Marcel Bigeard

Marcel Bigeard
Marcel Bigeard during his military service
Nickname(s)Bruno
BornFebruary 14, 1916 (1916-02-14)
Toul, Meurthe-et-Moselle
DiedJune 18, 2010 (2010-06-19) (aged 94)
Toul, Meurthe-et-Moselle
Service / branchFrench Army Marine Troops
Years of service1936–38
1939–76
RankGénéral de corps d'armée
Unit23rd Fortress Infantry Regiment (23e RIF)
79th Fortress Infantry Regiment (79e RIF)
23rd Colonial Infantry Regiment (23e RIC)
10th Parachute Division
Commands
Battles / wars

Algerian War

Awards Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur
Croix de Guerre 1939–1945
Croix de guerre des TOE
Cross for Military Valour
Resistance Medal
Escapees' Medal
Colonial Medal
1939–1945 Commemorative war medal
Indochina Campaign commemorative medal
North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal
Insignia for the Military Wounded
Order of the Dragon of Annam
Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol (Laos)
Distinguished Service Order (UK)
Legion of Merit (US)
Order of Merit (Senegal)
Order of Merit (Togo)
Order of Merit (Comores)
Order of Merit (Mauritania)
Order of Merit (Centrafrique)
Order of Merit (Thailand)
Other workBank clerk, author, Deputy

Marcel Bigeard (French pronunciation: [maʁsɛl biʒaʁ]; February 14, 1916 – June 18, 2010), personal radio call-sign "Bruno", was a French military officer and politician who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War and the Algerian War. He was one of the commanders in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and is thought by many to have been a dominating influence on French "unconventional" warfare thinking from that time onwards.[1]: 167  He was one of the most decorated officers in France, and is particularly noteworthy because of his rise from being a regular soldier in 1936 to ultimately concluding his career in 1976 as a Lieutenant General and serving in the government of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

After leaving the military, Bigeard embarked on a political career serving as deputy of Meurthe-et-Moselle from 1978 to 1988 and became a prolific author. His final years were marked by a controversy surrounding allegations that he had overseen torture during the Algerian conflict; he denied the allegations of personal involvement, though defended the use of torture during the war as a necessary evil.

  1. ^ Horne, Alistair (1977). A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954–1962. New York Review Books (published 2006). ISBN 978-1-59017-218-6.