Pierre Emile Marie Johannes Barjot (13 October 18991 February 1960) was a French admiral. He was the commander-in-chief of the French forces during the Suez Crisis.

Biography

Early life

Barjot joined the Navy in 1918, and was commissioned as a ship-of-the-line Second Ensign on 1 October 1919, while serving in the harbor of

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 ...

. From January 1, 1921, he served aboard the ship ''Aldebaran'' of the Pacific Squadron, and was promoted to Ensign on 1 October. In 1924, he entered the School of Underwater Navigation in Toulon. During 1925, he was posted in the submarine station of the

Cherbourg Naval Base Cherbourg Naval Base is a naval base in Cherbourg Harbour, Cherbourg, Manche department, Normandy. The town has been a base of the French Navy since the opening of the military port in 1813. History Early works Cherbourg had been a stronghold ...

. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 16 April 1926, while serving aboard the ship ''Baccarat'' 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 ...

. In 1929, he became deputy commander of the submarine ''Dauphin'', and during the same year given the command of the submarine ''Naïade''. In 1933, Barjot entered the École de Guerre navale. After graduation, he was posted as the commander of the submarine Bévéziers on 20 December 1935. On 7 September 1936, he was promoted to lieutenant commander. During 1937, he commanded the submarine ''Agosta''.

World War II

In 1940, at the early stages of

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 opposing ...

, he served in the Anglo-Saxon Department of the French Admiralty. On 17 November 1940, after the

Second Armistice at Compiègne The Armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed at 18:36 near Compiègne, France, by officials of Nazi Germany and the Third French Republic. It did not come into effect until after midnight on 25 June. Signatories for Germany included Wilhelm Keitel, ...

, he was given the rank of commander and posted to

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, where he oversaw the local merchant fleet. There, he joined a covert network of 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 ...

. In August 1941, he was assigned as deputy commandant of the '' Richelieu''. In 1942, he was arrested by the Vichy security services and retired from the Navy, moving to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. There, he assisted the Allied forces in the preparation of Operation Torch; he was one of those present in the Cherchell conference. Barjot joined the

Free French Naval Forces The Free French Naval Forces (french: Forces Navales Françaises Libres, or FNFL) were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Émile Muselier. History In the wake of the Armistice a ...

. On 15 November 1943, he was promoted to

Ship-of-the-line captain Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

. After Operation Overlord, he was appointed deputy chief-of-staff for national defense in August 1944. He became a Counter admiral on 15 May 1945.

Post-war years

In December 1946, he was posted as the commander of the marine forces 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 t ...

up to October 1948. Then, he was transferred to command the French Navy's aircraft carrier group. He was promoted to vice admiral on 21 January 1951. From January 1951 to April 1952, he commanded the maritime forces in

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

. After leaving that office, he commanded the strategic zone in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

. In 1954, he headed a squadron in Toulon. In 1955, he served as a member of the Supreme Maritime Council. During the Suez Crisis, he commanded the French forces. Afterwards, he was the marine prefect of Toulon, an office he held until October 1958, when he was transferred to the post of Naval Adjutant to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General

Lauris Norstad Lauris Norstad (March 24, 1907 – September 12, 1988) was an American General officer, general officer in the United States Army and United States Air Force. Early life and military career Lauris Norstad was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minn ...

. He was promoted to full admiral on 23 December 1958, and died little more than a year afterwards.

References

External links

A German-language biography of Barjot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barjot, Pierre 1899 births 1960 deaths People from Le Blanc Military personnel of the Free French Naval Forces Recipients of the Resistance Medal Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Commanders of the Ordre du Mérite Maritime French Navy admirals