Marie-Pierre Kœnig
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox officeholder Marie Joseph Pierre François KœnigTemplate:Efn or Koenig<ref>French National Assembly</ref> (10 October 1898 – 2 September 1970) was a French general during World War II during which he commanded a Free French Brigade at the Battle of Bir Hakeim in North Africa in 1942. He started a political career after the war and was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1984.
Early life
Marie-Pierre Kœnig was born on 10 October 1898, in Caen, Calvados, France. His parents were from the Alsace region.
Military career
World War I
Kœnig fought in the French Army during World War I and served with distinction. He obtained his baccalaureate and enlisted in 1917. He served in the 36th Infantry Regiment. He was designated as an aspirant in February 1918 and joined his unit at the front. Decorated with the Médaille militaire, he was promoted to sous-lieutenant on 3 September 1918.
Interwar career
After the war, he served with French forces in Morocco and Cameroon. He served in Silesia as an assistant (Template:Langx) of Captain Template:Ill in the Alps, in Germany, and in Morocco at the general staff headquarters of the division of Marrakesh.
World War II
Kœnig was a captain and assistant to Lieutenant-Colonel Raoul Magrin-Vernerey in the 13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion of the French Foreign Legion.
When World War II broke out, Captain Kœnig returned to France. In the Spring of 1940, he was a member of the French expeditionary force in Norway for which he was later awarded Norway's Krigskorset med Sverd, or the War Cross with Sword, in 1942. After the fall of France, he escaped to England from Brittany.
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In London, Kœnig joined General Charles de Gaulle and was promoted to colonel. He became chief of staff in the first divisions of the Free French Forces. In 1941, he served in the campaigns in Syria and Lebanon. He was later promoted to general and took command of the First French Brigade in Egypt. His unit of 3700 men held ground against five Axis divisions (c. 37,000 men) for 16 days at the Battle of Bir Hakeim until they were ordered to evacuate on 11 June 1942. De Gaulle said to Kœnig, "Know and tell your troops that all of France is watching you and that you are its pride."<ref>« Sachez et dites à vos troupes que toute la France vous regarde et que vous êtes son orgueil. »Template:Citation needed</ref>
Later, Kœnig served as the Free French delegate to the Allied headquarters under General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In 1944, he was given command of the Free French who participated in the Invasion of Normandy. Kœnig also served as a military advisor to de Gaulle. In June 1944, he was given command of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) to unify the various French Resistance groups under de Gaulle's control. Under his command, the FFI abandoned ranged battle in the maquis and preferred sabotage that was waged in support of the invading army. Important during D-Day, the FFI had a role that became decisive in the battle for Normandy and in the landing in Provence of the US Seventh Army and French Army B.
On 21 August 1944, de Gaulle appointed Kœnig military governor of Paris to restore law and order. In 1945, he was sent to arrest Marshal Philippe Pétain, who had taken refuge in Germany but gave himself up at the frontier with Switzerland.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Cold War
After the war, Kœnig was the military governor of the French occupation zone in Germany from 1945 to 1949.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1949, he became inspector general in North Africa, and in 1950, he became the vice-president of the Supreme War Council.
Political career
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In 1951, after his retirement from the army, Kœnig was elected as Gaullist representative to the French National Assembly and briefly served as Minister of Defense under Pierre Mendès-France (1954) and Edgar Faure (1955).<ref name=l>Template:Cite web</ref>
He gave his strong support to the new State of Israel as president of the Franco-Israeli Committee (Comité franco-israélien), at around the same time when he was France's Defense Minister, as shown from his informing his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres that France was willing to sell Israel any weapons it wished to purchase, from small arms to tanks (such as the AMX-13 light tank).<ref name='l' /> Kœnig had witnessed the heroism of a battalion of Palestinian Jewish mine layers during the Battle of Bir Hakeim and afterwards allowed them to fly their own Star-of-David flag, against British regulations.<ref>Jerry Klinger (President of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation). "General Marie-Pierre Koenig and the Jewish Brigade: The First Salute" Template:Webarchive. The Jewish Magazine, October–November 2009</ref>
Death
Kœnig died on 2 September 1970, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, and was buried at Montmartre Cemetery, in Paris.<ref name='l' />
Legacy
There are streets named after Kœnig in Jerusalem,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Netanya<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Haifa.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Military ranks
| Aspirant | Second lieutenant | Lieutenant | Captain | Battalion chief | Lieutenant colonel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:French Army (sleeves) OF-D.svg | File:French Army (sleeves) OF-1a.svg | File:French Army (sleeves) OF-1b.svg | File:France-Army-OF-2 Sleeve WW2.svg | File:France-Army-OF-3 Sleeve WW2.svg | File:France-Army-OF-4 Sleeve WW2.svg |
| February 1918<ref name='l' /> | 3 September 1918<ref name=a>Template:Cite web</ref> | 3 September 1920<ref name=b>Template:Cite web</ref> | 25 June 1932<ref name=c>Template:Cite web</ref> | 1 July 1940<ref name='l' /> | December 1940<ref name='l' /> |
| Colonel | Brigade general | Division general | Corps general | Army general | Marshal of France |
| File:France-Army-OF-5 Sleeve WW2.svg | File:France-Army-OF-6 Sleeve WW2.svg | File:France-Army-OF-7 Sleeve WW2.svg | File:France-Army-OF-8 Sleeve WW2.svg | File:France-Army-OF-9 Sleeve WW2.svg | File:France-Army-OF-10 Sleeve.svg |
| January 1941<ref name='l' /> | July 1941<ref name='l' /> | 1943<ref name='l' /> | 28 June 1944<ref name='l' /> | 20 May 1946<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 6 June 1984<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Posthumous |
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Honours and decorations
National honours
| Ribbon bar | Honour<ref name='l' /> |
|---|---|
| File:Legion Honneur GC ribbon.svg | Grand Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honour |
| File:Ordre de la Liberation 2nd ribbon.svg | Companion of the National Order of Liberation |
Ministerial honours
| Ribbon bar | Honour<ref name='l' /> |
|---|---|
| File:Ordre du Merite agricole Commandeur 1999 ribbon.svg | Commander of the Order of Agricultural Merit |
Decorations and medals
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Foreign honours
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See also
- Susan Travers
- Works by Jean Fréour: Sculptor of Kœnig memorial
References
Notes
External links
- Newsreel of when he was awarded the Legion of Merit by Eisenhower (3:01)
- Biography on the website of the Order of Liberation (French)
- Template:PM20
- Generals of World War II
Template:FrenchMarshals Template:Military governors of Paris Template:Authority control
- Pages with broken file links
- 1898 births
- 1970 deaths
- Military personnel from Caen
- Politicians from Caen
- Rally of the French People politicians
- National Centre of Social Republicans politicians
- Government ministers of France
- Deputies of the 2nd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic
- Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic
- Marshals of France
- French military personnel of World War I
- French Army generals of World War II
- Military governors of Paris
- French people of the Algerian War
- Recipients of the Order of the White Lion
- Companions of the Liberation
- Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
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- Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
- Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)
- Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)
- Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures
- Commanders of the Order of Agricultural Merit
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- Officers of the French Foreign Legion
- Grand Officers of the Order of the Star of Anjouan
- Burials at Montmartre Cemetery