Henri Fernand Dentz (16 December 1881 – 13 December 1945) was a general 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 ...

(''Armée de Terre'') who served with the

Vichy French Army The Armistice Army or Vichy French Army (french: Armée de l'Armistice) was the common name for the armed forces of Vichy France permitted under the Armistice of 22 June 1940 after the French capitulation to Nazi Germany and Italy. It was off ...

after France surrendered during 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 tried as a collaborator after the war.

Early life

On 16 December 1881, Henri Dentz was born in

Roanne Roanne (; frp, Rouana; oc, Roana) is a commune in the Loire department, central France. It is located northwest of Lyon on the river Loire. It has an important Museum, the ''Musée des Beaux-arts et d'Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette'' (Fren ...

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 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Military career

Syria-Lebanon campaign

As Commander in Chief of the Army of the Levant ('' Armée du Levant'') and as

High Commissioner of the Levant The High Commissioner of France in the Levant (french: haut-commissaire de France au Levant; ar, المندوب السامي الفرنسي على سورية ولبنان), named after 1941 the General Delegate of Free France in the Levant (french: ...

, Dentz was in charge of the defence of the

French Mandate of Syria The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...

and the

French Mandate of Lebanon The State of Greater Lebanon ( ar, دولة لبنان الكبير, Dawlat Lubnān al-Kabīr; french: État du Grand Liban), informally known as French Lebanon, was a state declared on 1 September 1920, which became the Lebanese Republic ( ar, ...

in 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 ...

. Dentz commanded an army of approximately 45,000 men. Vichy authorities allowed aircraft from the

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

and the Italian Royal Air Force to refuel in Syria and Lebanon before and during the

Anglo-Iraqi War The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq under Rashid Gaylani, who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, with assistance from Germany and Italy. The c ...

. After this, the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

planned an invasion of the French mandates. On 8 June 1941, a force of approximately 20,000

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Free French 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 ...

, and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

troops, under the command of Sir Henry M. Wilson, invaded Syria and Lebanon from the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

and from

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Fierce fighting ensued and the Vichy forces under Dentz progressively lost ground over a 13-day period.

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, the capital of Syria, was abandoned on 21 June 1941. Fighting continued in Lebanon but the Vichy forces continued to lose ground. By July, the Australians were nearing Beirut. The fall of

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, the capital of Lebanon, meant the end was near. On 10 July 1941, as the Australian 21st Brigade was on the verge of entering Beirut, Dentz sought an armistice. At one minute past midnight on 12 July 1941, a ceasefire went into effect. During the ceasefire, Dentz ordered ships and aircraft under his command to go to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

where they were interned. For all intents and purposes, the ceasefire on 10 July 1941 ended the campaign. An armistice, known as the

Armistice of Saint Jean d'Acre The Armistice of Saint Jean d'Acre (also known as the Convention of Acre) concluded the Syria-Lebanon Campaign of World War II. The Armistice, signed on 14 July 1941, was between Allied forces in the Middle East under the command of British Gen ...

, was signed on 14 July 1941. There were 37,736 Vichy French prisoners of war who survived the conflict after fighting for Dentz. Most chose to be repatriated to

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

rather than join the

Aftermath and death

In January 1945, Dentz was sentenced to death for aiding the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

. But

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 Government ...

, the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Provisional Government of the French Republic The Provisional Government of the French Republic (PGFR; french: Gouvernement provisoire de la République française (''GPRF'')) was the provisional government of Free France between 3 June 1944 and 27 October 1946, following the liberation ...

(''gouvernement provisoire de la République française'', or GPRF), commuted his sentence to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. However, Dentz was not to serve much of this sentence. On 13 December 1945, he died in Fresnes,

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a pop ...

, France.

Command history

* 1934 to 1937 Commanding Officer, 54th Brigade * 1937 to 1939 Deputy Chief, General Staff Army * 1939 Assistant Chief General Staff, Army * 1939 General Officer Commanding, XV Corps * 1939 to 1940 General Officer Commanding, XII Corps * 1940 General Officer Commanding, Paris Military region * 1940 General Officer Commanding, 15th Military Region * 1940 General Officer Commanding, 15th Military Division * 1940 to 1941 General Officer Commander in Chief, Levant * 1941 High Commissioner of Levant * 1941 to 1942 High Commissioner of Levant supervising repatriation of the Forces of Levant * 1942 to 1943 President of the Commission of Conferment of Awards of 1939–1940 * 1945 Arrested * 1945 Condemned to death as collaborationist * 1945 Sentence changed to life imprisonment * 1945 Died in prison

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dentz, Henri French military leaders French collaborators with Nazi Germany French military personnel of World War I French military personnel of World War II High Commissioners of the Levant People from Roanne Prisoners sentenced to death by France French prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners who died in French detention French people who died in prison custody 1881 births 1945 deaths People of Vichy France French politicians convicted of crimes