Alain de Boissieu

French Soldier

Born: July 5, 1914 at Chartres

     De Boissieu was a Lieutenant in the cavalry when war was declared in 1939. He organized one of the French Army's last saber charges before being taken prisoner in 1940. De Boissieu escaped in March 1941 and made his way to London by way of the Soviet Union where he was interned for five months.

     De Boissieu served as a staff officer under de Gaulle in London and as High Commissioner of Free French territories in the Indian Ocean before joining Leclerc's 2nd Armored Division for its final campaigns in France and Germany.

     De Boissieu concluded his military career as Army Chief of Staff retiring in 1975 to become Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor.