service (french: Service Action) is a division of France's Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) responsible for planning and performing clande ...

'' of the SDECE (''Service de documentation extérieure et de contre-espionnage''). *He ended his career as '' général de division'' at the head of the 44th région militaire at

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, in 1973. Pierre de Froment died at Moulins 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 ...

. He was buried in the cemetery at Montlevicq in

Indre Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administ ...

Decorations

* ''Grand-Croix de l' Ordre national du Mérite'' * ''Grand Officier de la

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 ...

'' * '' Médaille de la Résistance''

References