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Marshal Marie Pierre Koenig, Major in the 13th DBLE
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Marie Pierre Koenig was born on October 10, 1898, in Caen. His parents were organ builders. Koenig studied at Saint-Marie College and the Malherbe College of Caen. When the First World War broke out, Koenig was 16 years old, and was rejected from military service when he tried to apply, due to his age. However, by 1917, he had completed his schooling, and enlisted in the 36th Infantry Regiment. In February of 1918 he was promoted to an "aspirant", acting officer, and was posted with his regiment on the front lines in April. He participated in the actions in Flanders in May, and those of Matz in June and July. He also served in the Oise offensive of August and September 1918. Commended for valor in this engagement, he was promoted to a "sous-lieutenant", 2nd lieutenant, and decorated with the Medaille Militaire.
After the war, he served with the 15th Alpine Mountain Battalion, with the rank of full lieutenant. He served in Silesia and the Alps. From 1922, he served with the staff of the 40th and 43rd Infantry Divisons on occupation duty in Germany until 1929. He was then sent to Morocco, where he participated in the campaigns of Southern Morocco in the early 1930s, and was promoted to captain. In Morocco, he later served on the staff of General Catroux, which is where he remained until the outbreak of war in 1939. He served for a few brief months with the 2nd Moroccan Rifle Regiment, before transferring to the 13th DBLE prior to the expedition to Norway. He then briefly served on the staff of the commanding general of the French Task force in Norway. In England, in June of 1940, Koenig rejoined the 13th. He was promoted to major, and fought with valor in the campaigns later that year.
In December, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and named as the commander of French Cameroon. In January of 1941, he was made a full colonel, and served in Sudan, Palestine, and Syria as the chief of staff of General Legentilhomme. After the victory in Syria, Koenig was made a brigadier general in July of 1941. He was made commander of the 1st Free French Brigade, and fought with it during its subsequent North African campaigns, in Libya, Halfaya, Mechili, Bir Hakeim, El Alamein, and Tunisia. Following these campaigns, the 1st Free French Brigade was made into a division, with Koenig promoted as a division general.
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On August 1, 1943, Koenig left the 1st Free French Division to take on the position as chief of staff of the Army of Algiers, with the duty of reorganizing the Free French Forces and the North Africa French troops into a coherent whole. In March of 1944, he was named as the provisional delegate for the Government of the French Republic to General Eisenhower. He was named as the commander of French Forces in Great Britain and later as commander of French Forces in France after the D-Day invasion. He was made governor of Paris on August 25, which remained his post until the end of war. After the German surrender, Koenig was named as head of the French Occupation forces in Germany, and was promoted in May of 1946 to an Army General. In 1949, he was posted to North Africa as inspector general of the region, and later was made the vice-president of the War Council of France. He entered politics and in 1951 was a deputee of the Low-Rhine region in the French parliament, and was re-elected in 1956. Koenig was also made president of the Commission of the National Defense of the French national Assembly, which he served as from August of 1951 until June of 1954.
During his political tenure, Koenig as served as an elected official member of the European Consultative Assembly, and as Minister of Defense for a brief two month period in the Mendes cabinet, June to August 1954, and later again in the cabinet of Edgar Faure, in February of 1955. In October, he became a vital supporter of Israeli interests when he was named as chairman of the Franco-Israeli Committee. He was also a member of the Council for General Liberation. Marie Pierre Koenig died on September 2, 1970, at the American Hospital in Neuilly-on-Seine. His funeral was held at the Saint Louis Church of the Invalids. He was buried at the cemetary of Montmartre, in Paris. On June 6, 1984, on the 40th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Koenig was posthumously promoted as a Marshal of France.
Marshal Marie Pierre Koenig received the following awards/decorations in his military service:
Grand Croix de la Legion d'Honneur ・Compagnon de la Libération - decret du 25 juin 1942 ・Medaille Militaire ・Croix de Guerre 14/18 (2 citations) ・Croix de Guerre 39/45 (4 citations) ・Croix de Guerre des TOE (3 citations) ・Medaille de la Résistance avec rosette ・Medaille Coloniale avec agrafes "Maroc", "Sahara", Libye", Bir-Hakeim, "Tunisie 43-43" ・Croix du Combattant ・Medaille de l'Aeronautique ・Commandeur du Merite Agricole ・Medaille des Evadés ・Medaille Interralliée 14/18 ・Medaille Commemorative 14/18 ・Medaille Commemorative 39/45 ・Medaille des Services Volontaires dans la France Libre ・Medaille de la Reconnaissance Francaise ・Distinguished Service Order (GB) ・Compagnon de l'Ordre du Bain (GB) ・Commandeur de la Legion of Merit (USA) ・Medaille d'Or du Congrès (USA) ・Ordre de Souvorov de 1ère classe (URSS) ・Grand Croix Magistrale de l'Ordre de Malte ・Grand Officier de l'Ordre de Léopold (Belgique) ・Croix de Guerre 1940 avec palme (Belgique) ・Grand Croix de la Couronne (Belgique) ・Grand Croix de l'Ordre d'Orange Nassau (Pays-Bas) ・Grand Croix de l'Ordre Royal du Danebrog (Danemark) ・Grand Croix de l'Ordre de Saint Olaf (Norvège) ・Croix de Guerre (Norvège) ・Virtuti Militari (Pologne) ・Medaille de la Résistance avec rosette (Pologne) ・Croix de Guerre (Tchécoslovaquie) ・Ordre du Lion Blanc pour la Victoire (Tchécoslovaquie) ・Grand Croix de l'Ordre de Georges 1er (Grèce) ・Grand Croix de l'Ordre de la Couronne de Chêne (Luxembourg) ・Croix de Guerre (Luxembourg) ・Grand Croix de l'Ordre de Saint Charles (Monaco) ・Grand Croix de l'Ordre de l'Eléphant Blanc (Thaïlande) ・Merite Militaire Chérifien (Maroc) ・Grand Cordon du Ouissam Alaouite (Maroc) ・Grand Cordon du Nichan Iftikar (Tunisie) ・Grand Officier de l'Etoile des Comores