Raoul Salan
Raoul Salan | |
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Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor | |
Other work | Leader of the OAS |
Raoul Albin Louis Salan (French pronunciation:
World War I
Salan was born on 10 June 1899 in Roquecourbe, Tarn.[1] Enlisted in the French Army for the duration of the war on 2 August 1917, he was accepted in the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr[1] on 21 August 1917, being assigned to the cadet student platoon of the 16th Infantry Regiment stationed at Montbrison, as part of the promotion "de Saint-Odile et de La Fayette" (1917-1918).[3][4] Salan graduated as an aspirant on 25 July 1918, and was assigned to the 5th Colonial Infantry Regiment (5e RIC) in Lyon on 14 August 1918.
As a platoon leader in the 5e RIC's 11e Compagnie, he took part in the fighting in the Verdun region (Saint-Mihiel, Les Éparges, Fort de Bois-Bourru, Côte de Oie, Cumières-le-Mort-Homme). He was mentioned in the Order of the Brigade by Order dated 29 December 1918.
World War II
Until France's surrender in World War II, Colonel Salan commanded a battalion of Senegalese troops. At first he sided with the Vichy Government, but when the tide turned to the Allied side, he campaigned hard and successfully in southern France with General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny's troops. [5] Between the world wars he was attached in various capacities to the Ministry of Colonies, and in 1941–43 he served with the Free French forces in French West Africa. After participating in the Allied invasion of France in 1944, he went to Indochina in 1945 and was commander in chief there during 1952–53. [6]
Indochina and Algeria
Salan served as the commander of French forces in Vietnam from 1945 to 1947.[7] By 1948, he was commander of all French land forces in East Asia, and after the death of Jean de Lattre de Tassigny in 1952, Salan became the commander-in-chief in Indochina.[7]
Salan served as commander-in-chief of French forces in French Algeria in 1956.[7] In 1958, he established special military internment centers for PAM rebels. The Minister of Interior declared a state of emergency, while the army engaged in a "struggle against the terrorism" of the FLN. Special powers were devolved to the military and were returned to civilian powers only in September 1959, when Charles de Gaulle made his speech on self-determination. General Salan refused to apply the Geneva Conventions ratified by France in 1951 because the detainees were not POW's. The civil authorities had different attitudes concerning the use of torture by the military.
In 1958, Salan called for the return to power of
Nevertheless, Salan returned to Algeria to organize the putsch on 21 April 1961 with
Death
Salan died on 3 July 1984. Every year, former members of the OAS bring flowers to his tomb on his death anniversary.[12]
Decorations
Salan was the most decorated soldier in the French Army.[7][13]
French and Colonial Decorations
- Légion d'honneur
- Médaille militaire (12 July 1958)
- Croix de guerre 1914-1918 (1 citation)
- Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (8 citations)
- Croix de guerre des Théatres d'Opérations Exterieures (7 citations)
- Croix de la Valeur Militaire (1 citation)
- Volunteer combatant's cross
- Combatant's Cross
- Colonial Medal (Far East clasp)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Star
- Order of the Dragon of Annam with Military and Civil title
- Officer and (later)Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol
- Grand Cross of the Tai Order of Civil Merit (Sip Song Chau Tai)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Glory (Tunisia)
- Grand Cordon of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Anjouan
- Grand Cross of the Étoile des Comores
- Royal Order of Monisaraphon
- Gallantry Cross (South Vietnam), with palm
- National Defense Medal (Cambodia)
- Syria-Cilicia commemorative medal
- Order of Civil Merit of the Syrian Arab Republic
- Médaille Interalliée de la Victoire
- Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1914–1918
- Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1939–1945 with clasps "Africa", "Italy", "France", "Germany"
- Médaille de l'Aéronautique
- Medal for the War Wounded
- Annam Order of Military Merit
- Order of the Reign of King Savang Vatthana
- Médaille commémorative de la campagne d'Italie 1943-1944
- Médaille commémorative de la campagne d'Indochine
- Médaille Commémorative des Opérations de Sécurité et de Maintien de l'Ordre en Afrique du Nord with "Algeria" clasp
Foreign Decorations
- Distinguished Service Cross (US)
- Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) (UK)
- Vietnam Campaign Medal (Thailand)
- Sena Jayaseddh Medal(Cambodia)
Bibliography
- Mémoires Fin d’un empire (4 volumes), Editions Presses de la Cité, 1970–74
- Le sens d’un engagement, 1970
- Le Viêt-minh mon adversaire, 1971
- Algérie française, 1972
- L’Algérie, de Gaulle et moi, 1974
References
- ^ a b c d Krebs, Albin (July 4, 1984). "RAOUL SALAN DIES; LED ALGERIA PLOT". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
- ^ "Saint-Cyr – Promotion « de Saint-Odile et de La Fayette » (1917~1918) - Forum PAGES 14-18". forum.pages14-18.com. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ Boÿ, Jean (25 October 2010). "Historique des 101e et 102e promotions (1917-18), promotions de Sainte-Odile et de La Fayette" (PDF). La Saint-Cyrienne: 11 – via Saint-Cyr.org.
- ^ "Raoul Salan Dies; Led Algeria Plot". The New York Times.
- ^ "Raoul Salan | French general | Britannica". 29 June 2023.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ Silence in the Dock TIME Magazine Friday, 25 May 1962
- ^ "1962: Ex-general escapes death sentence". 1962-05-23. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
- ^ To the guillotine TIME Magazine Friday, 27 Apr 1962
- ^ Cros, Philippe (June 11, 2014). "Les " fidèles " du chef de l'OAS commémorent". La Montagne. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
Further reading
- Alexander, Martin S., and John FV Keiger, eds. France and the Algerian War, 1954-1962: Strategy, Operations and Diplomacy (Routledge, 2013)
- General ISBN 978-1-929631-30-8.
External links
- (in French) Association of Friends of Raoul Salan Archived 2008-11-11 at the Wayback Machine
- (in French) Raoul Salan, a colonial General by Madeleine Rebérioux
- BBC article on Salan's 1962 sentencing