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Briffaut, Paul

Date of birth:
August 8th, 1918 (Hanoi, Tonkin)
Date of death:
May 8th, 1945 (Karlstein-Kugelbach, Germany)
Buried on:
German War Cemetery Schönau am Königssee
Nationality:
French

Biography

CAREER
4th November 1938 : served in the 76th Bataillon Alpin de Forteresse
1st May 1939 : entered officer course in Ecole Militaire de Saint Maixent
October 1939 : pormoted aspirant and appointed to the 159th Régiment d''Infanterie Alpine
18th November 1939 : appointed to the 16th Régiment de Tirailleurs Tunisiens and sent to Beyrouth - Lebanon
6th December 1940 : appointed to the 5th COY Ist Bataillon of the 16th RTT and took part to the fightings against the Brits and the Aussies
13th August 1941 : returned to France in Marseille then Camp des Garrigues near Montpellier
February- 5th April 1942 : sent to Algeria
6th April 1942 : back in Nice - demobilized
2nd June 1943 : entered the IR 638 - LVF
July 1943 : training in Montargis with his platoon
7th September 1943 : sent to Kruszyna in Poland for battle training with the LVF
End November 1943 : in Bielorussia as platoon leader in the 1.Kie I.Bat IR 638 - LVF
February 1944 : WIA and distinguished during the fightings against soviet partisans during the operation MAROC (MORROCCO)
March - September 1944 : evacuated to a military hospital to recover from wounds received in February 1944
September 1944 : transfered to the Waffen SS, commanding the 9.Kie Waffen Gren.Reg. der SS Nr.58
December 1944 : demobilized due to his wounds and sent to Mainau
February - March 1945 : tried to join the 33.SS Div Charlemagne in Wildflecken before its departure to the front and appointed with the remnants of the Div to the Hersche Bataillon
17th-28th April 1945 : bivouac in Sandelzhausen then movement to Moosburg
May 1945 : POW captured by the US in Bavaria and handed over to the French 2nd Division Blindée commanded by general LECLERC
8th May 1945 : executed by French troops in Bad Reichenhall singing the 'Marseillaise' national hymn

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Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Sous-Lieutenant (Second Lieutenant)
Unit:
5e Compagnie, 16e régiment de tirailleurs tunisiens
Awarded on:
October 8th, 1941

With 1 silver star
Croix de Guerre des Théâtres d'Opérations Extérieurs
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Unit:
5e Compagnie, 16e régiment de tirailleurs tunisiens
Awarded on:
February 26th, 1944
" Chef de section d''un mordant exceptionnel. Durement engagé avec sa section contre un ennemi très supérieur en nombre dès le début du combat du 26 février 1944, alors qu''il avait déjà éprouvé des pertes et était lui-même blessé, n''a rien perdu de son esprit offensif. N''a pas hésité à se lancer à l''assaut avec quelques hommes, provoquant le repli d''un adversaire déterminé et courageux."

With 1 palm
Croix de Guerre L.V. F. (Vichy)
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
Unit:
1. Kompanie, I. Battalion, Infanterie-Regiment 638, Légion des Volontaires Français (LVF)
Awarded on:
February 1944
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Schwarz
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
Unit:
1. Kompanie, I. Battalion, Infanterie-Regiment 638, Légion des Volontaires Français (LVF)
Awarded on:
March 1944
"Platoon leader of an exceptional mordant. Hardly engaged with his platoon against an enemy superior in number from the beginning of the fightings the 26.02.1944, whereas he had already experienced losses and was himself WIA, did not lose any of his offensive spirit.Did not hesitate to launch an assault with some of his men, thus provoking the withdrawal of a determined and courageous adversary."
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Awarded on:
1944
Médaille des blessés de guerre
Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Sous-Lieutenant (Second Lieutenant)
Unit:
5. Compagnie, II. Bataillon, 16e régiment de tirailleurs tunisiens
Awarded on:
August 1941
1 citation at division level: 1 silver star
Croix de Guerre (1939-1945)

Sources

  • - Stephane Kayser
    - Waffen-SS Francais, Grégory Bouysse

Photos