Pierre Marie Jean-Baptiste Mairesse-Lebrun (16 March 1912 – 6 December 2003) 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 ...

cavalry officer who became famous for his escape from

Colditz castle Castle Colditz (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the r ...

as a

World War II 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 ...

prisoner of war. He was born in

Bauzy Bauzy () is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department in the Centre region of central France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, oversea ...

Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Its name is originated from two rivers which cross it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher in its southern part. Its prefecture is Blois. The INSEE and La P ...

. Lebrun served as a captain in the 4th regiment Chasseurs de l'Afrique and was captured during the

Fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

. He was sent to Oflag IV-C, at

Colditz Castle Castle Colditz (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the r ...

, from which he escaped on 2 July 1941. After a walk in the park all POWs gathered to be counted and be escorted back to the main castle. At this moment all guards, who stood around the park fences, also returned to the park entrance, leaving the back fences unguarded. Mairesse Lebrun and Lieutenant Pierre Odry used this opportunity to leave the group, and together they ran to the fence at the backside of the park. Odry catapulted Mairesse Lebrun over the fence where he ran away. The German guards were so stunned that they did nothing initially; when they recovered, they started shooting without success. Still in his sports clothes, Lebrun hid in a field and via Switzerland reached Vichy France. In December 1941 he went to Spain, where he was arrested. He tried to escape again but fractured his spine paralysing his legs. On 20 July 1946 he married Christine Solvay (1922–2006). Lebrun was created a

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 B ...

References

Sources

Leo de Hartog; Officieren achter prikkeldraad 1940-1945, uitgeverij hollandia 1983

Entry at Planète Généalogie
* Henry Chancellor, ''Colditz: The Definitive History'', London 2001, "based on television programmes produced for Channel Four Television", , pp. 51–58. 1912 births 2003 deaths French Army officers French Army personnel of World War II Prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle French escapees Escapees from German detention {{France-mil-bio-stub