Corta, Renaud de

Date of birth:: February 2nd, 1915 (Paris, France)
Date of death:: February 20th, 1979 (Paris, France)
Nationality:: French

Biography

Having a military vocation, he entered the Special Military School of Saint-Cyr and left it in 1936 (promotion of King Alexander I) by choosing the infantry. He was assigned as a second lieutenant in the 158th Infantry Division in Alsace.

Lieutenant in October 1938, he left for the front with his regiment in September 1939. In March 1940, he was transferred to the training center of the Courtine camp in the Creuse to supervise aspiring students.

Leaving the Courtine on June 10, 1940 for the school of Fontenay le Comte, he heard Marshal Pétain's speech on June 17 and immediately decided to continue the fight.

With a comrade, he embarked in La Rochelle on June 18 on a ship repatriating British troops to reach England. Stationed at Trentham Park camp, he enlisted in the Free French Forces.

Assigned to the 1st Battalion of the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-brigade (13th DBLE) as section chief, he took part in the "Menace" expedition in front of Dakar at the end of September 1940.

After the failure of the Dakar rally attempt, Renaud de Corta took part in the Gabon operations (capture of Libreville) in November 1940 and then in the Eritrean battles (Keren and Massaoua) in March and April 1941. He stood out in particular the March 15, 1941 at Engiahat showing calm under enemy fire to which it inflicts losses then during the fighting of the capture of Massaoua in early April 1941.

On June 19, 1941, in Kissoué, during the campaign in Syria, he was wounded with a bullet in the hip.

Promoted to the rank of captain in September 1941, he remained assigned to the 1st Foreign Legion Battalion (1st BLE) in Syria as commander of the heavy company. With the 2nd Free French Brigade to which the 1st BLE temporarily belonged, Captain de Corta took part, in April 1942, in the retreat to El Alamein. In October 1942 he received a citation to the order of the army for the fighting of the Himeimat (El Alamein) which marked the end of the German advance in Africa.

On May 9, 1943 Captain de Corta was wounded again, by shrapnel this time, at Djebel Garci during the campaign in Tunisia; Evacuated by plane to the Meknes hospital, he joined the 1st BLE in Tripolitania in July 1943 after having unsuccessfully asked General Koenig to be parachuted for a clandestine mission in France.

Landed in Italy with the 1st Free French Division, he demonstrated exceptional activity and calm and was once again wounded by a shrapnel of mortar on May 22, 1944 in Pontecorvo.

He landed at Cavalaire on August 16, 1944 and took part in the fighting for the liberation of Provence.

Wounded once again on November 22, 1944 in the Vosges by the explosion of a mine, he joined his unit in Alsace in January 1945 and received a new order from the army there. He ended the war in the Alps, in the Authion massif, at the head of the 1st BLE. He does not find his parents, resistant within the movement Those of the Liberation, arrested in June 1944 and died in deportation.

Head of battalion in 1945, Renaud de Corta assumed the functions of chief of staff of the French resident general in Tunis until 1947.

Assigned to the staff of the Institute of Higher National Defense Studies at that date, he entered the Higher War School in 1950.

After having followed the training courses of higher military education, he participated brilliantly in the Indochina campaigns (1952-1954) where he served with the 5th REI then with the combined arms staff of the Land Forces in Saigon. He was appointed lieutenant-colonel there.

After a year in the grouping of services for higher military education schools in Paris, Renaud de Corta was assigned to SHAPE (Supreme Allied Forces Command) in Fontainebleau from 1955 to 1958 and appointed colonel. He took command of the 3e REI in North Africa from 1958 to 1960.

In March 1960 Renaud de Corta was appointed to the military cabinet of Mr. Pierre Messmer, Minister of the Armed Forces and carried out several missions in Algeria.

In 1962 he took command of the 12th Mechanized Brigade stationed in Friborg and, in 1963, he was promoted to brigadier general.

In 1966, he commanded the 3rd Division and, with the rank of major general on April 1, 1967, he became the deputy to the general commanding the 7th Military Region in Marseille in 1968.

General of the army, Renaud de Corta was then deputy to General Fourquet, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (April 1970) and in charge of mission to Michel Debré, then Minister of State in charge of National Defense (September 1971).

In January 1973, he was admitted to the 2nd section of the retired general officer.