Pierre Emile Marie Johannes Barjot (; 13 October 18991 February 1960) was a French admiral. He was the commander-in-chief of the French forces during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

Biography

Early life

Barjot joined the Navy in 1918, and was commissioned as a ship-of-the-line Second Ensign on 1 October 1919, while serving in the harbor of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

. From January 1, 1921, he served aboard the ship ''Aldebaran'' of the Pacific Squadron, and was promoted to Ensign on 1 October. In 1924, he entered the School of Underwater Navigation in Toulon. During 1925, he was posted in the submarine station of the

Cherbourg Naval Base Cherbourg Naval Base is a naval base in Cherbourg Harbour, Cherbourg, Manche Departments of France, department, Normandy. The town has been a base of the French Navy since the opening of the military port in 1813. History Early works Cherbourg ha ...

. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 16 April 1926, while serving aboard the ship ''Baccarat'' in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. In 1929, he became deputy commander of the submarine ''Dauphin'', and during the same year given the command of the submarine ''Naïade''. In 1933, Barjot entered the École de Guerre navale. After graduation, he was posted as the commander of the submarine Bévéziers on 20 December 1935. On 7 September 1936, he was promoted to lieutenant commander. During 1937, he commanded the submarine ''Agosta''.

World War II

In 1940, at the early stages of

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 served in the Anglo-Saxon Department of the French Admiralty. On 17 November 1940, after the

Second Armistice at Compiègne The Armistice of 22 June 1940, sometimes referred to as the Second Armistice at Compiègne, was an agreement signed at 18:36 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, France by officials of Nazi Germany and the French Third Republic. It became effective a ...

, he was given the rank of commander and posted to

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, where he oversaw the local merchant fleet. There, he joined a covert network of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. In August 1941, he was assigned as deputy commandant of the '' Richelieu''. In 1942, he was arrested by the Vichy security services and retired from the Navy, moving to

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. There, he assisted the Allied forces in the preparation of

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

; he was one of those present in the Cherchell conference. Barjot joined the Free French Naval Forces. On 15 November 1943, he was promoted to

Ship-of-the-line captain Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

. After

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

, he was appointed deputy chief-of-staff for national defense in August 1944. He became a Counter admiral on 15 May 1945.<

Post-war years

In December 1946, he was posted as the commander of the marine forces in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

up to October 1948. Then, he was transferred to command the French Navy's aircraft carrier group. He was promoted to vice admiral on 21 January 1951. From January 1951 to April 1952, he commanded the maritime forces in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. After leaving that office, he commanded the strategic zone in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. In 1954, he headed a squadron in Toulon. In 1955, he served as a member of the Supreme Maritime Council. During the

, he commanded the French forces. Afterwards, he was the marine prefect of Toulon, an office he held until October 1958, when he was transferred to the post of Naval Adjutant to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Lauris Norstad. He was promoted to full admiral on 23 December 1958, and died little more than a year afterwards.

References

External links

A German-language biography of Barjot
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barjot, Pierre 1899 births 1960 deaths People from Le Blanc Military personnel of the Free French Naval Forces Recipients of the Resistance Medal Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Ordre du Mérite Maritime French Navy admirals French military personnel of the Suez Crisis