Philippe Kieffer was a French naval officer, Compagnon de la Liberation, born in Port-au-Prince (Haiti) on October 24, 1899 into a French family of Alsatian origin. He died on November 20, 1962 in Cormeilles-en-Parisis (France) buried in Grandcamp-Maisy in Calvados. The Second World War A graduate
Coming from a family of Alsatian origin, he studied at the Sainte-Marie college and then at the Lycée Malherbe in Caen. He obtained his baccalaureate and enlisted in 1917. He served in the 36th infantry regiment. He was made midshipman in February 1918 and joined his unit on the front. He was promot
General Louis Dio (born October 14, 1908 in Vannes and died June 15, 1994 in Toulon), is a French military personality. When he left Saint-Cyr in 1928, he chose the colonial army. In 1939, captain commanding the nomadic group of Tibesti, he was transferred to Douala in Cameroon, to set up a compan
The chant of the partisans Words by Maurice Druon and Joseph Kessel, music by Anna MARLY, May 30, 1943 Missak MANOUCHIAN In London, where many leaders of the Resistance meet, such as Fernand GRENIER, Emmanuel dASTIER de la VIGERIE, we are looking for a musical code for the program Honneur et Patri
French SAS raids between Saone and Loire July-September 1944 At the time when the Allies landed in Normandy, the Special Air Service had significant numbers: Two British regiments. A Belgian regiment, Two French regiments:the 2nd and 3rd SAS. The 2nd SAS (or 2nd RCP in French terminology) was
Kufra is an oasis in Libya whose coordinates are 23.3°N, 22.9°E. Very isolated in the southwest of Libya, it has the particularity of being surrounded on three sides by depressions. The Battle of Kufra On December 21, 1940, the Leclerc column, made up of 400 men under the orders of Colonel Philippe
Jean Simon (born April 30, 1912 in Brest and died September 28, 2003 in Cherbourg) was a general officer in the French Army (general of division with the rank and designation of army general) and in particular of the Foreign Legion from 1940 to 1961. Career After studying at the National Military P
During the encirclement of Allied troops at Dunkirk in 1940, the ensign Amyot dInville commands one of the escort ships that shuttles between the continent and England to ensure the evacuation of Allied soldiers. This young aristocrat of old Norman nobility is not a career officer of the Royal. He
The Free French Air Force (FAFL) is the Air Force of Free France. Created on July 8, 1940, they really began to exist in the summer of 1941 with the formation of the first fighter groups (GC) and bombardment groups (GB). FAFL units * Alsace Hunting Group * Ile-de-France Hunting Group * Normandie-
Édgard Tupët-Thomé , born April 19, 1920 in Bourg-la-Reine, is a French soldier, companion of the Liberation. After obtaining his baccalaureate, he entered the Higher School of Catholic Theology in Reims. But having little vocation, he decided to enlist in the army. In October 1938, he preceded the
During the Narvik expedition, the 8th support company of the 13th demi-brigade of the Foreign Legion. from the parent company of SidiBel-Abbès, is commanded by an authentic Georgian prince, whose family fled the Bolshevik regime and Russian imperialism. This Caucasian with the stature of colossus is
Charles de Gaulle (born November 22, 1890 in Lille, in the North - died November 9, 1970 in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, in Haute-Marne) was a French general and statesman, who was, since his exile in London, the leader of the resistance to the German occupation of France during the Second World War (
The Central Intelligence and Action Bureau (BCRA) was during the Second World War, the intelligence service and clandestine actions of Free France. Created in July 1940 by General de Gaulle, designated by different names over the years, it was merged in 1943 into the General Directorate of Special S
André Zirnheld (March 7, 1913 - July 27, 1942) was a paratrooper French, member of the Special Air Service during the Second World War. He is famous for having been the first French paratrooper officer killed in action, and as the author of the poem La prie du para. André Zirnheld was born in Paris
The 2nd Parachute Chasseur Regiment is one of the most decorated French units of World War II. It is the only land unit to have obtained the fourragère rouge during this conflict with six citations at the order of the army1, the submarine Casabianca also accumulating 6 citations at the order of the
The 2nd Armored Division (2nd DB) is a French military unit of the armored and cavalry arm created during the Second World War by General Leclerc. It is sometimes called Division Leclerc or even Armée Leclerc. The current heir to its traditions is the 2nd Armored Brigade (2e BB). Creation and diffe
Battalion formed in 1940, it was engaged in the operations of Free France from the start:from the Dakar fiasco to the fighting in the Levant, it was transformed into an anti-aircraft battalion, it assumed the anti-aircraft defense of the entrenched camp of Bir Hakeim, it followed the future which 1s
The armed forces rallied to Free France were called Free French Forces (FFL). Their emblem was the cross of Lorraine. We distinguish within the FFL, the Free French Air Force (FAFL) and the Free French Naval Forces (FNFL), the Land Forces of Free France having no other name than FFL. The insignia o
The 9th company of Chads marching regiment, which made itself part of the 2nd Armored Division or Division Leclerc, was nicknamed la Nueve (number nine in Spanish). This company enlisted 160 men, including 146 Spanish republicans, often anarchists, but also French soldiers, under French command. All
Jacques Émile Massu, born May 5, 1908 in Châlons-sur- Marne and died on October 26, 2002 in Conflans-sur-Loing, is a soldier, general officer. Companion of the Liberation and former commander-in-chief of the French forces in Germany, he distinguished himself in particular in the Leclerc column and t
Robert Georges Nivelle, born in Tulle on October 15, 1856 and died on March 23, 1924 in Paris, was generalissimo, commander-in-chief of the French armies during the First World War. French officer of English mother (which earned him to be bilingual ), he was an artilleryman by training and graduated
Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov is a special case in military history. Although he was Russian, he had Swedish and Armenian blood in his veins. Although noble, he began his career in the army as a common soldier to reach with his merit, a rare thing at that time, the highest military positions in Russ
Although Spain remained neutral in World War II, Franco, and because of the help he had received from Hitler during the Spanish Civil War, allowed the recruitment of volunteers on behalf of the German army with the prospect of fighting, strictly , on the Eastern Front against the Bolsheviks. Hitl
Samaria , Hebrew Shomron , the central region of ancient Palestine. Samaria stretches 40 miles north to south and 35 miles east to west. It is bounded on the north by Galilee and on the south by Judea; in the west it was Mediterranean and to the east of the Jordan . The mountain