Pierre Garbay (4 October 1903 – 17 July 1980) was a
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...
General.
Biography
Of modest origins, after completing high school, Garbay was admitted to
Saint-Cyr military academy
Saint-Cyr refers to the popular child-saint Saint Quiricus (Cyriacus), whose following was strong in France because relics were brought back from Antioch by the 4th-century Bishop Saint Amator of Auxerre.
Saint-Cyr may refer to:
Places Franc ...
in 1921 and graduated as a sub-lieutenant in 1924. He then followed a distinguished military career which led from
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
(1925-1927) to China.
He was captain when occurred the Armistice in 1940. He refused to accept it and as commander of the 3rd bataillon de marche of French Equatorial Africa played an active role in August 1940 in rallying Chad to ''France libre''. Involved in the
Free French Forces
__NOTOC__
The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...
, he followed Leclerc up to 1944. He fought in Africa and Italy, and then participated to the landing in Provence. He was promoted général de brigade in 1944 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 , 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
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
in june 1947 and then in
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
.
He commanded the French troops in
Tunisia
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, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
and reacted to the terrorists attacks by the massacre of Cap Bon in 1952 (200 dead).
Then he commanded all the french troops from French Occidental Africa and
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Army General
Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System.
In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of general commanding an army in the field, but in coun ...
and was appointed military governor of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. 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. Pierre Garbay died on 17 July 1980 in Montluçon ( Allier) and he was buried in Velesmes-Échevanne in
Croix du combattant
The Combatant's Cross (french: "Croix du combattant") is a French decoration that recognizes, as its name implies, those who fought in combat for France. The Poilus (French combat soldiers) of World War I worked toward recognition by the govern ...
Médaille de la Résistance
The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...
with rosette.
* Médaille coloniale with "Maroc 1925", "AFL", "Erythrée", "Libye" and "Tunisie" bars
* Médaille commémorative des services volontaires dans la France libre
* Distinguished Service Cross(US)
*
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...
(UK)
*
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...