Henri Honoré Giraud

Henri Honoré Giraud (1879-1949), French general, born in Paris, and educated at the military school of Saint-Cyr. While serving in World War I (1914-1918), he was captured by the Germans but escaped after a short imprisonment. He fought against the Riff in Morocco in the campaign from 1925 to 1926. In the spring of 1940, during World War II, Giraud commanded Allied defenses in northern France, and after the fall of Sedan he was again captured by the Germans. He escaped from Germany to unoccupied France in April 1942 and made his way to Algeria the following November, after the Allies had invaded North Africa. Upon the assassination of Admiral Jean Darlan in December 1942, Giraud was appointed high commissioner of French North and West Africa. In June 1943, he became copresident of the French Committee of National Liberation with General Charles de Gaulle, and in July was named commander in chief of all French forces. Tensions quickly mounted with de Gaulle and Giraud sharing the presidency. However, de Gaulle and his supporters dominated the committee, and in November they succeeded in pressuring Giraud to resign. In April 1944 he relinquished his military command. In 1946, after the liberation of France, Giraud served briefly as a deputy in the second Provisional Assembly.