Émilienne Moreau

Émilienne Moreau-Evrard (4 June 1898 – 5 January 1971) was a French heroine of World War I, a high-profile female member of the “Brutus” Resistance network during World War II and later, a member of the “Assemblée consultative provisoire”. Moreover, she is one of only six women recipients of the Ordre de la Libération.

Émilienne Moreau was born on 4 June 1898 at Wingles, in the Pas-de-Calais département.

In 1914, her father, a retired miner, opened a grocery store in Loos-en-Gohelle, close to Lens whilst World War I was breaking out.

Émilienne Moreau, who was starting a teaching career, witnessed the German invasion of the north of France during October 1914. In December of the same year, her father died whilst the German soldiers were housed in their village.

In February 1915, she created, in a basement, an improvised school for the local children.

On 25 September, whilst Scottish soldiers of the Black Watch counter-attacked her village, Émilienne, who was only 17 years old, went to meet them and gave them the precise location of the German positions in a small, impregnable fort. Thanks to this information, the allies were able to go around the small fort, reducing the German effectiveness in this particular corner of the battlefield, with very few casualties. Further to this attack, Émilienne organised a first aid post in her house with the help of a Scottish doctor, to take care of the wounded, but the Germans tried to take back the village.

To save a British soldier who was under enemy fire in the village, she went out of her home with explosives and succeeded, with the help of some British soldiers, in forcing the Germans to flee from their position in the neighboring house. Later on, she shot two German soldiers though a closed wooden door. Eventually, the village was under the sole control of the allies.

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