Henri Giraud

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Henri Giraud
Constituent Assembly
from Moselle
In office
11 June 1946 – 27 November 1946
Personal details
Born
Henri Honoré Giraud

18 January 1879 (1879-01-18)
Général d'Armée
Battles/wars

Henri Honoré Giraud (18 January 1879 – 11 March 1949) was a French military officer who was a leader of the Free French Forces during the Second World War until he was forced to retire in 1944.[1]

Born to an Alsatian family in Paris, Giraud graduated from the Saint-Cyr military academy and served in French North Africa. He was wounded and captured by the Germans during the First World War, but managed to escape from his prisoner-of-war camp. During the interwar period, Giraud returned to North Africa and fought in the Rif War, for which he was awarded the Légion d'honneur.

Early in the Second World War, Giraud fought in the Netherlands. In May 1940, he was again captured by the Germans, but made another successful escape from captivity in April 1942 after two years of careful planning. From within Vichy France he worked with the Allies in secret, and assumed command of French troops in North Africa after Operation Torch (November 1942) following the assassination of François Darlan. In January 1943, he took part in the Casablanca Conference along with Charles de Gaulle, Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Later in the same year, Giraud and de Gaulle became co-presidents of the French Committee of National Liberation, but he lost support and retired in frustration in April 1944.

After the war, Giraud was elected to the Constituent Assembly of the French Fourth Republic. He died in Dijon in 1949.

Early life

Henri Giraud was born in Paris, of Alsatian descent, and was the son of a coal merchant.

Military career

Giraud graduated from the

Cuirassiers.[5] Due to the slow pace of promotion in the peacetime army, Giraud only received a brevet promotion to captain on 23 December 1912, over a decade after his promotion to lieutenant.[6] On 23 June 1913, Giraud returned to the 4th Zouaves,[7] and commanded Zouave troops in North Africa until he was transferred back to France in 1914 when World War I
broke out.

World War I

Giraud was seriously wounded while leading a Zouave

bayonet charge during the Battle of St. Quentin on 30 August 1914, and was left for dead on the field. He was captured by the Germans and placed in a prison camp in Belgium. Giraud managed to escape two months later by pretending to be a roustabout with a traveling circus. He then asked Edith Cavell for help, and eventually he was able to return to France via the Netherlands, with assistance from Cavell's team.[8][9] Giraud's feat earned him appointment as a knight of the Legion of Honour on 10 April 1915.[10] With effect from 26 February 1915, he was reappointed a staff officer.[11]

Afterwards, Giraud served with French troops in

Franchet d'Esperey
.

Interbellum

In 1920 Giraud was transferred to

École de Guerre,[12] where one of his students was Captain Charles de Gaulle. On 3 February 1930, Giraud was "placed at the disposal of the resident-general of France in Morocco", then Lucien Saint, and was assigned to monitor the Algerian-Moroccan borders as commander of the Moroccan frontier post of Boudenib.[13] He was promoted to brigadier-general on 22 December 1930.[14] On 11 April 1936, he was appointed military governor of Metz, commanding the 6th military region.[15]

World War II: command, capture and escape

Captured French General Giraud (second from right) with German officers
Captured French General Giraud, during his daily walk. Germany, c. 1940–41.

When World War II began, Giraud was a member of the Superior War Council, and disagreed with

POW prison.[16]

Giraud planned his escape carefully over two years. He learned German and memorised a map of the area. He made a 150 feet (46 m) rope out of

Schandau to meet his Special Operations Executive (SOE) contact who provided him with a change of clothes, cash and identity papers. Through various ruses, he reached the Swiss border by train. To avoid border guards who were on the alert for him, he walked through the mountains until he was stopped by two Swiss soldiers, who took him to Basel.[8] Giraud eventually slipped into Vichy France, where he made his identity known. He tried to convince Marshal Philippe Pétain that Germany would lose, and that France must resist the German occupation. His views were rejected but the Vichy government refused to return Giraud to the Germans.[17]

Cooperation with the Allies

Algiers, French Algeria. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander in chief of the Allied Armies in North Africa, and General Henri Honoré Giraud, commanding the French Forces, saluting the flags of both nations at Allied headquarters.

Giraud's escape soon became known throughout France. The Vichy Prime Minister, Pierre Laval, tried to persuade him to return to Germany. Yet while remaining loyal to Pétain and the Vichy government, Giraud refused to cooperate with the Germans. In retaliation, Heinrich Himmler ordered the Gestapo to try to assassinate him and to arrest any members of Giraud's family who could be found, with the intention of holding them hostage in order to discourage Giraud from cooperating with the Allies. Seventeen members of Giraud's extended family were arrested.[18]

Berber natives of North Africa.[citation needed
]

Giraud designated General Charles Mast as his representative in Algeria. A secret meeting on 23 October with U.S. General Mark W. Clark and the American diplomat Robert Daniel Murphy agreed on the invasion, but the Americans promised only that Giraud would be in command "as soon as possible". Giraud, still in France, responded with a demand for a written commitment that he would be commander within 48 hours of the landing, and for landings in France as well as North Africa. Giraud also insisted that he could not leave France before 20 November.[19]

However, Giraud was persuaded that he had to move. He requested to be fetched by airplane, but General

Dwight Eisenhower advised that he should be brought to Gibraltar by the British submarine HMS Seraph, masquerading as "USS Seraph" under the nominal command of American Captain Jerauld Wright, as no US submarines were operating in the vicinity. On 5 November, he and his two sons were picked up near Toulon by HMS Seraph and taken to meet Eisenhower in Gibraltar.[20]
: 544  He arrived on 7 November, only a few hours before the landings.

Eisenhower asked him to assume command of French troops in North Africa during Operation Torch and to order them to join the Allies. But Giraud had expected to command the whole operation, and adamantly refused to participate on any other basis. He said "his honor would be tarnished" and that he would only be a spectator in the affair.[21]

However, by the next morning, Giraud relented. He refused to leave immediately for

Marseillaise. I entirely approve of that! Others sang the Chant du départ [a military ballad]. Quite satisfactory! Others again shouted 'Vive de Gaulle!' No objection. But some of them cried 'Death to Giraud!' I don't approve of that at all."[17]
: 260 

Pro-Allied elements in Algeria had agreed to support the Allied landings, and in fact seized Algiers on the night of 7–8 November; the city was subsequently occupied by Allied troops. However, pro-Vichy resistance continued at Oran and Casablanca. Giraud flew to Algiers on 9 November, but his attempt to assume command of French forces was rebuffed; his broadcast directing French troops to cease resistance and to join the Allies was ignored.[21] Instead, it appeared that Admiral François Darlan, who happened to be in Algiers, had real authority, and Giraud quickly realized this. Despite the fact that Darlan was the de facto head of the Vichy government, the Allies recognized him as head of French forces in Africa, and on 10 November, after agreeing to a deal, Darlan ordered the French forces to cease fire and to co-operate with the Allies.[21][dubious ]

On 11 November, German forces occupied southern France. Negotiations continued in Algiers, and by 13 November, the Allies recognized Darlan as High Commissioner of French North Africa and West Africa, while Giraud was appointed commander of all French forces under Darlan.[citation needed][dubious ]

All this took place without reference to the

Charles De Gaulle
, which had claimed to be the legitimate government of France in exile.

Then on 24 December 1942, Darlan was assassinated in Algiers in mysterious circumstances. On that afternoon, the admiral drove to his offices at the Palais d'Été and was shot down at the door to his bureau by a young man of 20, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, a monarchist who was tried by court martial under Giraud's orders and executed on the 26th.[20]: 577  With the strong backing of the Allies, especially Eisenhower, Giraud was elected to succeed Darlan.

Army of Africa leader

Giraud and Charles de Gaulle during the Casablanca Conference; seated: Roosevelt and Churchill

After Admiral Darlan's assassination, Giraud became his de facto successor with Allied support. This occurred through a series of consultations between Giraud and

Cremieux decree was only restored by General de Gaulle. De Gaulle consolidated his political position at Giraud's expense because he was more up to date with the political situation. Giraud went to the U.S. in July on a useless trip while de Gaulle gained strength. Giraud made a fool of himself in Detroit with a speech praising Nazi achievements in Germany.[22]

President Franklin D. Roosevelt with Giraud in Casablanca

Following the

Resistance uprising in Corsica on 11 September 1943, Giraud sent an expedition, including two French destroyers, to help the resistance movement without informing the committee.[23]
This drew more criticism from de Gaulle, and he lost the co-presidency in November 1943.

When the Allies found out that Giraud was maintaining his own intelligence network, the French committee forced him from his post as a commander-in-chief of the French forces. He refused to accept a post of Inspector General of the Army and chose to retire after forty-four years' service. On 10 March 1944 he received a telegram from Winston Churchill offering Churchill's sympathy for the death of Giraud's daughter who had been captured in Tunisia, and carried off into Germany with her four children.[24] On 28 August 1944, he survived an assassination attempt in Algeria.

Postwar life

On 2 June 1946, Giraud was elected to the French Constituent Assembly as a representative of the Republican Party of Liberty and helped to create the constitution of the Fourth Republic. He remained a member of the War Council and was decorated for his escape.[citation needed] Giraud published two books, Mes Evasions (My Escapes, 1946) and Un seul but, la victoire: Alger 1942–1944 (A Single Goal, Victory: Algiers 1942–1944, 1949) about his experiences.

Henri Giraud died in Dijon, France, on 11 March 1949.

Military ranks

Cadet Sub-lieutenant
1899 1 October 1900[25]
Lieutenant Captain Battalion chief Lieutenant colonel Colonel
1 October 1902[26] 23 December 1912 (brevet)[6] 22 March 1915 (brevet)[27] 25 June 1924[28]
Brigadier general Division general Corps general Army general
22 December 1930[14]

Legion d'Honneur 1926

Decorations

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Henri Giraud". Assemblée nationale (in French).
  2. ^ Government of the French Republic (25 March 1907). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  3. ^ Government of the French Republic (11 December 1907). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  4. ^ Government of the French Republic (14 October 1909). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  5. ^ Government of the French Republic (27 September 1911). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b Government of the French Republic (25 December 1912). "Armée active: nominations et promotions". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  7. ^ Government of the French Republic (24 June 1913). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Painton, Frederick C. (September 1943). "Giraud's Brilliant Escape from a Nazi Prison". Reader's Digest. p. 39.
  9. ^ "Henri Giraud". Chemins de Mémoire.
  10. ^ Government of the French Republic (13 April 1915). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  11. ^ Government of the French Republic (2 March 1915). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  12. ^ Government of the French Republic (25 October 1927). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  13. ^ Government of the French Republic (3 February 1930). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  14. ^ a b Government of the French Republic (21 December 1930). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  15. ^ Government of the French Republic (7 March 1936). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  16. ^ Bernin, Michel (21 September 1942). "Königstein Prison". Life. p. 124. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  17. ^ a b Price, G. Ward (1944). Giraud and the African Scene. New York: Macmillan.
  18. .
  19. ^ Murphy, Robert (1964). Diplomat Among Warriors. New York: Doubleday. pp. 115–122.
  20. ^ a b Churchill, Winston (1951). The Second World War, Vol 3: The Hinge of Fate.
  21. ^ a b c Eisenhower, Dwight (1948). Crusade in Europe. New York: Doubleday. pp. 99–105, 107–110.
  22. ^ Bernard Ledwidge, De Gaulle (1982) pp. 142, 168
  23. ^ Macmillan, Harold (1967). The Blast of War. Macmillan. p. 412.
  24. ^ Churchill, Winston (1952). The second World War. Vol. 5. Cassel. pp. Appendix C.
  25. ^ Government of the French Republic (28 September 1900). "Armée active: nominations et promotions". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  26. ^ Government of the French Republic (28 September 1902). "Armée active: nominations et promotions". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  27. ^ Government of the French Republic (23 March 1915). "Armée active: nominations et promotions". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  28. ^ Government of the French Republic (27 June 1924). "Armée active: nominations et promotions". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  29. ^ Government of the French Republic (4 August 1929). "Ministère de l'instruction publique et des beaux-arts". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  30. ^ Government of the French Republic (19 October 1927). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.

Further reading