Armand Christophe Huyghé (11 July 1871 – 2 March 1944), later knighted Armand Huyghé de Mahenge, was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

career soldier. He is best known for his service in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, where he succeeded

Charles Tombeur Lieutenant General Charles Tombeur, 1st Baron of Tabora (4 May 1867 – 2 December 1947) was a Belgian military officer and colonial civil servant. As well as holding several major administrative positions in the Belgian Congo, he is particularly ...

as commander of the Belgian forces in the East African Campaign in 1917. He commanded the Belgian contingent during the Allied occupation of the Rhineland after the war. During

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 opposin ...

, he was involved in the resistance and, after being captured by the Germans, was deported to Buchenwald concentration camp where he died in 1944.

Biography

Huyghé was born in

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

in Brabant Province. He studied at the Royal Military Academy and entered the Belgian Army in 1891, serving in the

8th Regiment of the Line 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

, as a junior officer. In 1893, he transferred to the ''

Force Publique The ''Force Publique'' (, "Public Force"; nl, Openbare Weermacht) was a gendarmerie and military force in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885 (when the territory was known as the Congo Free State), through the period of ...

'', the colonial militia, in the then- Congo Free State which at the time was under the direct personal control of

King Leopold II * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

but returned to Belgium soon after, suffering from illness. At the outbreak of

, Huyghé served in the Belgian Army during the German invasion of Belgium, fighting at the Battles of Liège,

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

and the Yser in 1914. In 1915, with the front stabilised at the Yser, Huyghé returned to the

to serve in the ''Force Publique'' in the East African Campaign. He initially served under Colonel Molitor in the North Brigade (''Brigade Nord'') during the operations on the frontier of German

Ruanda-Urundi Ruanda-Urundi (), later Rwanda-Burundi, was a colonial territory, once part of German East Africa, which was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under militar ...

and fought at the

Battle of Tabora The Battle of Tabora (french: Bataille de Tabora; 8–19 September 1916) was a military action which occurred around the town of Tabora in the north-west of German East Africa (modern-day Tanzania) during World War I. The engagement was part of ...

in 1916. Replacing

as commander of the ''Force Publique'' on campaign in February 1917, he commanded the Belgian forces at the important Battle of Mahenge in October 1917. Returning to Belgium after the war, he commanded the Belgian army of occupation during the Allied occupation of the Rhineland. Retired for ill-health, he held a number of official positions in Belgian companies in the Congo after 1929 on the boards of the

Compagnie du chemin de fer du Bas-Congo au Katanga The ''Compagnie du chemin de fer du bas-Congo au Katanga'' (BCK) was a railway operator in the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and later in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zaire. Most of the lines were in the southern Katanga Province, wit ...

(BCK), Société des mines d'étain du Ruanda-Urundi and the Compagnie des grands élevages congolais. In 1933, he was made a ''chevalier'' (

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

) by

King Albert I Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. Born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-S ...

in recognition of his role during World War I. At the time of the fall of Belgium and

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 ...

in 1940, Huyghé was living in

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

and became a local leader in 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 ...

. He was arrested in 1943 and detained at

Fresnes Prison Fresnes Prison (''French Centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes'') is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne, south of Paris. It comprises a large men's prison (''maison d'arrêt'') of about 1200 cells, a small ...

before being deported to Buchenwald concentration camp, together with the former Belgian prime minister

Paul-Émile Janson Paul-Émile (Paul Emil) Janson (30 May 1872 – 3 March 1944) was a francophone Belgian liberal politician and the prime minister from 1937 to 1938. During the German occupation, he was arrested as a political prisoner and died in a German concen ...

, where he died of disease in 1944.

References

Bibliography

Archive Armand Huyghé de Mahenge
Royal Museum for Central Africa *

Biography

References

Bibliography

Further reading