Pierre Côme André Segrétain (7 November 1909 – 8 October 1950) was a French infantry and airborne officer of 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 ...

who fought in

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 ...

and the

First 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 French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

, primarily in Foreign Legion units. He received command of the

1st Foreign Parachute Battalion The 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion () was a parachute battalion of the Foreign Legion formed from the Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment. History 1er Bataillon Etranger de Parachutistes, 1er BEP - I, II, III Formatio ...

''(1 BEP)'' when the battalion was created in 1948 and led for two years in Indochina before being fatally wounded while leading his battalion during the

Battle of Route Coloniale 4 The Battle of Route Coloniale 4, also called the Autumn-Winter Border Campaign (''Chiến Dịch Biên Giới Thu Đông'') by the Viet Minh, was a battle of the First Indochina War. It took place along Route Coloniale 4 (RC4, also known as Hi ...

Early life

Pierre Segretain was born in a French military family. His father was a

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 ...

, his grandfather a

division general 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 ...

of the French military engineers (). He served two years of

corniche A corniche is a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising up on one side of the roadway and falling away on the other. The English language has adopted the word from the French term ' or "road on a ledge", itself derive ...

at the

Lycée privé Sainte-Geneviève Lycée Sainte-Geneviève () is a higher education institution located in France, Established in 1854, it is a private ''lycée'', located in Versailles, providing preparatory classes for ''grandes écoles''. It was founded by the Jesuits in Par ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

before attending

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 1930.

Military career

Prewar

He graduated from Saint-Cyr in the

Général is the French word for general. There are two main categories of generals: the general officers (), which are the highest-ranking commanding officers in the armed forces, and the specialist officers with flag rank (), which are high-level offic ...

Joseph Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre , (; 12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 19 ...

promotion and was assigned to the 35th Infantry Regiment at

Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...

as platoon commander (

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 ...

) then transmission officer. In May 1936, he volunteered for service in the

1st Foreign Regiment The 1st Foreign Regiment () is a depot regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. It is located at Aubagne. The regiment is also responsible for running special institutions of the Legion. These include the magazine ''Képi Blanc'', the ...

(1 RE) at Sidi-bel-Abbès. He served in

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 ...

and

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 ...

with the

2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment The 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment () is an infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment is one of two mechanized infantry regiments of the 6th Light Armoured Brigade. Since the regiment's arrival from Bonifacio in ...

(2 REI) in 1938 and the

6th Foreign Infantry Regiment The 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment () was an infantry regiment of the French Foreign Legion, Foreign Legion in the French Army from 1939 to 1941 and again from 1949 to 1955. History, creations and different nominations When first established ...

(6 REI) in 1939.

World War II

With the outbreak of

, he belonged to the Legion group of the French Levant and volunteered to fight in France in the 20th Colonial Infantry Regiment. He first saw action at Saint-Gervais. Promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, in December 1940, he sailed to

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 ...

to rejoin the 6 REI with whom which he fought against the

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

and

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 ...

Forces in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign in June-July 1941. Following

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

in November 1942, his regiment joined 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 an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

and engaged in the

Tunisia Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The ...

against the

Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its Africa ...

. At Loukanda, he led his company against a superior enemy. In July 1943, he participated in the creation and reforming of the Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion (R.M.L.E.). The unit landed in southern France in

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), known as Débarquement de Provence in French ("Provence Landing"), was the code name for the landing operation of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15Augu ...

and he served with them until the fighting in Germany. He would be made knight of the order of the

Legion of Honor 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. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

Indochina War

In 1945, he was assigned to

Coëtquidan Académie militaire de Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan (, , abbr. AMSCC) is a French military educational facility located in the Morbihan department of Brittany in France. It forms a part of the commune of Guer and covers an area of approximately 64 ...

, where, as unit

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

, he was in charge of training transmission units. After earning his paratrooper brevet at Pau, he was assigned to the

1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment The 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment () is the oldest and among the most decorated airborne forces regiments of the French Army. Established in the French Army in 1943, and formerly part of the French Air Force since 1937, the chasseur distinguishe ...

(1 RCP). He was the first commander of the

(1 BEP), created on 1 July 1948 at Khamisis, creating also the battalion insignia.
Official Website of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment, History of the 2e REP, the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion ''1er Bataillon Etranger de Parachutistes'' In November 1948, the battalion departed to

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 ...

, with Captain

Pierre Jeanpierre Pierre Paul Jeanpierre (; 14 March 1912 – 29 May 1958) was a soldier in the French Army, a French Resistance fighter and senior officer of the French Foreign Legion. He served in the French Army and fought during World War II, the First Indo ...

serving as second in command. During September 1950, 1 BEP received the mission to retake the town of Dong Khé on Route Coloniale 4 from the

Viet Minh The Việt Minh (, ) is the common and abbreviated name of the League for Independence of Vietnam ( or , ; ), which was a Communist Party of Vietnam, communist-led national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1 ...

. 1 BEP was trapped by the Viet Minh in the Coc Xa gorge and was annihilated. He died of wounds during the night of 7–8 October 1950, while the remaining survivors of the battalion filtered across Viet Minh lines to That Khe.

Honours and awards

He received 8 citations during his career, including: *Knight 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 ...

. *

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 ...

with silver star. * Croix de guerre des Théatres d'Opérations Extérieures with 3 palms.

Legacy

The 193rd promotion of the

chose the name promotion Chef de bataillon Segretain.
Chant de la promotion Chef de Bataillon Segretain (ESM de Saint-Cyr)

References

External links

History of the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment, 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment, 14th Parachute Chasseur Regiment and 18th Parachute Chasseur Regiment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Segretain, Pierre 1909 births 1950 deaths People from Saint-Mihiel Officers of the French Foreign Legion French military personnel of World War II French military personnel killed in the First Indochina War École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures