- Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque
Infobox Military Person
name=Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque
caption=
born=22 November 1902
died=28 November 1947
placeofbirth=Belloy-Saint-Léonard ,France
placeofdeath=Colomb-Béchar ,Algeria
nickname=
allegiance=France
branch=French Army
serviceyears=1924-1947
rank=Général d'Armée
commands=Colonne Leclerc
L force
2nd Armoured DivisionFrench Far East Expeditionary Corps
unit=
battles=World War II
awards=Marshal of France (posthumous)
Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur
Companion of the LiberationMédaille militaire
Croix de Guerre 1939-1945
Croix de Guerre des TOE
Distinguished Service Order (UK)Silver Star (USA)
laterwork=Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (
November 22 ,1902 –November 28 ,1947 ), was a French general duringWorld War II , he becameMarshal of France posthumously, in 1952.He was born Philippe François Marie, Comte de Hauteclocque, but changed his legal name in 1945 to incorporate his
French resistance alias Jacques-Philippe Leclerc. He is generally known in France simply as Maréchal Leclerc.Ancestry and family
Philippe de Hauteclocque was born on
22 November 1902 atBelloy-Saint-Léonard in the department ofSomme . He was the fifth of six children of Adrien de Hauteclocque, comte de Hauteclocque (1864-1945) and Marie-Thérèse van der Cruisse de Waziers (1870-1956). Philippe was named in honour of an ancestor killed by Croats in 1635. harvnb|Clayton|1992|p=34.]Leclerc came from an old line of country nobility; his direct ancestors had served in the
Fifth Crusade against Egypt and again in theEighth Crusade of Saint Louis against Tunisia in 1270. They had also fought at the great battles of Saint-Omer in 1340 and Fontenoy in 1745. The family managed to survive theFrench Revolution , with four members of the family serving in French Army during Napoleon's reign, three in La Grande Armée and a fourth, who suffered from weak health, in the supply train. The youngest of these had a son, who became a noted Egyptologist; he in turn had three sons. The first and third became officers in the French Army; serving during the colonial campaigns before both were killed duringWorld War I . The second son was Leclerc’s father; he also served during the war, but survived the conflict and inherited the family estate in Belloy Saint Leonard.Biography
He attended the
École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr , graduating in 1924, and entered theFrench Army ; he attained the rank ofcaptain in 1937.During
World War II , he joined theFree French forces upon the Fall of France and made his way to London.Charles de Gaulle upon meeting him promoted him from Captain to Major (commandant) and ordered him toFrench Equatorial Africa as Governor of FrenchCameroon fromAugust 29 ,1940 toNovember 12 , 1940. He commanded the column which attacked Axis forces fromChad , and having marched his troops across West Africa distinguished himself inTunisia .Sent in from
Normandy , his 2nd Armored Division freed Paris. Some argue thatGeneral George S. Patton freed the bulk of northern France, and was ordered to halt at the outskirts of Paris by GeneralDwight D. Eisenhower , to give Leclerc the appearance of freeing the city.Facts|date=July 2007 Others note that the Allied troops were avoiding Paris, moving around it clockwise towards Germany, and that Leclerc and De Gaulle had to persuade Eisenhower to let some troops help the Parisians who had risen against the German troops.Facts|date=July 2007Together with
Maurice Kriegel-Valrimont andHenri Rol-Tanguy Leclerc acceptedDietrich von Choltitz 's surrender at theGare Montparnasse . His troops subsequently liberatedStrasbourg and finished their war course inBerchtesgaden , Hitler's headquarters in the Bavarian Alps. When the war was over in Europe, he received command of the
French Far East Expeditionary Corps , and represented France during the surrender of the Japanese Empire in September 2; previously in May 1945 he had been appointed a member of theLégion d'honneur , and the same year legally changed his name to Jacques-Philippe Leclerc de Hautecloque, incorporating his pseudonym.As new commander of the Far East French Forces, Leclerc's CEFEO Expeditionary Corps set forth in October 1945 in
French Indochina , first cracking aVietminh blockade aroundSaigon , then driving through theMekong delta and up into the highlands.Jean Sainteny flew to Saigon to consult Leclerc, then acting as high commissioner, approved Sainteny's proposal to negotiate with Vietnam.Admiral d'Argenlieu bluntly denounced Leclerc: "I am amazed - yes, that is the word, amazed - that France's fine expeditionary corps inIndochina is commanded by officers who would rather negotiate than fight".Facts|date=July 2007The negotiation did not work. General Leclerc, returned to Paris from Vietnam, now warned that "anti-communism will be a useless tool unless the problem of nationalism is resolved." But his wisdom was ignored. The French Communists, after breaking with
Paul Ramadier , triggered a series of strikes and other disorders that plunged France into civil strife. Leclerc was later replaced byJean-Etienne Valluy .He died in 1947 in an airplane accident near
Colomb-Béchar ,Algeria .He was awarded the honour of
Marshal of France posthumously, in 1952.Posthumous honours
The
Leclerc main battletank built byGIAT Industries ofFrance is named after him.There is a monument to Leclerc at coordinates coord|48.82105|N|2.32494|E|, in the
Petit-Montrouge quarter of the 14th arrondissement inParis , between Avenue de la Porte d'Orléans and Rue de la Légion Etrangère. The monument is near the Square du Serment-de-Koufra. The "serment de Koufra" is a pledge that Leclerc made onMarch 2 ,1941 , the day after taking the Italian fort atKufra ,Libya : he swore that his weapons would not be laid down until the French flag flew over the cathedrals of Metz and of Strasbourg. [cite web|url=http://www.paris.fr/portail/Parcs/Portal.lut?page_id=5369&document_type_id=5&document_id=9789&portlet_id=11532| accessdate=2006-07-02|title=Square du Serment-de-Koufra|work=Mairie de Paris, cite web|url=http://www.v1.paris.fr/CARTO/nomenclature/7723.nom.html|accessdate=2006-07-02|title=Avenue de la PORTE D'ORLÉANS|work=Extrait de la nomenclature officielle des voies de Paris.]Two Parisian streets are named for Leclerc: Avenue du Général Leclerc in the 14th arrondissement [cite web|url=http://www.v1.paris.fr/CARTO/Nomenclature/4063.nom.html|accessdate=2006-07-02|title=Avenue du GÉNÉRAL LECLERC|work=Extrait de la nomenclature officielle des voies de Paris] and Rue du Maréchal Leclerc in the 12th arrondissement, between the
Bois de Vincennes and theMarne River . [cite web|url=http://www.v1.paris.fr/CARTO/Nomenclature/10486.nom.html|accessdate=2006-07-02|title=Rue du MARÉCHAL LECLERC|work=Extrait de la nomenclature officielle des voies de Paris]Decorations
*Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur
*Companion of the Liberation (6 March 1941)
*Médaille militaire (6 June 1946)
*Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 with 8 palms
*Croix de guerre des Théatres d'Opérations Exterieures with palm
*Médaille de la Résistance with rosette
*Médaille Coloniale with agrafes
*Médaille des Evadés
*Médaille des Blessés
*Commander of the Order of the Crown with palm (Belgium)
*Croix de guerre (Belgium)
*Distinguished Service Order (UK)
*Silver Star (USA)Notes
References
*citation
last=Clayton
first=Anthony
publication-date=1992
date=1992
year=1992
title=Three Marshals of France
publisher=Brassey's
isbn=0-08-040707-2;ee also
* 2nd Armored Division
* Battle of Kufra
*Liberation of Paris
*Liberation of Strasbourg
*Mémorial du maréchal Leclerc de Hauteclocque et de la Libération de Paris External links
* [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FRleclerc.htm spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk]
* [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Epi-c2-WH2-1Epi-e.html Raids in the Fezzan (includes description of Leclerc's expedition)]
* [http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/569.html Ordre de la Libération]
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