Henri d'Astier de La Vigerie

Henri d'Astier de La Vigerie (11 September 1897 – 10 October 1952) was a French soldier, Résistance member, and conservative politician.

Henri d'Astier was born in Villedieu-sur-Indre, a small village in the Indre département of central France. His military career began in 1915, and, by the end of World War I, he had reached the rank of lieutenant, and he had been awarded the Legion of Honor.

Politically, d'Astier was strongly conservative and Roman Catholic. In particular, he believed that the republican form of government was inherently weak and ineffective and that France would be stronger under a traditional monarchy. He was an admirer of Charles Maurras, a prominent monarchist intellectual and poet. It is possible that d'Astier was involved in La Cagoule, a fascist-leaning organisation that sought the French Republic's overthrow.

When World War II broke out, d'Astier was called back into active service. Although his right-wing political views were generally in harmony with those of Nazi Germany, he was also determined to see France stand as a strong nation, and, therefore, he vehemently opposed the German invasion. His reaction contrasted sharply with the attitude of some of his ideological colleagues, who urged collaboration and alliance with the Nazis against a perceived threat from Communism. After the French defeat in June 1940, d'Astier became active in the French Resistance.

He was eventually forced to flee, however, when the capture of a colleague threatened to expose him. He escaped to Oran, Algeria, in 1941. There, d'Astier and the local Resistance infiltrated the Vichy infrastruction in North Africa. The allies invaded North Africa in 1942, and, as the invasion troops were approaching the shore, approximately four hundred members of the French Resistance, under the command of d'Astier and José Aboulker, staged a coup in the city of Algiers. They seized key facilities, including the telephone exchange, the radio station, the governor's house, and the headquarters of the French 19th Corps. They arrested General Alphonse Juin, commander of all Vichy troops in North Africa and Admiral François Darlan, the commander-in-chief of the Vichy military.

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