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Pierre Garbay

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Pierre Garbay
Born4 October 1903
Gray,[1] France
Died17 July 1980(1980-07-17) (aged 76)
Montluçon, France
AllegianceFrance
Service/branchFrench Army
Years of service1924-1961
RankGénéral d'Armée
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsGrand Cross of the Légion d'honneur
Companion of the Liberation
Médaille militaire
Croix de Guerre 1939-1945

Pierre Garbay (4 October 1903 – 17 July 1980) was a French Army General.[2]

Biography

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Of modest origins, after completing high school, Garbay was admitted to Saint-Cyr military academy in 1921[3] and graduated as a sub-lieutenant in 1924. He then followed a distinguished military career which led from Morocco (1925-1927) to China.

He was captain when occurred the Armistice in 1940.[1] He refused to accept it and as commander of the 3rd bataillon de marche of French Equatorial Africa[1] played an active role in August 1940 in rallying Chad to France libre. Involved in the Free French Forces, he followed Leclerc up to 1944.[1] He fought in Africa and Italy, and then participated to the landing in Provence.[3] He was promoted général de brigade in 1944[3] and after the accidental death of general Diego Brosset on 20 November 1944, he succeeded him in the command of the 1st Free French Division. In April 1945, on the orders of General Charles de Gaulle, General Garbay took the 1st Free French Division to the Alpes-Maritimes, where, after 3 days of fierce fighting, they cleared the fortified Authion Massif [fr], the key to the enemy's defensive system in the Southern Alps.

After the end of the war, Garbay's military career continued in Madagascar[1] in June 1947[3] and then in Indochina.

He commanded the French troops in Tunisia[1] and reacted to the terrorists attacks by the massacre of Cap Bon in 1952 (200 dead).[4]

Then he commanded all the French troops from French Occidental Africa[1] and Senegal, and he achieved the rank of lieutenant general. In 1955 he became Assistant Chief of Staff of the French Army and, in 1958, he was promoted to the rank of Army General and was appointed military governor of Paris.[3] In 1959, he was appointed as Inspector of Overseas Forces.

On 1 April 1961, at his request, he relinquished control of the active army and he was placed in reserve.[1] Pierre Garbay died on 17 July 1980 in Montluçon (Allier)[3] and he was buried in Velesmes-Échevanne in Haute-Saône.

Decorations

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Le Général Garbay est admis à faire valoir ses droits à la retraite". Le Monde. 10 March 1961. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  2. ^ "Les généraux de la DFL - Le général Garbay". http://www.1dfl.fr. Archived from the original on 2015-08-22. Retrieved 2014-10-22. {{cite journal}}: External link in |journal= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Mort du général d'armée Garbay ancien gouverneur militaire de Paris". Le Monde. 22 July 1980. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  4. ^ Paris Match, ed. (1971). "Tunisie: La montée de Bourguiba". Mémorial de notre temps. Vol. II -1952-1953-1954. Chenôve: éditions Pierre Charron. pp. 258–259.
  5. ^ "Pierre Garbay". http://projects.militarytimes.com. {{cite journal}}: External link in |journal= (help)
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