Raoul Salan

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Raoul Salan
Generaal Salan, Bestanddeelnr 909-5643.jpg
Birth nameRaoul Albin Louis Salan
Born(1899-06-10)10 June 1899
Roquecourbe, France
Died3 July 1984(1984-07-03) (aged 85)
Paris, France
Allegiance France
Organisation armée secrète
Service/branchFrench Army
Years of service1917–1959
RankGénéral d'Armée
Commands held6th Senegalese Tirailleur Regiment
14th Infantry Division
French Far East Expeditionary Corps
French forces in Algeria
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
First Indochina War
Algerian War
Algiers putsch of 1961
AwardsGrand Cross of the Legion of Honor
Other workLeader of the OAS

Raoul Albin Louis Salan (French pronunciation: ​[ʁaul salɑ̃]; 10 June 1899 – 3 July 1984) was a French Army general. He served as the fourth French commanding general during the First Indochina War. He was one of four generals who organized the 1961 Algiers Putsch operation.[1] He was the founder of the Organisation armée secrète and the most decorated soldier in the French Army at the end of his military career.

World War I[]

Raoul Salan parading on the Champs-Élysées at the head of the 14th Infantry Division, 18 June 1945. (fr)

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).[2][3] 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.

Indochina and Algeria[]

Salan served as the commander of French forces in Vietnam from 1945 to 1947.[4] 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.[4]

French General Salan and the Lao Prince Sisavang Vatthana in Luang Prabang, 4 May 1953

Salan served as commander-in-chief of French forces in French Algeria in 1956.[4] In 1958, Salan called for the return to power of Charles De Gaulle, believing that the latter would protect French Algeria.[4] He retired shortly after, first moving to Spain, then to mainland France.[4] He was banned from entering Algeria in 1960.[4]

Nevertheless, Salan returned to Algeria to organize the putsch on 21 April 1961 with André Zeller, Edmond Jouhaud and Maurice Challe.[4] After the failure of the putsch, he became the chief of Organisation armée secrète (OAS), which attempted to disrupt the April 1962 Peace Evian Accords.[4] He was arrested in April 1962.[4]

Salan was charged with treason[5] and condemned in absentia to death. Then, in April 1962, he was arrested[6] in Algiers. The death sentence on him was commuted to life imprisonment. He was pardoned in 1968.[1]

Salan was the most decorated soldier in the French Army.[4]

Death[]

Salan died on 3 July 1984. Every year, former members of the OAS bring flowers to his tomb on his death anniversary.[7]

Decorations of General Raoul Salan.

Decorations[]

French and Colonial Decorations

Foreign Decorations

Decorations of General Raoul Salan.

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[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Krebs, Albin (July 4, 1984). "RAOUL SALAN DIES; LED ALGERIA PLOT". The New York Times. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ Boÿ, Général de brigade (2s) 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.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j "Gen. Raoul Salan. France's most decorated soldier dies". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Santa Cruz, California. July 4, 1984. p. 10. Retrieved June 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Silence in the Dock TIME Magazine Friday, 25 May 1962
  6. ^ To the guillotine TIME Magazine Friday, 27 Apr 1962
  7. ^ Cros, Philippe (June 11, 2014). "Les « fidèles » du chef de l'OAS commémorent". La Montagne. Retrieved June 5, 2016.

Further reading[]

  • Alexander, Martin S., and John FV Keiger, eds. France and the Algerian War, 1954-1962: Strategy, Operations and Diplomacy (Routledge, 2013)
  • General Paul Aussaresses, 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[]

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