Henry Jules Jean Maurice Martin (27 October 1888 – 24 June 1984) was a French

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Biography

Martin fought in World War I from 1914 until 6 April 1918, when he was severely wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans. In May 1940 he commanded the

87th African Infantry Division The 87th African Infantry Division (, 87e DIA) was a formation of the French Army in the Second World War. It was formed in French Algeria on 2 September 1939, the day after the start of the war. The division was transferred to Metropolitan Fran ...

(in the Sixth Army of General Robert-Auguste Touchon and the Seventh Army of General Aubert Frère) during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

on the Ailette, where he took an active part in the defense of the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

, then retreated to the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

and the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

. From August 1940 until June 1943, he was at the head of the Marrakech Division. After the Allied invasion of Northern Africa, the French Army was rebuilt there and Martin received command of the

4th Moroccan Mountain Division The 4th Moroccan Mountain Division () was an infantry division of the Army of Africa () which participated in World War II. Created in Morocco following the liberation of French North Africa, the division fought in Corsica, Italy, metropolitan ...

, before taking command of the 1st Army Corps, in which capacity he commanded French troops during the liberation of

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

in September–October 1943 and of the island of Elba in June 1944. Between August 1944 and December 1946, he was commander of the 19th Corps in Algeria, notably during the Sétif massacres.Fabian Klose, ''Human Rights in the Shadow of Colonial Violence: The Wars of Independence in Kenya and Algeria'' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013; ), p. 82: "The French high commander in Algeria, General Henry Martin, received the following instructions from de Gaulle on 14 August 1944: 'We must prevent North Africa from slipping through our fingers while we are liberating France.' The tragic consequence was the bloody suppression of the Sétif unrest in May 1945." He retired in December 1946.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Henry 1888 births 1984 deaths French Army generals of World War II French military personnel of World War I French war criminals Corsica in World War II Sétif and Guelma massacre