Émile Speller (7 October 1875 – 17 January 1952) was a

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

ish military officer and the commander of the country's Gendarmes and Volunteers Corps (''Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires'') during the

German invasion of Luxembourg The German invasion of Luxembourg was part of Case Yellow (), the German invasion of the Low Countries—Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands—and France during World War II. The battle began on 10 May 1940 and lasted just one day. Facing ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He also served as '' aide-de-camp'' to several members of the

Grand Ducal Family The grand ducal family of Luxembourg constitutes the House of Luxembourg-Nassau, headed by the sovereign grand duke, and in which the throne of the grand duchy is hereditary. It consists of heirs and descendants of the House of Nassau-Weilburg, wh ...

throughout his career and chamberlain of the Grand Ducal court.

Biography

Émile Speller was born on 7 October 1875 in

Niederanven Niederanven (, ; ) is a commune in Luxembourg, located north-east of Luxembourg City, and derives its name from principal town, Niederanven. , it has a population of 6,660. The commune of Niederanven is the intersection for the A1 motorway and ...

. On 1 June 1902 he began his service with the Grand Ducal Court, being appointed as an aide by

Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Adolphe (Adolf Wilhelm August Karl Friedrich; 24 July 1817 – 17 November 1905) was Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 23 November 1890 to his death on 17 November 1905. The first grand duke from the House of Nassau-Weilburg, he succeeded King Willia ...

. He subsequently served as ''aide-de-camp'' to Grand Duke William, Grand Duchess regent Marie Anna, Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde, and

Grand Duchess Charlotte Charlotte (''Charlotte Adelgonde Elisabeth Marie Wilhelmine''; 23 January 1896 – 9 July 1985) was List of monarchs of Luxembourg, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg from 14 January 1919 until her abdication on 12 November 1964. Her reign is the long ...

. On 12 January 1927, he was promoted to the rank of captain. On 25 February 1937, Speller was appointed Major-Commandant of the ''Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires''. On 30 April 1937, he was appointed via ministerial order to be chairman of the supervisory commission on

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

education. On 2 February 1938, he was appointed to the High Military Court of Luxembourg. Major Speller reorganized Luxembourg's troops on 24 February 1939. He still served as the force's commander during the

on 10 May 1940. Most of the soldiers did not partake in the fighting, as only those who volunteered for guard duty were stationed along the border. The rest remained in their barracks, leaving the defence of the country to the Grand Ducal Gendarmerie. Total casualties amounted to six gendarmes and one soldier wounded. Twenty-two soldiers (six officers and 16

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

s) and 54 gendarmes were captured. After the invasion Speller was briefly incarcerated by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

. He was released but monitored closely by them throughout the rest of

the occupation ''The Occupation'' is a single-player adventure video game developed by White Paper Games and released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows on 5 March 2019. The game takes place in a single government building, in real-time over f ...

. On 3 March 1945, the returned and reformed Luxembourg government appointed Speller to the 1945 Pension Board for the Army. On 7 October, the government retroactively recognized Speller's resignation, effective exactly five years previously. On 9 August 1946 he was granted the title of honorary colonel. Speller continued his service to the government as the chamberlain of the Grand Ducal Court. He died at his home in Luxembourg City on 17 January 1952 following a long illness.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Speller, Emile 1875 births 1952 deaths Luxembourgian soldiers Luxembourgian military personnel of World War II Military leaders of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany People from Niederanven

Biography

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