Henri Giraud

Henri Giraud

Henri Honoré Giraud (18 January 1879 – 11 March 1949) was a French general who was captured in both World Wars, but escaped both times.

After his second escape in 1942, some of the Vichy ministers tried to send him back to Germany and probable execution. But Eisenhower secretly asked him to take command of French troops in North Africa during Operation Torch and direct them to join the Allies. Only after François Darlan's assassination was he able to attain this post, and he took part in the Casablanca Conference with De Gaulle, Churchill and Roosevelt. He decided to take retirement in 1944 after continual disagreements with De Gaulle.

Read more about Henri Giraud:  Early Life, Capture and Escape, Cooperation With The Allies, Army of Africa Leader, Postwar Life

Famous quotes containing the word henri:

    Science is facts. Just as houses are made of stones, so is science made of facts. But a pile of stones is not a house and a collection of facts is not necessarily science.
    —Jules Henri Poincare (1854–1912)