Raoul Salan

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Raoul Salan
10 June 1899 – 3 July 1984
Nickname The Mandarin or Chinese
Place of birth Roquecourbe, France
Place of death Paris, France
Allegiance France
Service/branch French Army
Years of service 1917 - 1959
Rank Général d'Armée
Commands held French Far East Expeditionary Corps
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
First Indochina War
Algerian War
Awards Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor
Other work Leader of the OAS

Raoul Albin Louis Salan (10 June 1899 - 3 July 1984) was an officer in the French Army and the fourth French commanding general during the First Indochina War. Salan was one of four generals who organized the 1961 Algiers Putsch operation and then founded the Organisation de l'armée secrète.

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[edit] Biography

Salan was born in Roquecourbe, Tarn. After the Second World War, he became commander of French forces in Tonkin and signed agreements regarding the disposition of French troops within Vietnam. By 1948, he was commander of all French land forces in East Asia; after the death of Jean de Lattre de Tassigny in 1952, Salan became the commander-in-chief in Indochina. Although he was probably the most experienced officer in Indochina, the new government led up by René Mayer wanted a new policy in Indochina and replaced him in January 1953 with Henri Navarre, who was previously in charge in the intelligence service, not on field operations.

On 16 January 1957, while commander of the 10th military area and interarmy commander in Algiers, Salan was the target of an assassination attempt using a bazooka, resulting in the death of a French major. The attackers were French residents of Algiers who wanted to replace Salan with General René Cogny, whom they saw as a more energetic leader. The group's leader blamed the influence of a group of six prominent French politicians, which included future French Prime Minister Michel Debré (a senator at the time of the incident), as inspiration for the assassination attempt. However, he did not present any evidence to support the claim, and an investigation did not produce any definite answers about their involvement in the attack.

On May 13, 1958 as part of the Résurrection operation, Salan led an insurrection of the French military fighting in Algeria which called for the return to power of Charles De Gaulle. After his successful return to power, Charles De Gaulle appointed him general inspector of the army, forcing him to return to mainland France. After being put in early retirement by Charles De Gaulle, Raoul Salan went to Spain where he met with Ramón Serrano Súñer. He returned to Algeria to organize the putsch on 21 April 1961 with André Zeller, Edmond Jouhaud and Maurice Challe. After the failure of the putsch, he became the chief of OAS under the name Soleil(Sun). He was seconded by Edmond Jouhaud, Soleil-Bis.[1] He was arrested[2] in Algiers and charged with treason[3]

[edit] Prominent Milestones in Salan's Life

From. To Role/Milestone
1941 1943 Head, 2nd Bureau, French West Africa
1943 1944 Head, 2nd Bureau, North Africa
1944 1944 Commanding Officer, 6th Senegalese Regiment
1944 1945 Commanding Officer, Infantry, 9th Colonial Division
1945 1945 General Officer Commanding, 14th Division
1945 1946 General Officer Commanding, French Forces, Tonkin & China
1946 1948 General Officer Commanding, Northern Indochina
1948 1950 Commander-in-Chief, Far East Land Forces
1950 1950 Director, Colonial Forces
1950 1950 Commander-in-Chief, Far East Land Forces
1950 1951 General Officer Commanding, Tonkin Operational Zone
1950 1951 Acting Commissioner, North Vietnam
1951 1951 Assistant High Commissioner, Indochina
1951 1951 Commissioner of South Vietnam
1952 1953 Commander-in-Chief, Indochina
1953 1956 Inspector General for the Defence
1956 1958 General Officer Commander-in-Chief, Algeria
1958 1959 Inspector General for National Defence
1959 1960 Military Governor of Paris
1960 1960 Retired
1961 1961 Led a mutiny in Algeria
1961 1962 Head of the OAS
1962 1962 Condemned to death in absentia as a traitor
1963 1963 Sentenced changed to life imprisonment when arrested
1968 1968 Released

[edit] Decorations

[edit] Bibliography

  • Mémoires Fin d’un empire (4 volumes), Editions Presses de la Cité, 1970-74
    • Le sens d’ un engagement, 1970
    • Le Viêt-minh mon adversaire, 1971
    • Algérie française, 1972
    • L'Algérie de Gaulle et moi, 1974

[edit] External links

Note: the above links are written in French.