Serge Andolenko (26 June 1907 - 27 August 1973) was a French military officer of Ukrainian origin who became brigade
général
is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level offic ...
of 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 ...
.
Born in Volochysk in 1907 in the
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, then in the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, he was the only son, of an aristocratic family of military traditions (
Cossacks
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
). His father, Paul, a tsarist
officer
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
, was a magistrate and
dragoon
Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...
captain in the
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...
who died in 1931 in one of Stalin's first purges.
Military career
Admitted into
Saint-Cyr in 1924 ("Rif promotion"), he served with prince
Dimitri Amilakvari
Prince Dimitri Zedginidze-Amilakhvari, more commonly known as Dimitri Amilakhvari ( ka, დიმიტრი ამილახვარი, french: Dimitri Amilakvari) (31 October 1906 – 24 October 1942) was a French military officer of ...
. He was assigned to the
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
at the end of his scholarity. In 1926, at 19, he became a sub-lieutenant in the 1st Foreign Regiment (1
er RE) at
Sidi Bel Abbès
Sidi Bel Abbès ( ar, سيدي بلعباس), also called Bel Abbès, is the capital (2005 pop. 200,000)''Sidi Bel Abbes'', lexicorient.com (Encyclopaedia of the Orient), internet article. of the Sidi Bel Abbès wilaya (2005 pop. 590,000), Algeria ...
,
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
. He participated in campaigns in
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
and the French
Levant
The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
and was naturalized as a French citizen in May 1928. He then served in the
1st Foreign Regiment
The 1st Foreign Regiment (french: 1er Régiment étranger, 1er RE) and the 2nd Foreign infantry Regiment are the original and most senior founding regiments of the Foreign Legion in the French Army.
The regiment is also responsible for running sp ...
(1
er RE),
3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment
The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (french: 3e Régiment étranger d'infanterie, 3e REI) is an infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is stationed in French Guiana. Its mission includes the protection of the C ...
(3
e REI),
4th Foreign Regiment
The 4th Foreign Regiment (french: 4e Régiment étranger, 4e RE) is a training regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. Prior to assuming the main responsibility of training Legion recruits, it was an infantry unit which participated ...
(4
e RE),
5th Foreign Infantry Regiment
The 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment (abbr. 5th REI, french: 5e Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie), nicknamed the "Regiment of Tonkin" (french: "Régiment du Tonkin"), was a regiment of the Foreign Legion of the French Army created under the Thir ...
(5
e REI), the
6th Foreign Infantry Regiment
The 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment (french: 6e Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie, 6e REI) was an infantry regiment of the French Foreign Legion, Foreign Legion in the French Army from 1939 to 1941 and again from 1949 to 1955.
History, creations ...
(6
e REI) and the
Inspection of the Foreign Legion Particularly following World War I, the Foreign Legion grew exponentially reputable and important part in the French Army. Accordingly, new regiments have been formed which one of them was the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment 1er REC.
During the inter ...
(1959-1960).
During 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 ...
, he was chief of the 2nd bureau of the
3rd Algerian Infantry Division
The 3rd Algerian Infantry Division (french: 3e Division d'Infanterie Algérienne, 3e DIA) was an infantry division of the Army of Africa (french: Armée d'Afrique) which participated in World War II.
Following the liberation of French North Afri ...
(french:
3e Division d'Infanterie Algérienne) under the orders of General
Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert. At this occasion during the Italian campaign, he assured the liaison between the
3rd Algerian Infantry Division
The 3rd Algerian Infantry Division (french: 3e Division d'Infanterie Algérienne, 3e DIA) was an infantry division of the Army of Africa (french: Armée d'Afrique) which participated in World War II.
Following the liberation of French North Afri ...
(3
e DIA) and the 4th Mountain Moroccan Division (4
e DMM) (french:
4e Division Marocaine de Montagne). Following the disembarkation in Provence, he took part in the liberation of Marseille. Due to his functions, he assured the liaison coordination between various units (
3e DIA/ Resistance/ U.S. American units/ Liberation of Grenoble/ Liberation of Starsbourg). He finished the conflict with the 3
e DIA at Stuttgart.
Following the war, he commanded the 5th Infantry Battalion in Germany.
He commanded the
5th Foreign Infantry Regiment
The 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment (abbr. 5th REI, french: 5e Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie), nicknamed the "Regiment of Tonkin" (french: "Régiment du Tonkin"), was a regiment of the Foreign Legion of the French Army created under the Thir ...
5
e REI during the
Algerian War
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
.
Following that command, he was designated as Inspector-adjoint of the Foreign Legion, then integrated the CHEM (french: Centre des hautes études militaires).
Designated Military Attaché to Vienna (1961-1963), he was promoted to Général de Brigade. He was admitted to the second section of the officer corps of generals in 1963.
A passionate historian, he was renowned for several publications on the French Army and the Imperial Russian Army. He created an entire hall for the Russian Army of the 1st World War in the
Musée des Invalides.
He died in France on 27 August 1973.
Literature
He wrote several publications, notably on military history, out of which certain were translated to several languages:
* La filiation des bataillons de Légion étrangère, 1935 - (''The Filiation of French Foreign Legion Battalions'').
* Visite aux salles d'honneur et au musée du Souvenir de la Légion, 1938 - (''Visit to the Halls of Honor and the Museum of Memory of the Legion'').
* Les drapeaux de la Grande Guerre, 1945 - (''The Flags of the Great War'').
* Aperçus sur la guerre 1914-1918 sur le front Russe, 1945 - ('' Aspects of the 1914-1918 War on the Russian Front'').
* Historique du 5
e étranger d'infanterie, 1957 - (''History of the 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment'').
* Recueil d'historiques de l'infanterie française, 1949 (re-edited in 1969) - (''Historical overview of the French Infantry'').
* Histoire de l'armée russe, 1952 (re-edited in 1967) - (''History of the Russian Army'').
* Recueil d'historiques de l'arme blindée et de la cavalerie, 1968 - (''Historical Overview of the Armored Corps and the Cavalry'').
* Aigles de Napoléon contre drapeaux du Tsar, 1969 - (''Napoleon's Eagles against the Flags of the Tsar'').
* Histoire du Régiment Préobrajenski (edited in Russian in 2010) - (''History of the Préobrajenski Regiment'') - ( Régiment Préobrajenski (french:
Régiment Préobrajensky))
* Généralissime Souvorov (edited in 2015) - (''Generalissimo Souvorov'').
Distinctions
* Commander of the
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 ...
* Commander of the
National Order of Merit (France)
*
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 ...
(5 citations)
*
Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures
The ''Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieurs'' (War Cross for foreign operational theatres), also called the ''Croix de Guerre TOE'' for short, is a French military award denoting citations earned in combat in foreign countri ...
(1 citation)
*
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 ...
(3 citations)
* Palmes académiques
* Commander of the Nicham Iftikar (Tunisia)
* Commander of the
Order of Ouissam Alaouite
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
(Morocco)
* Commander of the Ordre pour le Mérite (Austria)
*
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
(U.S.)
Titled of nine citations out of which five at the orders of the armed forces.
See also
*
Major (France)
() in France, is a senior superior military rank (french: grade militaire) across various military and security institutions with history dating back well beyond the 18th century.
Typically, the contemporary rank of Major is situated differen ...
*
French Foreign Legion Music Band (MLE)
The Music of the Foreign Legion (french: Musique de la Légion étrangère, MLE), formerly known as the Principal Music of the Foreign Legion (french: Musique principale de la Légion étrangère) is a Military band of the French Foreign Legion.
...
*
Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion
The Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion (RMLE) (french: link=no, Régiment de marche de la Légion étrangère) was a French military unit that fought in World War I and World War II. Initially composed of marching regiments from the 1st Fo ...
References
*Patrimony and History Division of the
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...
and
Képi Blanc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andolenko, Serge
1907 births
1967 deaths
French generals
French military attachés
French military personnel of World War II
French military personnel of the Algerian War