Marie Pierre Kœnig
| Marie-Pierre Kœnig | |
|---|---|
General Kœnig (holding baton) poses with Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder in Paris, 1944
|
|
| Born |
10 October 1898 Caen, Calvados, France |
| Died | 2 September 1970 (aged 71) Neuilly-sur-Seine, France |
| Allegiance |
 Free France France
|
| Years of service | 1917–1951 |
| Rank | General (1941), Posthumously raised to Marshal of France by Commander-In-Chief (President) François Mitterrand (1984) |
| Commands held | First Free French Brigade, French Forces of the Interior |
| Battles/wars |
World War I World War II |
| Awards |
Marshal of France Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur Companion of the Liberation Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures Distinguished Service Order (UK) Companion of the Order of the Bath (UK) Grand Cross of the Order of George I (Greece) |
Marie-Pierre Kœnig (French pronunciation: [maʁi pjɛʁ køniɡ]; 10 October 1898 – 2 September 1970) was a French army officer and politician. He commanded a Free French Brigade at the Battle of Bir Hakeim in North Africa in 1942.
Marie-Pierre Kœnig was born on 10 October 1898, in Caen, Calvados, France. His parents were from the Alsace region.
Kœnig fought in the French Army during World War I and served with distinction.
After the war, he served with French forces in Morocco and Cameroon.
When World War II broke out, Kœnig returned to France. In 1940, he was assigned as a captain with the French troops in Norway, for which he was later awarded the Krigskorset med Sverd or Norwegian War Cross with Sword, in 1942. After the fall of France, he escaped to England from Brittany.
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 for 16 days at the Battle of Bir Hakeim until they were ordered to evacuate on 11 June 1942. General de Gaulle said to Kœnig: "Hear and tell your troops: the whole of France is watching you, you are our pride."
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