Marie Joseph Pierre François Kœnig or Koenig (10 October 1898 – 2 September 1970) was a French general during

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 ...

during which he commanded a

Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

Brigade at the Battle of Bir Hakeim in North Africa in 1942. He started a political career after the war and was posthumously elevated to the dignity of

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

in 1984.

Early life

Marie-Pierre Kœnig was born on 10 October 1898, in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

, Calvados, France. His parents were from the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

region.

Military career

World War I

Kœnig fought in the

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 ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and served with distinction. He obtained his baccalaureate and enlisted in 1917. He served in the 36th Infantry Regiment. He was designated as an aspirant in February 1918 and joined his unit at the front. Decorated with the Médaille militaire, he was promoted to ''sous-lieutenant'' on 3 September 1918.

Interwar career

After the war, he served with French forces in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. He served in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

as an assistant () of Captain in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, in Germany, and in

at the general staff headquarters of the division of

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

World War II

Kœnig was a captain and assistant to Lieutenant-Colonel Raoul Magrin-Vernerey in the 13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion of the

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 ...

. When

broke out, Kœnig returned to France. In 1940, he was assigned as a captain with the French troops in Norway for which he was later awarded

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 ...

's ''Krigskorset med Sverd'', or the War Cross with Sword, in 1942. After the fall of France, he escaped to England from

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. In London, Kœnig joined General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

and was 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 became

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

in the first divisions 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 ...

. In 1941, he served in the campaigns in Syria and Lebanon. He was later promoted to general and took command of the First French Brigade in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. His unit of 3700 men held ground against five Axis divisions (c. 37,000 men) for 16 days at the Battle of Bir Hakeim until they were ordered to evacuate on 11 June 1942. De Gaulle said to Kœnig, "Know and tell your troops that all of France is watching you and that you are its pride." Later, Kœnig served as the Free French delegate to the Allied headquarters under General

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

. In 1944, he was given command of the Free French who participated in the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

. Kœnig also served as a military advisor to de Gaulle. In June 1944, he was given command of the

French Forces of the Interior The French Forces of the Interior (FFI; ) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation of these groups to FFI occurred as F ...

(FFI) to unify the various

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

groups under de Gaulle's control. Under his command, the FFI abandoned ranged battle in the maquis and preferred sabotage that was waged in support of the invading army. Important during D-Day, the FFI had a role that became decisive in the battle for Normandy and in the landing in Provence of the US Seventh Army and French Army B. On 21 August 1944, de Gaulle appointed Kœnig military governor of Paris to restore law and order. In 1945, he was sent to arrest Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

, who had taken refuge in Germany but gave himself up at the frontier with Switzerland.

Cold War

After the war, Kœnig was the military governor of the French occupation zone in Germany from 1945 to 1949. In 1949, he became inspector general in North Africa, and in 1950, he became the vice-president of the Supreme War Council.

Political career

In 1951, after his retirement from the army, Kœnig was elected as Gaullist representative to the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...

and briefly served as Minister of Defense under Pierre Mendès-France (1954) and Edgar Faure (1955). He gave his strong support to the new

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

as president of the Franco-Israeli Committee (''Comité franco-israélien''), at around the same time when he was France's Defense Minister, as shown from his informing his Israeli counterpart

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

that France was willing to sell Israel any weapons it wished to purchase, from small arms to tanks (such as the AMX-13

light tank A light tank is a Tank classification, tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller with thinner vehicle armour, armor and a less powerful tank gun, main gun, tailored for ...

). Kœnig had witnessed the heroism of a battalion of Palestinian Jewish mine layers during the Battle of Bir Hakeim and afterwards allowed them to fly their own Star-of-David flag, against British regulations.

Death

Kœnig died on 2 September 1970, in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

, and was buried at

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre () is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis in Paris, after the Père Lachaise Cemet ...

, in Paris.

Legacy

There are streets named after Kœnig in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Netanya Netanya () () or Natanya (), is a city in the "Planet Bekasi" Central District (Israel), Setanyahu of Israel, Israel BAB ih, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between the Poleg stre ...

and

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Military ranks

Honours and decorations

National honours

Ministerial honours

Decorations and medals

Foreign honours

References

Notes

External links

Newsreel
of when he was awarded the Legion of Merit by Eisenhower (3:01)
Biography
on the website of the Order of Liberation (French) *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koenig, Marie-Pierre 1898 births 1970 deaths Military personnel from Caen Politicians from Caen Rally of the French People politicians National Centre of Social Republicans politicians Government ministers of France Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Marshals of France French military personnel of World War I French Army generals of World War II Military governors of Paris French people of the Algerian War Recipients of the Order of the White Lion Companions of the Liberation Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Commanders of the Order of Agricultural Merit Recipients of the Resistance Medal Recipients of the Aeronautical Medal Commanders of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Order of Suvorov, 1st class Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Medal of French Gratitude Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Crosses of the Order of the Dannebrog Recipients of the War Cross (Norway) Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Grand Crosses of the Order of George I Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles Officers of the French Foreign Legion Burials at Montmartre Cemetery