Victor Iturria (22 October 1914 – 25 August 1944) was a French paratrooper during

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 ...

. He served as an anti-tank gunner during the

Battle 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 Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

and was evacuated to England during the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on t ...

, where he joined the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

under

General de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

. Iturria was assigned to the Free French paratroopers that joined the British

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, with them he took part in several raids behind enemy lines. In 1944 he parachuted into occupied France during the liberation and fought with the

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 ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

and then in Southern France, where he was killed in an ambush.

Biography

Victor Iturria was born on 22 October 1914 in

Bassussarry Bassussarry (; eu, Basusarri) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Basusartars''. Geography Bassussary is located in the fo ...

in the

French Basque Country The French Basque Country, or Northern Basque Country ( eu, Iparralde (), french: Pays basque, es, País Vasco francés) is a region lying on the west of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. Since 1 January 2017, it constitu ...

. He was mobilized and took part in the

as corporal and gunner of a 25 mm anti-tank gun. As such, he received a citation for having, by himself, disabling seven German tanks during an attack. Severely wounded during the retreat to Dunkirk in May 1940, he was evacuated to a hospital in England. He was reinstated in early July 1940 and joined the Free French Forces, becoming a paratrooper in the 1st Air Infantry Company established in England in late September 1940 by Captain Georges Bergé. With his unit, now the 1st Parachute Company, he embarked for the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

in July 1941. In September 1941, the 1st Parachute Company was renamed the Parachute Platoon of the Levant and then, as part of the Air Force, it was renamed the 1st Parachute Chasseur Company of the Free French Air Force. After being stationed at Beirut and Damascus, the unit moved in January 1942 to Kabret on the banks of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

. It was integrated into

Brigade (SAS Brigade) commanded by Major Stirling. The French SAS becomes the French Squadron and, equipped with jeeps, they became famous for raids against the German

rear Rear may refer to: Animals *Rear (horse), when a horse lifts its front legs off the ground *In stockbreeding, to breed and raise Humans *Parenting (child rearing), the process of promoting and supporting a child from infancy to adulthood *Gende ...

and airfields. On 12 June 1942 in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

, Victor Iturria took part in an attack, led by André Zirnheld, on an airfield in Benghazi. The following month, under command of Captain Jordan, he took part in three attacks on airfields in Cyrenaica and then, in August, an attack against Benghazi. In January 1943, he left

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

with his unit for a 3 000 km raid to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, where it contributed to destroy the line of communication in the rear of the

Mareth Line The Mareth Line was a system of fortifications built by France in southern Tunisia in the late 1930s. The line was intended to protect Tunisia against an Italian invasion from its colony in Libya. The line occupied a point where the routes into T ...

, where the Germans have stabilized their positions. Having already received two citations in the Order of the Army, he was decorated with the

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. He returned to England with the survivors of the French Squadron, which became the 1st Air Infantry Battalion (1er BIA) in July 1943 and then the 4th Air Infantry Battalion (4e BIA) in November. Promoted to adjudant, Victor Iturria was made an instructor. On 1 July 1944, the 4e BIA changed name again 2nd Parachute Chasseur Regiment of the Air Force (2e RCP). Iturria was parachuted into

on 3 August 1944. A week later, he took part in the attack on

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

and on 15 August, at Quiberon, with his section, he captured a hundred prisoners. Sent to

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

with the 2e RCP, he patrolled along the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

. On 25 August, Victor Iturria was killed by a machine gun burst in an ambush near Blain in

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...

department. He was buried in the village of

Sare Sare may refer to: People * Bakary Saré (born 1990), Burkinabé football player * Clyde W. Sare (1936–2015), American politician and businessman * Haig Sare (born 1982), Australian rugby union player * Hamit Şare (born 1982), Turkish alpine sk ...

in the

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlant ...

department.

Decorations

* Companion of the Liberation (29 December 1944) *

* 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 ...

with rosette *

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

(UK)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iturria, Victor 1914 births 1944 deaths French military personnel killed in World War II Companions of the Liberation Recipients of the Resistance Medal French-Basque people People from Labourd