Marie Cyrille Victor Debeney (26 April 1891 – 1 March 1956). was a French Army general. He was the head of the secretariat of

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...

from August 1944 to April 1945.

Biography

Born in

Bourg-en-Bresse Bourg-en-Bresse (; frp, Bôrg) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Ain Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Eastern France. Located northeast of Lyon, it is the capital of the ...

(

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

), Victor Debeney was the son of General Marie-Eugène Debeney (1856–1943). Voluntarily enlisting in 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 ...

in 1910, he was made a coporal the following year, then was admitted to Saint-Cyr, graduating as

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

in July 1913 and assigned to the ''25e bataillon de chasseurs''. He was seriously wounded during the

First World War 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 fightin ...

on 23 September 1914, when he lost an arm. At the beginning 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 ...

, he was, with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, commander of the ''129e régiment d'infanterie.'' Promoted to ''général de brigade'', he took command on 1 June 1940 of the la ''238e division d'infanterie légère'' which had been constituted within the ''6e armée de réserve'' and stationed near

Arc-en-Barrois Arc-en-Barrois is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in the Grand Est region in northeastern France. The 18th-century French metallurgist and Encyclopédiste Étienne Jean Bouchu (1714–1773) died in Arc-en-Barrois. Geography The Aujon f ...

. The unit was dissolved at the end of June 1940. He was director of the S''ervices de l'

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

'', from 16 April 1943 to 18 August 1944,. within the

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

, then head of the general secretariat of

, succeeding Commander Tracou. He accompanied Pétain a few days later to

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen (Swabian German, Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen (district), Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowne ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, then returned to France with him on 26 April 1945, and was imprisoned in

Fresnes Prison Fresnes Prison ('' French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes'') is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne, south of Paris. It comprises a large men's prison (''maison d'arrêt'') of about 1200 cells, a smal ...

. He was one of the 18 superior officers to testify in defence of Pétain at his trial in August 1945. Indicted for crimes against the State security in front of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

, the case was dismissed because of his

Résistance 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 ...

activities.. He was stricken from the Army lists on 8 March 1946. He passed away at his home on Avenue du Docteur-Brouardel in the 7e arrondissement of Paris in March 1956, aged 64.

Honours

* ''Commandeur'' of the ''Légion d'honneur'' (31 December 1939). * ''Croix de guerre 1914-1918''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debeney, Victor Commanders of the Legion of Honour École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) People of Vichy France French military personnel of World War II French Army officers People from Ain 1891 births 1956 deaths