Jacques Massu
Jacques Massu | |
---|---|
Born | 5 May 1908 Châlons-sur-Marne, France |
Died | 26 October 2002 Conflans-sur-Loing, France | (aged 94)
Allegiance | France Free French Forces |
Service/ | French Army |
Years of service | 1928–1969 |
Rank | Général d'armée |
Commands held | 10th Parachute Division (France) French forces in Germany |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Grand Cross of the Companion of the Liberation (UK)Distinguished Service Order |
Jacques Émile Massu (French pronunciation:
Early life
Jacques Massu was born in
Between October, 1930 and August, 1931, he served in the 16th Senegalese Tirailleur Regiment (16th RTS) in Cahors. He was sent to Morocco with the 5th RTS and took part in the fighting around Tafilalt where he earned his first citation. He was promoted to lieutenant in October 1932 and took part in the operations in High Atlas, earning a new citation.
In 1934 Massu was transferred to 12th RTS at
World War II
He was serving in Africa when World War II broke out, and joined the
Indochina
In September 1945, he landed in
Massu took command of a mechanized infantry force of the 2e DB named Groupement Massu, comprising a reconnaissance squadron with
Egypt
In 1956, the
Despite the loss of two soldiers, the western bridge was swiftly secured by the paras, and
Algeria
A
1958 coup d'état
The
On 14 January 1960, Massu gave an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in which he declared,
The Army has the power. It did not show it yet, because the opportunity did not arise. But the Army will use its power in one precise occasion (...) it encourages settlers to constitute paramilitary organisations and provides them weapons.[6]
Massu was immediately summoned to Paris where he was relieved of command and posted to Metz.[4]: 446–7 He was replaced in Algeria by General Jean Crépin.[4]: 449
Later life
After his criticism of the policy of de Gaulle in 1960, Massu was fired from his position of military governor of Algiers. In 1962 he became military governor of
Massu retired from military duty in July 1969 and spent the rest of his life in his home at Conflans-sur-Loing writing his memoirs. On 15 June 2000, Louisette Ighilahriz, a woman who had been a member of the FLN, accused Massu and Marcel Bigeard in an interview published in Le Monde newspaper of being present when she was tortured and raped by the French Army at a military prison in 1957.[8] Ighilahriz had come forward with her story as she wanted to thank one "Richaud", an Army doctor at the prison, for saving her life, saying that Dr. Richaud was a most kindly man who always treated her injuries.[8] In response, Massu told Le Monde that "torture had been part of a certain ambience in Algiers in 1957".[8]: 234 Massu denied being present when Ighilahriz had been tortured and raped, saying he could not remember her, but expressed "regret" that the paras had engaged in torture and used rape as an interrogation tool, saying that there were things that had happened that he had wished had never happened in Algeria.[8]: 234 Bigeard by contrast called Ighilahriz's story a "tissue of lies" designed to "destroy all that is decent in France", going on to say this "Richaud" had never existed.[8]: 234 Bigeard was contradicted by Massu, who confirmed the existence of "Richaud", saying that Ighilahriz was referring to Dr. François Richaud who had been the doctor stationed at the prison in 1957.[8]: 234
Massu died at Conflans-sur-Loing on 26 October 2002, aged 94.
Decorations
- Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur
- Companion of the Liberation(14 July 1941)
- Croix de guerre 1939–1945(8 citations)
- Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures (3 citations)
- Croix de la Valeur Militaire(2 citations)
- Distinguished Service Order (UK)
- Grand Officer of the Ordre du Nichan El-Anouar
- Grand Officer of the Order of the Black Star
- Bundesverdienstkreuz(West Germany)
Quotations
- "Give me two divisions and tomorrow, you can take your breakfast on the boulevard Saint Germain" (to De Gaulle, about May '68)
- "I am a soldier, I obey"
- Charles de Gaulle: "So, Massu, are you still stupid?"
- Jacques Massu's answer: "Still a Gaullist, General!"
Footnotes
- ISBN 9781472831828.
- ^ ISBN 9781841764184.
- .
- ^ ISBN 9781847394101.
- S2CID 153591784.
- ^ Interview with Hans Ulrich Kempski, cited in Escadrons de la mort, l'école française by Marie-Monique Robin
- ISBN 978-1-59017-218-6.
- ^ a b c d e f Cohen, William (Summer 2002). "The Algerian War, the French State and Official Memory". Réflexions Historiques, Vol. 28, No. 2: 233.
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Bibliography
- Codevilla, Angelo and Seabury, Paul. War: Ends and Means, Second Edition. Virginia: Potomac Books, 2006.
- Grando, Denis and Valynseele, Joseph. "À la découverte de leurs racines", L'Intermédiaire des Chercheurs et Curieux, Paris, 1988.
Further reading
- Aussaresses, General Paul, The Battle of the Casbah: Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Algeria, 1955-1957. New York: Enigma Books, 2010. ISBN 978-1-929631-30-8.
External links
- (in French) Ordre de la Libération Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine