Louis-Antoine Gaultier
 Louis-Antoine Gaultier |
|
|---|---|
| Born | September 25 1898 Guelma, Algeria |
| Died | March 11 1970 (age 71) Toulon, France |
| Allegiance |  France |
| Service/ |
French Army French Foreign Legion |
| Years of service | 1917 - 1955 |
| Rank | Général de brigade |
| Commands held | Communal Depot of the Foreign Regiments DCRE (1945-1950) |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Other work | FSALE President (1966 - 1969) |
Louis-Antoine Gaultier (1898-1970) was a général of the French Army who served mainly in the French Foreign Legion.
Contents
Military career
World War I
Louis-Antoine prepared the admission entrance of École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr when he was mobilized in 1917. Assigned to the 4th Zouaves Regiment (French: 4e Régiment de Zouaves), he was promoted to Caporal (Corporal) then Sergent (Sergeant) and Aspirant at the end of the war.
Nominated as a Sous-lieutenant on February 1 1919 at the 1st Foreign Regiment 1er RE, he remained in the Legion almost his entire career.
Interwar period
He served then in Algeria, then Morocco at the 4th Foreign Infantry Regiment 4e REI.
Captain on March 25 1932, he left Morocco and the Legion on May 1939 for an assignment at the 91st Line Infantry Regiment (French: 91e Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne).
World War II
As of February 1940, he found the legion back again by receiving the commandment of a battalion of the 11th Foreign Infantry Regiment 11e REI during the combats from May to June 1940.
Promoted to the rank of Chef de bataillon (Commandant - Major) on June 11 1940, he escaped after the surrender of his army corps managed to join the Zone libre.
He joined the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment 2e REI at the beginning of 1941 in Morocco. In 1943, he was assigned to the 3rd Foreign Regiment 3e RE, he joined, with his unit, the Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion RMLE. Chief of the general staff headquarters of the regiment, he was promoted to Lieutenant-colonel on December 25 1943. With the death regimental commander of the RMLE, he received the provisionary command of the regiment, from December 1944 to March 1945, prior to command being delegated to Colonel Jean Olié.
On June 25 1945, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel at the 21 Line Infantry Regiment (French: 21e Régiment d'Infanterie).
After-war
On December 1945, he assumed command of the Communal Depot of the Foreign Regiments (French: Dépôt Commun des Régiments étrangers, DCRE) at Sidi Bel Abbès. It was under his command and his impulsion that Képi Blanc, the monthly of the French Foreign Legion.
He left indefinitely the Legion on June 2 1950, at the end of his commandment time.
He was accordingly nominated as assistant (French: adjoint) général commandant of the subdivision of Montpellier, before taking his retirement as général on July 1 1955.
Retirement
On September 17 1966, he was elected as President of the French Foreign Legion Veteran Societies Federation (Légion étrangère) (FSALE).
On December 1969, he left the presidency of the association and died in March of the following year in Toulon.
Recognitions and Honors
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Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur
Croix de guerre 1914-1918
Croix de guerre 1939-1945
Croix de guerre des TOE- commandeur de l'ordre du Ouissam alaouite
- commandeur de l'ordre du Nichan Iftikhar
He totalized 11 citations.
He wrote notably:
- C'est la Légion, Impression française, Marseille, 1972 (with colonel Jacquot)
- Acte de foi dans la Légion étrangère
See also
References
Sources
- Division Histoire et patrimoine de la Légion étrangère
- Képi Blanc
