Henri Giraud
Henri Giraud | |
---|---|
Constituent Assembly from Moselle | |
In office 11 June 1946 – 27 November 1946 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Henri Honoré Giraud 18 January 1879 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
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Henri Giraud was born in Paris, of Alsatian descent, and was the son of a coal merchant.
Military career
Giraud graduated from the
World War I
Giraud was seriously wounded while leading a Zouave
Afterwards, Giraud served with French troops in
Interbellum
In 1920 Giraud was transferred to
World War II: command, capture and escape
When World War II began, Giraud was a member of the Superior War Council, and disagreed with
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
Cooperation with the Allies
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]
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
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
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
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
After Admiral Darlan's assassination, Giraud became his de facto successor with Allied support. This occurred through a series of consultations between Giraud and
Following the
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
- Academic Officer (Silver Palms) (July 1929)[29]
- War Cross 1914–1918
- War Cross 1939–1945
- War Cross for Foreign Theatres of Operations
- Escapees' Medal (12 October 1927)[30]
- 1914–1918 Inter-Allied Victory medal (France)
- 1914–1918 Commemorative war medal (France)
See also
References
Notes
- ^ "Henri Giraud". Assemblée nationale (in French).
- ^ Government of the French Republic (25 March 1907). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (11 December 1907). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (14 October 1909). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (27 September 1911). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ a b Government of the French Republic (25 December 1912). "Armée active: nominations et promotions". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (24 June 1913). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ a b c Painton, Frederick C. (September 1943). "Giraud's Brilliant Escape from a Nazi Prison". Reader's Digest. p. 39.
- ^ "Henri Giraud". Chemins de Mémoire.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (13 April 1915). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (2 March 1915). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (25 October 1927). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (3 February 1930). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ a b Government of the French Republic (21 December 1930). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (7 March 1936). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Bernin, Michel (21 September 1942). "Königstein Prison". Life. p. 124. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ a b Price, G. Ward (1944). Giraud and the African Scene. New York: Macmillan.
- ISBN 9780306822087.
- ^ Murphy, Robert (1964). Diplomat Among Warriors. New York: Doubleday. pp. 115–122.
- ^ a b Churchill, Winston (1951). The Second World War, Vol 3: The Hinge of Fate.
- ^ a b c Eisenhower, Dwight (1948). Crusade in Europe. New York: Doubleday. pp. 99–105, 107–110.
- ^ Bernard Ledwidge, De Gaulle (1982) pp. 142, 168
- ^ Macmillan, Harold (1967). The Blast of War. Macmillan. p. 412.
- ^ Churchill, Winston (1952). The second World War. Vol. 5. Cassel. pp. Appendix C.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (28 September 1900). "Armée active: nominations et promotions". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (28 September 1902). "Armée active: nominations et promotions". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (23 March 1915). "Armée active: nominations et promotions". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (27 June 1924). "Armée active: nominations et promotions". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (4 August 1929). "Ministère de l'instruction publique et des beaux-arts". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ Government of the French Republic (19 October 1927). "Ministère de la guerre". gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
Further reading
- Giraud, Henri Honoré. Mes évasions, Paris: Julliard, 1946, 254pp; also Hachette, 1949.
- Bell, P. M. H. "War, foreign policy and public opinion: Britain and the Darlan affair, November–December 1942." Journal of Strategic Studies 5.3 (1982): 393–415.
- Funk, Arthur Layton. The politics of TORCH: the allied landings and the Algiers Putsch, 1942 (University Press of Kansas, 1974).
- ISBN 978-0-7493-1954-0
- Thomas, Martin. "The Discarded Leader: General Henri Giraud and the Foundation of the French Committee of National Liberation." French History 10.1 (1996): 86–111.
- Ward Price, George. Giraud and the African Scene, New York, NY: MacMillan, 1944, p. 260.