Raoul Salan - WikiHQ

Raoul Albin Louis Salan (; 10 June 1899 – 3 July 1984) was a French Army general and the founder of the Organisation armée secrète, a clandestine terrorist organisation that sought to maintain French Algeria by preventing Algerian independence. He served as the fourth French commanding general during the First Indochina War. He was one of four retired generals who organized the 1961 Algiers putsch operation.

World War I

thumb|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. 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 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. He initially sided with the Vichy Government, but defected to the Allies in December 1942, following the occupation of Vichy France in Case Anton. 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.

Indochina and Algeria

Salan served as the commander of French forces in Vietnam from 1945 to 1947. 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. Salan was pardoned and released from prison in June 1968. He was amnestied by the French parliament and re-instated to the rank of general in 1982.

Death

thumb|General Raoul Salan's Grave at the Vichy cemetery.

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

Decorations

Salan was the most decorated soldier in the French Army.

thumb|A ribbon bar featuring all decorations received by General Salan

French and Colonial Decorations

Legion of Honour
60px Knight (5 April 1922)
60px Officer (21 August 1940)
60px Commander (10 February 1945)
60px Grand Officer (27 October 1948)
60px Grand Cross (28 August 1952)
60px Médaille militaire (12 July 1958)
60px Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (1 citation)
60px Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (8 citations)
60px Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures (7 citations)
60px Cross for Military Valour (1 citation)
60px Volunteer Combatant's Cross 1914–1918
60px Combatant's Cross
60px Colonial Medal (Far East clasp)
60px Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Star
60px 60px (with GC rosette) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Dragon of Annam with Military and Civil title
60px Officer and (later) 60px Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia
60px Grand Cross of the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol
60px Grand Cross of the Tai Order of Civil Merit (Sip Song Chau Tai)
60px Grand Cross of the Order of Glory
60px Grand Cordon of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite
60px Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Anjouan
Grand Cross of the Étoile des Comores
60px Royal Order of Monisaraphon
60px Gallantry Cross, with palm
60px National Defense Medal (Cambodia)
60px Syria-Cilicia commemorative medal
60px Order of Civil Merit of the Syrian Arab Republic
60px 1914–1918 Inter-Allied Victory medal
60px 1914–1918 Commemorative war medal
60px 1939–1945 Commemorative war medal with "Africa", "Italy", "France", and "Germany" clasps
60px Aeronautical Medal
60px Medal for the War Wounded
Annam Order of Military Merit
Order of the Reign of King Savang Vatthana
60px 1943–1944 Italian campaign medal
60px Indochina Campaign Commemorative Medal
60px North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal with "Algeria" clasp

Foreign Decorations

60px Distinguished Service Cross (US)
60px Commander of the Order of the British Empire () (UK)
Vietnam Campaign Medal (Thailand)
60px 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

External links

Association of Friends of Raoul Salan
Raoul Salan, a colonial General by Madeleine Rebérioux
BBC article on Salan's 1962 sentencing