André Lalande (26 May 1913 – 19 October 1995) was a

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

officer and general in the Chasseurs Alpins and

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

. He fought during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

at the heart of the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army ( ; AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (; FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated ...

, then in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

and

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Military career

A graduate of

École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (, , abbr. ESM) is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre'', litera ...

, promotion of ''Tafilalet'' 1931–1933, he was assigned as a sous-lieutenant at Metz. In 1937, following his request, he was assigned to the 6th Alpins Chasseurs Battalion (). The unit was combat engaged in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

during the

Battle of Narvik The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April to 8 June 1940, as a naval battle in Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding the north Norwegian town of Narvik, as part of the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War. Th ...

from April to June 1940, where he was wounded. Since July 1940 and during the war, Lalande joined the

. In December 1941, he was assigned to the

13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion The 13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion (), was created in 1940 and was the main unit of the 1st Free French Division, Free French Forces (FFL). From the coast of Norway to Bir Hakeim, to Africa then the Alsace, while passing by Syria and Italy ...

13^e DBLE garrisoned in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. It was with this unit that he combat engaged to the

Battle of Bir Hakeim The Battle of Bir Hakeim () took place at Bir Hakeim, an oasis in the Libyan desert south and west of Tobruk, during the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June 1942). The 1st Free French Brigade under Marie-Pierre Kœnig defended the position f ...

in May 1942, a battle during which he was wounded in action again. Promoted to

Chef de Bataillon () is the seniormost non-commissioned officer rank in France and other Francophone countries. Unlike most other countries which use the old European rank system, France uses as its lowest ranking senior officer. While the rank functions of '' ...

in June 1943 of the war, he assumed command of the 1st Battalion of the '' phalange magnifique''. His unit was part of

1st Free French Division The 1st Free French Division () was one of the principal units of the Free French Forces (FFL) during World War II, renowned for having fought the Battle of Bir Hakeim. Consisting of troops from mainland France and from the then French colon ...

and partook to the assault against the Gustave line in Italy in the spring of 1944, as well as to the disembarking in Provence in August 1944. He then participated to the Battle of Alsace () in the Alpes in April 1945. At the issue of

, following an assignment post attached to the cabinet of the Minister of the Armies, and a promotion to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, he volunteered to serve in French Indochina during the

Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between France and Việt Minh ( Democratic Rep ...

. Promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, he assumed command of the

3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment () is an infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is stationed in French Guiana. Its mission includes the protection of the Guiana Space Centre, a European Space Agency (ESA) f ...

3^e REI and participated to the

Battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the forces of the French Union and Viet Minh. The French began an operation to in ...

in 1954. He was responsible then for the support point "Isabelle". Lalande was captured after the fall of entrenched camp on May 7, 1954, and spent 5 months in captivity. He joined there after, from 1955 to December 1958, the French delegation's permanent group of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

to the U.S. He participated then to the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

, first as chef d'état-major of 19th Military Region in Algiers, then as chief of the sector of Tiaret from May 1958 to October 1960. Promoted to général de brigade in 1961, he assumed command of the 1st intervention Brigade in Algeria and in Tunisia, where he partook to the battle of Bizerte. After having occupied the post of commandant inspector of the

French Army Light Aviation The French Army Light Aviation ( (the army is officially called the 'Land Army' because the air force is officially called the 'Air Army')) is the Army aviation service of the French Army. ALAT was established on 22 November 1954 for observation ...

, he assumed command of the 11th Parachute Division 11^e DP at Pau. In June 1966, he was promoted to

général de division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

. In July of the next year, he assumed the functions of the

Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic The Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic (''Chef d'état-major particulier du président de la République'') is a role in the military of France, military and Cabinet of France, government of France, heading the president of ...

. In 1969, he became the military governor of Lyon and commandant of the 5th Military Region. On March 1, 1970, he was promoted to the rank of

général de corps d'armée An army corps general or corps general is a rank held by a general officer who commands an army corps. The rank originates from the General officer#French Revolutionary system, French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. Nor ...

Decorations

*Grand Officer of the

Légion d’Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* Companion of the Liberation *Grand Cross of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

Croix de guerre 1939-1945 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

(2 citations) * Croix de guerre des Théatres d'Opérations Extérieures * Médaille Coloniale * Norwegian War Cross with Sword

Legacy

Homages

*The 183rd promotion of Saint-Cyr (1996–1999) bears his name.

External links

Biography of André Lalande
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalande, Andre 1913 births 1995 deaths Military personnel from Rennes French generals Free French military personnel of World War II French military personnel of World War II French military personnel of the First Indochina War French military personnel of the Algerian War Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Companions of the Liberation Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Recipients of the War Cross with Sword (Norway) Officers of the French Foreign Legion Prisoners of war held by Vietnam