Raoul Salan
Encyclopedia
Raoul Albin Louis Salan (ʁaul salɑ̃; 10 June 1899 - 3 July 1984) was a French Army
general 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.
, 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
. Salan was warned minutes before the attempt by his military Attaché, Michel Houet; (21 March 1926). 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 13 May 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 (under the name Soleil, "sun") the chief of OAS, a terrorist group which attempted to disrupt the April 1962 Peace Evian Accords
. He was seconded by Edmond Jouhaud
, Soleil-Bis, "sun no. 2".
Salan was charged with treason and condemned in absentia
to death. Then, in April 1962, he was arrested in Algiers. The death sentence on him was commuted to life imprisonment. A July 1968 act granted him and others amnesty; a November 1982 law reintegrated the surviving generals into the Army and Salan with seven others benefitted from this law.
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
general and the fourth French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
commanding general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
during the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
. Salan was one of four generals who organized the 1961 Algiers Putsch operation and then founded the Organisation de l'armée secrète.
Biography
Salan was born in RoquecourbeRoquecourbe
Roquecourbe is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France....
, Tarn. After the Second World War, he became commander of French forces in Tonkin
Tonkin
Tonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
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
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny, GCB, MC was a French military hero of World War II and commander in the First Indochina War.-Early life:...
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
René Mayer
René Mayer was a French Radical politician of the Fourth Republic who served briefly as Prime Minister during 1953. He led the Mayer Authority from 1955 to 1958.-Mayer's Ministry, 8 January – 28 June 1953:*René Mayer – President of the Council...
wanted a new policy in Indochina and replaced him in January 1953 with Henri Navarre
Henri Navarre
Henri Eugène Navarre was a French Army general. He fought during World War I, World War II and was the seventh commander of French Far East Expeditionary Corps during the First Indochina War...
, 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
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, Salan was the target of an assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
attempt using a bazooka
Bazooka
Bazooka is the common name for a man-portable recoilless rocket antitank weapon, widely fielded by the U.S. Army. Also referred to as the "Stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was amongst the first-generation of rocket propelled anti-tank weapons used in infantry combat...
, resulting in the death of a French major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. Salan was warned minutes before the attempt by his military Attaché, Michel Houet; (21 March 1926). The attackers were French residents of Algiers who wanted to replace Salan with General René Cogny
René Cogny
René Cogny was a French Général de division, World War II and French Resistance veteran and survivor of Buchenwald and Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camps. He was a commander of the French forces in Tonkin during the First Indochina War, and notably during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu...
, 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
Michel Debré
Michel Jean-Pierre Debré was a French Gaullist politician. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France, and was the first Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic...
(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 13 May 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
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
. After his successful return to power, Charles De Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
appointed him general inspector of the army, forcing him to return to mainland France.
After being put in early retirement by Charles De Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, Raoul Salan went to Spain where he met
with Ramón Serrano Súñer
Ramón Serrano Súñer
Ramón Serrano Súñer , was a Spanish politician during the first stages of General Francisco Franco's dictatorship, the Spanish State, between 1938 and 1942, when he held the posts of President of the Political Junta Política of Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las JONS , and Interior and...
. He returned to Algeria to organize the putsch on 21 April 1961 with André Zeller
André Zeller
André Zeller was a French Army general, one of the four generals who organized the Algiers putsch of 1961...
, Edmond Jouhaud
Edmond Jouhaud
Edmond Jouhaud was one of four French generals who briefly staged a putsch in Algeria in April 1961. As Army General he had been the Inspector General of the Air Force in French North Africa. After the failure of the putsch, he became the deputy of Raoul Salan in the Organisation de l'Armée Secrète...
and Maurice Challe
Maurice Challe
Maurice Challe was a French general during the Algerian War, one of four generals who took part in the Algiers putsch...
. After the failure of the putsch, he became (under the name Soleil, "sun") the chief of OAS, a terrorist group which attempted to disrupt the April 1962 Peace Evian Accords
Évian Accords
The Évian Accords comprise a treaty which was signed in 1962 in Évian-les-Bains, France by France and the F.L.N. . The Accords put an end to the Algerian War with a formal cease-fire proclaimed for March 19, and formalized the idea of cooperative exchange between the two countries...
. He was seconded by Edmond Jouhaud
Edmond Jouhaud
Edmond Jouhaud was one of four French generals who briefly staged a putsch in Algeria in April 1961. As Army General he had been the Inspector General of the Air Force in French North Africa. After the failure of the putsch, he became the deputy of Raoul Salan in the Organisation de l'Armée Secrète...
, Soleil-Bis, "sun no. 2".
Salan was charged with treason and condemned in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
to death. Then, in April 1962, he was arrested in Algiers. The death sentence on him was commuted to life imprisonment. A July 1968 act granted him and others amnesty; a November 1982 law reintegrated the surviving generals into the Army and Salan with seven others benefitted from this law.
Decorations
- Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
- Knight (5 April 1922)
- Officer (21 August 1940)
- Commander (10 February 1945)
- Grand Officer (27 October 1948)
- Grand Cross (28 August 1952)
- Médaille militaireMédaille militaireThe Médaille militaire is a decoration of the French Republic which was first instituted in 1852.-History:The creator of the médaille was the emperor Napoléon III, who may have taken his inspiration in a medal issued by his father, Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland...
(12 July 1958) - Croix de guerre 1914-1918Croix de guerre 1914-1918 (France)The Croix de guerre 1914–1918 is a French military decoration.-Creation:Soon after the outbreak of World War I, French military officials felt that a new military award had to be created...
- Croix de guerre 1939-1945Croix de guerre 1939-1945 (France)The Croix de guerre 1939–1945 is a French military decoration created on September 26, 1939, to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis force at any time during World War II.-Recipients:...
- Croix de guerre des Théatres d'Opérations ExterieuresCroix de guerre des Théatres d'Opérations ExterieuresThe Croix de guerre des théâtres d’opérations extérieures is a French medal rewarded for military service in foreign countries. It is granted to individuals who have received citations for their actions while engaged in military service overseas.-History:...
- Croix de la Valeur MilitaireCroix de la Valeur MilitaireThe Croix de la Valeur Militaire is a military decoration of France that recognizes individual holding a mention in Dispatches earned in theaters of operations which are not subject to the award of the Croix de guerre....
- Médaille Interalliée de la VictoireMédaille Interalliée 1914–1918The Médaille Interalliée 1914–1918, is a French commemorative medal established 20 July 1922. It was awarded to all soldiers who served three months, consecutive or not, between 2 August 1914 and 11 November 1918 in the war zone...
- Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1914–1918Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1914–1918The Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1914–1918 was awarded to soldiers and sailors for service in World War I. It was also awarded to civilians who met certain requirements.-History:...
- Distinguished Service CrossDistinguished Service Cross (United States)The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
(US) - Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) (UK)