Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu, in religion Father Louis of the Trinity,

O.C.D. The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

(7 August 1889 – 7 September 1964), was a

Discalced Carmelite The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

and priest, who was also a diplomat and

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

officer and admiral; he became one of the major personalities of the '' Forces navales françaises libres''. He was the chancellor of the '' Ordre de la Libération''.

Early career

He was born in Brest on 7 August 1889, in a family of Navy officers. He joined the ''École navale'' (Naval Academy) at 17. D'Argenlieu served on the ''Du Chayla'' as a midshipman, taking part in the campaign 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 A ...

, which led to the Treaty of Fez, in 1912. During the campaign, he was awarded the

Legion of Honour 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 Napoleo ...

, and befriended Hubert Lyautey, something that d'Argenlieu later recalled as one of the happy memories in his life.

First World War

During the First World War, d'Argenlieu served in the Mediterranean; in 1915, while on leave in Malta, he became a member of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites. He was promoted to '' lieutenant de vaisseau'' in 1917. The next year, as commanding officer of a patrol boat, the ''Tourterelle'', he distinguished himself in the rescue of a troop transport.

Religious career

Upon the conclusion of the war, d'Argenlieu undertook theological studies at the Pontifical Angelicum College, the future Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'' in Rome, which he completed in 1920. That year, he entered the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the Discalced Carmelite friars in

Avon, Seine-et-Marne Avon () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Geography Avon and Fontainebleau, together with three other smaller communes, form an urban area of 36,713 inhabitants. The two towns ...

. He professed his initial

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of re ...

as a member of the Order on 15 September 1921 and was given the

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of religious clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anchoritic life, ...

and the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should not be "foreign ...

of Louis de la Trinité (Louis of the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

). D'Argenlieu then studied theology for four years at the

Catholic University of Lille The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He finished his studies there and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

a priest there in 1925. The Discalced Carmelite friars re-established a

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

of Paris in 1932, and he was elected

Prior Provincial Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be lowe ...

in 1935.

Second World War

In September 1939, d'Argenlieu was mobilised as a reserve Navy officer, rising to the rank of ''

capitaine de corvette Corvette captain is a rank in many navies which theoretically corresponds to command of a corvette (small warship). The equivalent rank in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth, and United States is lieutenant commander. The Royal Canadian Navy uses ...

'' in 1940. 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 German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

, d'Argenlieu was captured as he was defending the arsenal of

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Febr ...

. After three days, he escaped from the prisoner train to Germany and joined

Charles 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 Governm ...

on 30 June. D'Argenlieu 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 ...

, intending to serve as chaplain, but eventually took on the duties of a fighting naval officer, with a special authorisation of his religious superiors because of the small number of Navy officers in the Free French Naval Forces. He was made chief of staff in July. He attempted to convince the

Vichy French 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 ter ...

governor of

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

to join De Gaulle and was severely wounded when he was fired upon in his small and unarmed craft on 23 September, during the

Battle of Dakar The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa (modern-day Senegal). It was hoped that the success of the operation cou ...

. In November, he directed successful operations 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 ...

. D'Argenlieu was made a ''

capitaine de vaisseau 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 ...

'', and chancellor of the newly created '' Ordre de la Libération''. In 1941, he rose to counter admiral; he undertook several missions to administer French colonies loyal to

Free France Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

. In 1943, he was made commanding officer for the naval forces in Great Britain On 14 June 1944, he ferried de Gaulle to France aboard the destroyer , and entered Paris with him on 25 August.

First Indochina War

After the defeat of Japan, d'Argenlieu arrived 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, ...

on 31 October 1945. As High Commissioner of the

French Far East Expeditionary Corps The French Far East Expeditionary Corps (french: Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Extrême-Orient, CEFEO) was a colonial expeditionary force of the French Union Army that was initially formed in French Indochina in 1945 during the Pacific W ...

, his task was to restore the French colonial administration. In 1946, he was promoted to '' vice-amiral d'escadre'', and soon later to

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

. As High Commissioner in Indochina, he installed a puppet

Autonomous Republic of Cochinchina French Cochinchina (sometimes spelled ''Cochin-China''; french: Cochinchine française; vi, Xứ thuộc địa Nam Kỳ, Hán tự: ) was a colony of French Indochina, encompassing the whole region of Lower Cochinchina or Southern Vietnam fr ...

in violation of the March 6

Ho–Sainteny agreement The Ho–Sainteny agreement, officially the ''Accord Between France and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam'', known in Vietnamese as Hiệp định sơ bộ Pháp-Việt, was an agreement made on March 6, 1946, between Ho Chi Minh, President of t ...

whilst the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...

leadership was in negotiations in France, effectively beginning the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

.Frederick Logevall '' Embers of War'' Random House 2012 p.137 During the war, his actions grew more and more controversial, and in March 1947, he was replaced by Émile Bollaert. Back in France, he was made inspector general of the Naval Forces before retiring to a monastery.

Later life

In 1958, sick, d'Argenlieu resigned his position of chancellor of the '' Ordre de la Libération'' and withdrew to monastery life again. He died on 7 September 1964 in Brest and was buried in Avrechy.

Honours

* Grand Cross 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 ...

'' * '' Compagnon de la Libération'' * ''

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, ...

'' * ''

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

'' 39–45 with 3 palms * '' Croix de Guerre des Théâtres d'Opérations Extérieures (TOE) with palm * ''

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 ...

avec rosette '' * ''

Insigne des blessés militaires The Medal for the War Wounded (french: Médaille des blessés de guerre) was originally a mere insignia in the form of an ribbon awarded for wounds received in the line of duty while facing an enemy. The insignia was established by the law of 11 De ...

'' * ''Médaille du Sauvetage '' * ''Médaille du Maroc '' * Belgian ''

'' with palm * Commander of the Order of Léopold (Belgium) * Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) a ...

(UK) * ''Médaille du Sauvetage '' * ''Médaille du Maroc ''

Works

* ''La Croix de la Libération'', Paris 1951 * ''Chroniques d'Indochine 1945-1947'', Paris 1985 * ''Souvenirs de Guerre : juin 1940-janvier 1941'', Paris 1973

References

External links

worldatwar.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thierry D'argenlieu, Georges 1889 births 1964 deaths Clergy from Brest, France French military personnel of World War I Discalced Carmelites Breton Roman Catholic priests 20th-century French Roman Catholic priests Free French Naval Forces officers French Navy personnel of World War II French military personnel of the First Indochina War Companions of the Liberation Honorary Companions of the Order of the Bath Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Recipients of the Resistance Medal Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) French Navy admirals Burials in Hauts-de-France French prisoners of war in World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany French escapees French Navy officers from Brest, France