Dimitri Amilakhvari

Dimitri Amilakhvari
Dimitri Amilakhvari
	Lieutenant Colonel
Commands held	13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion
Battles/wars	Phoney War; World War II Norwegian Campaign Battles of Narvik; ; East African Campaign; North African Campaign Battle of Bir Hakeim; Second Battle of El Alamein †; ;
Awards	; ;

Prince Dimitri Zedginidze-Amilakhvari, more commonly known as Dimitri Amilakhvari (

Free French Forces fight against the Nazis in World War II

.

Early life and career

Amilakhvari was born in Bazorkino (now

Russian SFSR occupied Georgia early in 1921, the family fled to Istanbul, Ottoman Empire, where Dimitri attended a local British

School, and later, in 1922, emigrated to France.

In 1924, Dimitri Amilakhvari entered the

Dadiani

(1904–1944) in August 1927. Note that during his French service, the spelling of his surname was modified, dropping the 'h'.

By his wife, Amilakhvari had three children, sons Georges and Othar, and daughter Thamar Amilakhvar,[1] all of whom married and had offspring.^[2]

World War II

Captain Amilakhvari (2nd from right) with French soldiers, 1941.

During the "

Cameroun

. In a remarkable record of service, his war service in 1940 had thus taken him from Africa to the Arctic Circle and back again, as far as the Equator, all in the space of a few months.

Amilakhvari's next move took him halfway round the continent to

Syria. This would be the closest he would come to the land of his birth. Amilakhvari then assumed command of the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion

on 6 September 1941.

In 1942, Amilakhvari was back in North Africa, facing the German and Italian forces in Libya as part of the

War Cross with Sword

for his earlier service in Norway. This is Norway's highest military decoration for gallantry and he was one of only 66 Frenchmen awarded this decoration during the Second World War.

In October 1942, the Allies began the final offensive in North Africa with the Second Battle of El Alamein. This battle took the Allied forces right across Libya and into French North Africa, where Amilakhvari had begun his operational service. However, Amilakhvari did not live to complete his great African odyssey, as he was killed in action on the second day of the battle.

In May 1940, Amilakhvari was awarded a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (Légion d'honneur). Later, General Charles De Gaulle named him and his legionaries the "Pride of France" for their heroic defence of the Allies' positions.

Honours and awards

Chevalier of the
Légion d'honneur
(1940)
Companion of the Liberation
(9 September 1942)
Croix de Guerre 1939-1945
with four palms (5 citations)
Croix de guerre des Théatres d'Opérations Exterieures
(2 citations)
Médaille des Évadés
Colonial Medal with clasp "Morocco"
War Cross with Sword (Norway)
Officer of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite (Morocco)

References

^ Offspring^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Amilkhvari offspring

Rayer G., L'Homme qui a étonné la Légion- Paris Match, 1956 18 fevr., N 358, p. 77-82 (in French)
I. Tabagua and E. Menabde. He fought for the liberation.- Molodyoj Gruzii, Tbilisi, 10 March 1970 (in Russian)
G. Zhordania. Amilakhvari Dimitri.- The Encyclopedia Sakartvelo, vol. I, Tbilisi, 1997, p. 129 (in Georgian)
L. Urushadze. Europe and the Georgian Political Emigration, Publishing House Ena da Kultura, Tbilisi, 2005, (in Georgian, English summary)

External links

(in French) Entry on ordredelaliberation.fr

[1] Offspring^{[permanent dead link]}

[2] Amilkhvari offspring

[2]