Pierre Dunoyer de Segonzac (10 March 1906,

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

– 13 March 1968) was a

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 ...

and Brigade General.

Biography

Pierre Dominique Dunoyer de Segonzac was born on March 10, 1908, in

. He is the son of Charles Dunoyer de Segonzac, naval officer, and Adèle Desvaux. His childhood takes place in the various maritime bases in which his father is affected: mainly Toulon and Lorient. As a child, during the war of 1914–1918, he spent a few years in

Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France, on a hill above the river Vienne. It is named after Saint Leonard of Noblac. The commune of Saint-Léonard-de-Nob ...

, in the

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

, where his mother settled, while his father was engaged in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

then in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

and France. black Sea. At the beginning of the war of 1939–1945, at the head of his squadron of tanks of the 4th regiment of cuirassiers, he fought near a Quesnoy a regiment of panzers supported by a regiment of riflemen, and fights until the armistice. He then becomes the director of the School of the cadres of Uriage, which he creates immediately after the defeat of 1940 with the support of the secretariat to the Youth of 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 ...

regime. Resisting the multiple pressures exerted by the regime, Dunoyer de Segonzac spares his school a great autonomy which allows him to make of it a place of reflection, a breeding ground of the Resistance. At the closing of the school by the Laval government at the end of 1942, he went into hiding and his team spread in many maquis (the Vercors, the Paris region, Brittany, the North ...). At the beginning of February 1943, he made contact with Captain Pommiès while he was in

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 Pa ...

for the development of an intelligence and counterintelligence service1. Subsequently, he himself took command of the French Forces Interior (FFI) Zone A Tarn with which it frees the cities of the region (Castres, Mazamet, Béziers). Constituting his troops in regiment (the 12th Dragons), he took Autun, entered Nevers to join with the 1st Army of General de Lattre. He enters Germany after very hard fighting in the Vosges. He was appointed Brigadier General in 1959.

Publications

Pierre Dunoyer de Segonzac, Reflections for Young Leaders, National School of Managers, 1941, 34 p. Pierre Dunoyer de Segonzac, The Old Leader: Memoirs and Selected Pages, Paris, Seuil Publishing, 1971, 251 p.

Decorations

* Commandeur 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 ...

(1956) * Croix de guerre 1939-1945 *

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 ...

Notes and references

1906 births 1968 deaths Military personnel from Toulon French generals French military personnel of World War II French Resistance members Order of the Francisque recipients Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur {{France-mil-bio-stub