Marcel Émile Deslaurens (23 August 1883, in

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

– 17 May 1940, in

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an importan ...

, Netherlands) was a French brigadier general. He died in World War II during an act of gallantry that allowed a number of his men to retreat safely.

Biography

Deslaurens graduated from the

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 ...

in 1903 and began his career with the 24e régiment d'infanterie coloniale in 1903, then the 3e régiment de tirailleurs tonkinois in French Indochina. On his return to France in 1909 he went to Africa, first to the Ivory Coast and then to the governor's station in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. Deslaurens was at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

with the 42e régiment d'infanterie coloniale, and was wounded twice. From 1922 to 1924 he was at the

École supérieure de guerre École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

, then he returned to

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

. From 1933 to 1935 he was a colonel in a regiment of colonial infantry in Morocco, and from 1936 to 1937 led the technical office of the colonial troops. From 1937 to 1939 he was back in Indochina. On 1 January 1940 he was given the command of the 60th Infantry Division of the Seventh Army (under Henri Giraud), headquartered at the castle of Esquelbecq, located in the north of France. In the waning days of the

Battle of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands (), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands (), was a military campaign, part of Battle of France, Case Yellow (), the Nazi German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Neth ...

, as part of a maneuver toward

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

, his division entered Belgium and arrived at the mouth of the

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

on 10 May. After the Dutch capitulation, the division retreated into south

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

and found itself on the islands of

Walcheren Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The two ...

and South Beveland on 15 May. The next day fierce fighting took place on the Sloedam, which connects South Beveland and Walcheren, but the positions were overrun and Deslaurens and his men retreated to Walcheren after an unsuccessful attempt to blow up the Sloedam. On Walcheren he also took command of men from the 60th Infantry Division. His main concern was to defend their position and prepare an organized escape back to France, and to raise the morale of the fatigued troops. On 17 May their positions were attacked by German artillery and airplanes, with Deslaurens inspecting his troops without regard for danger. Under severe pressure, the troops retreated to

; orders were given to embark on French warships (under the command of admiral Charles Platon) that evening. Amid the chaos of French troops that continued to pour in, and given the demoralized state of those troops, Deslaurens himself grabbed a rifle and covered the retreat, setting up a position with whatever soldiers and officers he could detain, some four hundred meters from the embarkation. By 22:15 all had been evacuated except for Deslaurens and his small defensive group, who were all killed. He was one of thirteen French generals who died in May/June 1940. Originally buried on the Noorderbegraafplaats in Vlissingen, his remains were later transferred to France.

Ranks and awards

* 1905 sous-lieutenant * 1907

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

* 25 December 1914 capitaine * 18 October 1915

Chevalier de la 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 ...

* 1923 chef de bataillon - officier de la Légion d'honneur * 1928 lieutenant-colonel * 1933

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 ...

* 1937 général de brigade * 1938 Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur * 1940 Command of the 60e D.I. A monument in his honor was erected in Vlissingen on 4 May 2001, in the presence of his son and grandson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deslaurens, Marcel 1883 births 1940 deaths French military personnel of World War I French Army generals of World War II French Army personnel killed in World War II Commanders of the Legion of Honour École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni