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Koenig, Marie-Pierre Joseph François

Date of birth:
October 10th, 1898 (Caen, France)
Date of death:
September 2nd, 1970 (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France)
Nationality:
French (1870-present, Republic)

Biography

Career:
1917 : as a volonteer join the 36th Infantry Regiment
February 1918 : aspirant (officer cadet)
3rd September 1918 : sous-lieutenant (lieutenant)
1920-30 : served in Silesia, French Alps, Germany and in Marrakech (Morocco)
July 1940 : join the Free French Forces as a captain serving in the 13e demi-brigade de Légion étrangère in Africa
1940 : served in Dakar and Gabon
Beginning 1941 : promoted colonel
July 1941 : promoted brigadier general
26th May - 11th June 1942 : commander of the Free French during the battles of Bir Hakeim and El Alamein
June 1944 : promoted lieutenant-general
August 1944 : military governor of Paris
1945-49 : commander of the French army in the French occupation zone of Germany
1984 : Marshal of France, posthumously

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Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
With 1 star and 1 palm
Croix de Guerre (1914-1918)
Period:
First World War (1914-1918)
Awarded on:
September 8th, 1918
Médaille Militaire
with clasps "Maroc", "Sahara", "Libye", "Bir-Hakeim", "Tunisie 42-43".
Médaille Coloniale
With 3 stars : 1 bronze, 1 silver, 1 vermeil
Awarded on:
1934
Chevalier de l' Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Awarded on:
July 1st, 1940
Officier de l' Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
With 4 palms.
Croix de Guerre (1939-1945)
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Compagnon
Awarded on:
June 25th, 1942
l' Ordre de la Libération
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Officier
With rosette.
Médaille de la Résistance Française
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Awarded on:
July 1942
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Général de corps d'armée (Army Corps General)
Awarded on:
April 8th, 1946
Orden Suvorova 1
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
With palm.
Croix de Guerre 1940
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
With sword.
Krigsmedaljen

Sources

Photo