Aimé Teisseire (18 December 1914 – 28 June 2008) was a French military officer who fought with 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 ...
in the African campaign of World War II and later in Europe for the
Liberation of France
The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance.
Nazi Germany inv ...
. Wounded multiple times in battle, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre and
Order of Liberation
The Order of Liberation (french: Ordre de la Libération) is a French Order which was awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during World War II. It is a very high honour, second only after the ''Légion d’Honneur'' (Legion of Honour ...
. For his service in
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
after the war he was made a Grand Officier 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 ...
.''
Le Figaro
''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...
Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération
The Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération is a military museum located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. The museum is dedicated to the Ordre de la Libération, France's second national order after the Légion d'honneur, which was created ...
Puget-Théniers
Puget-Théniers (; oc, Lo Puget Tenier; it, Poggetto Tenieri) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France.
Geography
It is situated on in the valley of the Var.
History
It was part of the historic County of Nice ...
and studied at the Lycée Rouvière in
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 ...
before taking up a position at
Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
in Monte Carlo. He then decided to enlist in the French army but was initially rejected on medical grounds. After spending some time in
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
, he managed to enlist in the
Senegalese Tirailleurs
The Senegalese Tirailleurs (french: Tirailleurs Sénégalais) were a corps of colonial infantry in the French Army. They were initially recruited from Senegal,
French West Africa and subsequently throughout Western, Central and Eastern Africa: t ...
in 1934. He was sent to the non-commissioned officers' training school in
Saint-Maixent-l'École
Saint-Maixent-l'École () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France.
Geography
Saint-Maixent-l'École is located in the Haut Val de Sèvre area of western France, about from Niort and from La Rochelle. The town sits in a fe ...
and then assigned to the
French Congo
The French Congo (french: Congo français) or Middle Congo (french: Moyen-Congo) was a French colony which at one time comprised the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo and parts of Gabon, and the Central African Republic. In 1910, ...
where he was promoted to sergeant in 1938. He returned to France later that year and at the outbreak of World War II was stationed at the
Rochefort-sur-Mer
Rochefort ( oc, Ròchafòrt), unofficially Rochefort-sur-Mer (; oc, Ròchafòrt de Mar, link=no) for disambiguation, is a city and commune in Southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a subprefecture of the Charente-Maritime de ...
air base. He demanded a combat job and was finally assigned to the 6th Regiment of the Colonial Infantry. He fought with them in the Battle of France and was promoted to Sergent-chef for his valor in battle near Ardennes. Wounded at
Meurthe-et-Moselle
Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.Nancy but escaped and eventually re-joined the
Armée d'Armistice
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 ...
in Frejus.Fondation de la France Libre (20 November 2009) "Le témoignage d’un soldat français" Retrieved 19 January 2016
In Frejus Teisseire attempted to convince the men to join 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 ...
but without success. Instead, he was sent to West Africa where after many vicissitudes, he escaped from Dahomey to
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
. Once there, a British administrator helped him to join the Free French Army in Chad. He was assigned to the 1st Company of the Regiment of Senegalese soldiers of Chad and in February 1942 was promoted to Adjutant. While training in Morocco, his regiment was evacuated to England. From there he took part in the D-Day landings and went on to fight German tank and infantry divisions in the
Forêt d'Écouves
The Forêt d'Écouves (; eng. Écouves Forest) is a large area of woodland in the Normandy region of northern France.
Location and topography
The forest is located in the Orne département of France, north of Alençon, between the communes of C ...
. Badly wounded in a battle on the outskirts of Paris, he was discharged and sent to a hospital from which he escaped and hitch-hiked to Paris to rejoin his unit. He then fought with them in a series of battles at Andelot, Hourcourt, and Châtel-sur-Moselle. For his role in establishing the bridgehead across the Moselle, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant in September 1944. In November, he was again wounded (so seriously this time that he was given the
Last Rites
The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...
), but recovered and rejoined his unit to fight in the
Ardennes-Alsace Campaign
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
and eventually in Germany at Berchtesgaden.
After the war ended, Teisseire was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to
French Indochina
French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
, arriving in Saigon in December 1946. He served as a company commander there, receiving three battle citations, the Ordre Royal du Cambodge, and later 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 ...
. On his return to France in 1949, he was promoted to captain. He then served as a company commander in Réunion,
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
,
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
before retiring from the army in 1961. In 1955 he had been made an Officier of the Légion d'Honneur and was subsequently promoted to Commandeur and then Grand Officier. Teisseire's wife and daughter were present when Jacques Chirac presented him with the Grand Officier insignia on 6 October 2005.Union des Officiers de Réserve de la Côte d'Azur (2005) "Un ami a l'honneur" ''Contact O.R.'', No. 8, p. 3. Retrieved 20 January 2016 .
After his retirement from the military, Teisseire worked as the chief of staff in a department store in
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...
, where he lived for the rest of his life. When he died at the age of 93, he was one of the 59 surviving Compagnons de la Libération.