Jean-Baptiste Piron (10 April 1896 – 4 September 1974) was a Belgian military officer, best known for his role in the

Free Belgian forces The Free Belgian forces (, ) were soldiers from Belgium and its colonies who fought as part of the Allied armies during World War II, after the official Belgian surrender to Nazi Germany. It is distinct from the Belgian Resistance which exist ...

during

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 ...

as commander of the

1st Belgian Infantry Brigade The Independent Belgian Brigade (, ) was a Belgian and Luxembourgish military unit in the Free Belgian forces during World War II, commonly known as the Piron Brigade (''Brigade Piron'') after its commanding officer Jean-Baptiste Piron. It ...

, widely known as the "Piron Brigade", between 1942 and 1944. Piron entered the

Belgian Army The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land ...

and served during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as both a junior infantry officer and, briefly, in the

Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air and Space Component (, ) is the Air force, air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force (; ). It was founded in 1909 and is one of the world's oldest air services. ...

. He rose through the ranks during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

and held the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

at the time of the German invasion of Belgium in World WarII. He subsequently escaped from German-occupied Belgium and reached the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where he led a re-organisation of the Free Belgian military. Promoted to the head of the 1stBelgian Infantry Brigade, he led the unit from 1942 to 1944, including on the Western Front in late 1944. He commanded the Belgian army of occupation in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1946–1947 and was aide de camp to Prince-Regent Charles and, later, to King Baudouin. He ended his career as lieutenant general and retired in 1957. He died in 1974.

Early career

Piron was born in

Couvin Couvin (; ) is a municipality and city of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2018 the municipality had 13,782 inhabitants. Couvin is the second largest municipality of Belgium by surface area, after Tournai. The tot ...

in Belgium's

Province of Namur Namur (; ; ) is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the West) on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and the French department of Ardennes. Its ...

on 10April 1896. He entered the Royal Military Academy in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

at the age of 17 in 1913. Following the German invasion of Belgium in August 1914 at the start of

, Piron, who had not finished his studies, was mobilised into the

as a junior officer in the . He served with the Belgian army on the

Yser Front The Yser Front (, or ), sometimes termed the West Flemish Front in British writing, was a section of the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I held by Belgium, Belgian troops from October 1914 until 1918. The front ran alo ...

and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1916. After being hospitalised with

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

in October 1917, he was transferred to the

and served as an

air observer An air observer or aerial observer is an aircrew member whose duties are predominantly reconnaissance. The term originated in the First World War in the British Royal Flying Corps, and was maintained by its successor, the Royal Air Force. An a ...

with the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron. He was wounded twice. At the end of the war in 1918, Piron held the rank of acting captain. During the

, Piron returned to his studies at the academy. He remained in the Belgian Army, serving in the headquarters of the 2ndArmy Corps and later in the 1st Grenadier Regiment. Rising through the ranks to

, he served with the and later at the headquarters of the 5th Army Corps at the outbreak of the

Phoney War The Phoney War (; ; ) was an eight-month period at the outset of World War II during which there were virtually no Allied military land operations on the Western Front from roughly September 1939 to May 1940. World War II began on 3 Septembe ...

World War II

During

, Piron served during the German invasion of Belgium (10–28May 1940), after which the Belgian Army surrendered and Belgium was placed under military occupation. Piron, however, refused to accept the Belgian surrender and succeeded in escaping from occupied Belgium via

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to British

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. He arrived in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in February 1942. The

Belgian government in exile The Belgian Government in London (; ), also known as the Pierlot IV Government, was the government in exile of Belgium between October 1940 and September 1944 during World War II. The government was wikt:tripartite, tripartite, involving minis ...

began to form a Free Belgian army in late 1940 among Belgian soldiers and expatriates who had succeeded in reaching the

. Following his arrival in Britain, Piron was tasked with reforming the Belgian and

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 forces into an infantry

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

, an artillery battery, and an armoured squadron. The move followed a period of unrest among the Belgian troops which had culminated in a minor mutiny on 14 November, caused by inactivity and political infighting. The reaction by the incumbent commander, Colonel Lecomte, had been considered inadequate by the Belgian government. Piron, designated as Lecomte's successor, took command in December 1942 and became commander of the resulting unit, the

, on its formation in January 1943. The unit, numbering between 1,800 and 2,200 men, was soon popularly nicknamed the "Piron Brigade" (''Brigade Piron'') after him. He was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1944. His style of command earned him the nickname "the

pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

" or "the lion". According to Luc DeVos, a historian, "it was ..indisputably Piron who played the major role in transforming the unit into a well-oiled military machine". The Brigade Piron was deployed to France in August 1944 following the

Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

. Although it was kept in reserve for most of the campaign, the unit was deployed in combat in Normandy alongside the British

6th Airborne Division The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who m ...

and, later, the

Guards Armoured Division The Guards Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army during the Second World War. The division was created in the United Kingdom on 17 June 1941 during the Second World War from elements of the Guards units, the Grenadie ...

. Among other operations, the unit liberated the French town of

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on 25 August. It was also involved in the

Liberation of Belgium The Liberation of Belgium from German occupation began on 2 September 1944 when Allied forces entered the province of Hainaut and was completed on 4 February 1945 with the liberation of the village of Krewinkel. The liberation came after fou ...

in September 1944 and entered Brussels on 4September, the day after the arrival of the first British troops. The brigade was then moved to Dutch Limburg, where it participated in heavy fighting until November. After the Liberation, Piron became aide de camp to Charles, Count of Flanders, who became

prince regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

in 1944 and commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment. Piron was promoted to the rank of major general in December 1945.

Post-war career

While still serving as aide to the prince regent, Piron was promoted to command the Belgian Army of Occupation (''Armée belge d'occupation'', or ABO; ''Belgische Bezettingsleger'', BBL) in

Allied-occupied Germany The entirety of Germany was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II, from the Berlin Declaration on 5 June 1945 to the establishment of West Germany on 23 May 1949. Unlike occupied Japan, Nazi Germany was stripped of its sov ...

in March 1946. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

in December 1947. Piron enjoyed the role but was dismissed in 1951 after falling out with the Belgian Minister of Defence Eugène De Greef. He was transferred to head the Belgian Army's

general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

, but Piron resented the move. He became aide to the prince regent's successor, King Baudouin, in 1951. In 1954 he was given a post as president of the Superior Council of the Armed Forces (''Conseil supérieur des Forces armées'', or CSFA) but still resented being transferred from the army in Germany. Piron finally retired from the military in 1957. He published a memoir in 1969. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in his home in

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

, a suburb of Brussels, on the morning of 4September 1974 after participating in the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Brussels' Liberation.

Publications

*''Souvenirs 1913–1945'' (Brussels: Renaissance du Livre, 1969).

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Jean-Baptiste Piron
at Belgium WWII (

Cegesoma The Study and Documentation Centre for War and Contemporary Society (; ), known by its combined French—Dutch acronym Cegesoma or CegeSoma, is a historical research institute and archive based in Anderlecht, Brussels in Belgium. It focusses on Wor ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Piron, Jean-Baptiste Belgian generals People from Couvin 1896 births 1974 deaths Belgian Army personnel of World War I Belgian military personnel of World War II Belgian people in the United Kingdom during World War II Royal Military Academy (Belgium) alumni Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Officers of the Order of Leopold II Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (South Korea) Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Belgian Army officers Belgian Air Component officers