Raoul Salan

World War I

Salan was born on 10 June 1899 in Roquecourbe, Tarn. Enlisted in the French Army for the duration of the war on 2 August 1917, he was accepted in the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr on 21 August 1917, being assigned to the cadet student platoon of the 16th Infantry Regiment stationed at Montbrison, as part of the promotion "de Saint-Odile et de La Fayette" (1917-1918). Salan graduated as an aspirant on 25 July 1918, and was assigned to the 5th Colonial Infantry Regiment (5e RIC) in Lyon on 14 August 1918.

As a platoon leader in the 5e RIC's 11e Compagnie, he took part in the fighting in the Verdun region (Saint-Mihiel, Les Éparges, Fort de Bois-Bourru, Côte de Oie, Cumières-le-Mort-Homme). He was mentioned in the Order of the Brigade by Order dated 29 December 1918.

World War II

Until France's surrender in World War II, Colonel Salan commanded a battalion of Senegalese troops. He initially sided with the Vichy Government, but defected to the Allies in December 1942, following the occupation of Vichy France in Case Anton. Between the World Wars he was attached in various capacities to the Ministry of Colonies, and in 1941–43 he served with the Free French forces in French West Africa. After participating in the Allied invasion of France in 1944, he went to Indochina in 1945 and was commander in chief there during 1952–53.

Indochina and Algeria

Salan served as the commander of French forces in Vietnam from 1945 to 1947. By 1948, he was commander of all French land forces in East Asia, and after the death of Jean de Lattre de Tassigny in 1952, Salan became the commander-in-chief in Indochina.

Salan served as commander-in-chief of French forces in French Algeria in 1956. In 1958, he established special military internment centers for PAM rebels. The Minister of Interior declared a state of emergency, while the army engaged in a "struggle against the terrorism" of the FLN. Special powers were devolved to the military and were returned to civilian powers only in September 1959, when Charles de Gaulle made his speech on self-determination. General Salan refused to apply the Geneva Conventions ratified by France in 1951 because the detainees were not POWs. The civil authorities had different attitudes concerning the use of torture by the military.

In 1958, Salan called for the return to power of Charles De Gaulle, believing that the latter would protect French Algeria. He retired shortly after, first moving to Spain, then to mainland France. He was banned from entering Algeria in 1960.

Nevertheless, Salan returned to Algeria to organize the putsch on 21 April 1961 with André Zeller, Edmond Jouhaud and Maurice Challe. After the failure of the putsch, he became the chief of Organisation armée secrète (OAS), which attempted to disrupt the April 1962 Peace Evian Accords. Salan, who was sentenced to death in absentia, was arrested in April 1962. He was tried for treason and sentenced to life in prison. Salan was pardoned and released from prison in June 1968. He was amnestied by the French parliament and re-instated to the rank of general in 1982.

Death

Salan died on 3 July 1984. Every year, former members of the OAS bring flowers to his tomb on his death anniversary.

Decorations

Salan was the most decorated soldier in the French Army.

French and Colonial Decorations

• Legion of Honour
  • [[File:Legion Honneur Chevalier ribbon.svg|60px]] Knight (5 April 1922)
  • [[File:Legion Honneur Officier ribbon.svg|60px]] Officer (21 August 1940)
  • [[File:Legion Honneur Commandeur ribbon.svg|60px]] Commander (10 February 1945)
  • [[File:Legion Honneur GO ribbon.svg|60px]] Grand Officer (27 October 1948)
  • [[File:Legion Honneur GC ribbon.svg|60px]] Grand Cross (28 August 1952)
• [[File:Medaille militaire ribbon.svg|60px]] Médaille militaire (12 July 1958)
• [[File:Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 ribbon.svg|60px]] Croix de guerre 1914–1918 (1 citation)
• [[File:Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 ribbon.svg|60px]] Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (8 citations)
• [[File:Croix de Guerre des Theatres d'Operations Exterieurs ribbon.svg|60px]] Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures (7 citations)
• [[File:Croix de la Valeur Militaire ribbon.svg|60px]] Cross for Military Valour (1 citation)
• [[File:Croix du Combattant Volontaire 1914-1918 ribbon.svg|60px]] Volunteer Combatant's Cross 1914–1918
• [[File:Croix du Combattant (1930 France) ribbon.svg|60px]] Combatant's Cross
• [[File:Medaille d'Outre-Mer (Coloniale) ribbon.svg|60px]] Colonial Medal (Far East clasp)
• [[File:Ordre de l'Etoile Noire GC ribbon.svg|60px]] Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Star
• [[File:Ordre du Dragon d'Annam (par le Gouvernement Francais) GC ribbon.svg|60px]] [[File:Ordre du Dragon d'Annam (par l’Empereur d’Annam) Chevalier ribbon.svg|60px]] (with GC rosette) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Dragon of Annam with Military and Civil title
• [[File:Ordre Royal du Cambodge Officier ribbon.svg|60px]] Officer and (later) [[File:Ordre Royal du Cambodge GC ribbon.svg|60px]] Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Cambodia
• [[File:LAO Order of the a Million Elephants and the White Parasol - Grand Cross BAR.svg|60px]] Grand Cross of the Order of the Million Elephants and the White Parasol
• [[File:Barrette de Grand Croix du Merite civil Tai .png|60px]] Grand Cross of the Tai Order of Civil Merit (Sip Song Chau Tai)
• [[File:Ordre du Nichan Iftikhar GC ribbon (Tunisia).svg|60px]] Grand Cross of the Order of Glory
• [[File:Ordre de l'Ouissam Alaouite GC ribbon (Maroc).svg|60px]] Grand Cordon of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite
• [[File:Ordre de l'Etoile d'Anjouan GC ribbon.svg|60px]] Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Anjouan
• Grand Cross of the Étoile des Comores
• [[File:KHM Royal Order of Monisaraphon - Knight.png|60px]] Royal Order of Monisaraphon
• [[File:Vietnam Gallantry Cross, with palm.svg|60px]] Gallantry Cross, with palm
• [[File:KHM National Defence Medal - gold.png|60px]] National Defense Medal (Cambodia)
• [[File:Medaille commemorative de Syrie-Cilicie (Levant) ribbon.svg|60px]] Syria-Cilicia commemorative medal
• [[File:CivilMerit.Syria.png|60px]] Order of Civil Merit of the Syrian Arab Republic
• [[File:World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|60px]] 1914–1918 Inter-Allied Victory medal
• [[File:Medaille commemorative de la Guerre 1914-1918 ribbon.svg|60px]] 1914–1918 Commemorative war medal
• [[File:Medaille commemorative de la Guerre 1939-1945 ribbon.svg|60px]] 1939–1945 Commemorative war medal with "Africa", "Italy", "France", and "Germany" clasps
• [[File:Medaille de l'Aeronautique ribbon.svg|60px]] Aeronautical Medal
• [[File:Medaille (Insigne) des Blesses Militaires ribbon.svg|60px]] Medal for the War Wounded
• Annam Order of Military Merit
• Order of the Reign of King Savang Vatthana
• [[File:Medaille commemorative de la Campagne d'Italie ribbon.svg|60px]] 1943–1944 Italian campaign medal
• [[File:Medaille commemorative de la Campagne d'Indochine ribbon.svg|60px]] Indochina Campaign Commemorative Medal
• [[File:Medaille commemorative des Operations de securite et de Maintien de l'ordre ribbon.svg|60px]] North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal with "Algeria" clasp

Foreign Decorations

• [[File:Distinguished Service Cross ribbon.svg|60px]] Distinguished Service Cross (US)
• [[File:Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon.svg|60px]] Commander of the Order of the British Empire () (UK)
• Vietnam Campaign Medal (Thailand)
• [[File:KHM Sena Jayaseddh Medal.png|60px]] Sena Jayaseddh Medal (Cambodia)

Bibliography

• Mémoires Fin d'un empire (4 volumes), Editions Presses de la Cité, 1970–74
  • Le sens d'un engagement, 1970
  • Le Viêt-minh mon adversaire, 1971
  • Algérie française, 1972
  • L'Algérie, de Gaulle et moi, 1974

References

References

1. Krebs, Albin. (1984-07-04). "RAOUL SALAN DIES; LED ALGERIA PLOT". The New York Times.
2. (July 4, 1984). "RAOUL SALAN DIES; LED ALGERIA PLOT". The New York Times.
3. (8 December 2011). "Saint-Cyr – Promotion « de Saint-Odile et de La Fayette » (1917~1918) - Forum PAGES 14-18".
4. Boÿ, Jean. (25 October 2010). "Historique des 101e et 102e promotions (1917-18), promotions de Sainte-Odile et de La Fayette". La Saint-Cyrienne.
5. "Raoul Salan Dies; Led Algeria Plot". The New York Times.
6. (29 June 2023). "Raoul Salan | French general | Britannica".
7. (July 4, 1984). "Gen. Raoul Salan. France's most decorated soldier dies". Santa Cruz Sentinel.
8. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090528123601/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896229,00.html Silence in the Dock] TIME Magazine Friday, 25 May 1962
9. (1962-05-23). "1962: Ex-general escapes death sentence".
10. "OBITUARIES Gen. Raoul Salan, French Leader In Algeria, Dies From News Services". Washington Post.
11. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090527081354/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,896095,00.html To the guillotine] TIME Magazine Friday, 27 Apr 1962
12. (June 11, 2014). "Les " fidèles " du chef de l'OAS commémorent". [[La Montagne (newspaper).
13. Krebs, Albin. (1984-07-04). "RAOUL SALAN DIES; LED ALGERIA PLOT". The New York Times.