Colonna d'Istria, Charles

Date of birth:: July 21st, 1911 (Sollacaro, France)
Date of death:: September 7th, 1991 (Ajaccio, France)
Nationality:: French

Biography

He obtained a law degree and the patent from the National School of France d'Outre-Mer. He performed his military service in 1933 and 1934 as a reserve officer cadet in the Colonial Infantry.

Returned to civilian life, he became administrator of Overseas France stationed in French Equatorial Africa.

Reserve lieutenant, special assigned by necessity of service, he decided despite everything to enlist on September 2, 1939 in Brazzaville and was assigned to the Senegalese Riflemen Regiment of Chad (RTST) where he soon commanded the 8th Depot Company.

In February 1940, he passed as section chief to the 1st Company. From August 26, 1940, he rallied to General de Gaulle the territory of which he was the administrator in Chad, after having attempted to enter an English colony to respond individually to the Appeal of June 18, 1940.

Volunteered in March 1941 with the 1st March Battalion of the AEF (BM 1), assigned to the 2nd Company, he participated in the campaign in Syria during which he took command of his company under fire, to death by its leader, Captain Pierre Rougé.

Promoted captain in September 1941, Charles Colonna d'Istria officially took command of the 2nd Company of BM 1 in January 1942, which was stationed in Chad, at Moussoro.

Appointed Deputy to the Military Governor of Fezzan, he joined the General Staff of General Leclerc with which he participated in the second campaign of Fezzan (December 1942-April 1943) and that of Tunisia (April-May 1943), always showing himself volunteer for missions requiring particularly high morale.

Assigned to the staff of the 2nd DFL (new name of the Force L of General Leclerc) in July 1943 as head of the 3rd Bureau, he was seconded two months later to the Colonial Commission in Algiers.

In June 1944, he joined the French commandos and was then posted again, in October 1944, to the office of the Minister of Overseas France.

Demobilized in October 1945, he was inspector general of labor in AEF until 1951 then in AOF until 1960. Back in France, he was technical advisor in the office of the Minister of the Armed Forces until 1965 and then until 1975, general treasurer-payer of Hautes-Pyrénées then of Gard.