Henri Giraud, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Henri Giraud

French general and politician (1879-1949)

Date of Birth: 18-Jan-1879

Place of Birth: Paris, Île-de-France, France

Date of Death: 11-Mar-1949

Profession: military personnel, politician, military officer, French Resistance fighter

Nationality: France

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Henri Honoré Giraud (18 January 1879 – 11 March 1949) was a French general and a leader of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. Born to an Alsatian family in Paris, Giraud graduated from the Saint-Cyr military academy and served in French North Africa.
He was wounded and captured by the Germans during the First World War, but managed to escape from his prisoner-of-war camp.
During the interwar period, Giraud returned to North Africa and fought in the Rif War, for which he was awarded the Légion d'honneur. Early in the Second World War, Giraud fought in the Netherlands.
In May 1940, he was again captured by the Germans and was taken to a prison near Dresden, but made another successful escape from captivity in April 1942 after two years of careful planning.
From within Vichy France he worked with the Allies in secret, and assumed command of French troops in North Africa after Operation Torch (November 1942) following the assassination of François Darlan.
In January 1943, he took part in the Casablanca Conference along with Charles de Gaulle, Winston Churchill and Franklin D.
Roosevelt.
Later in the same year, Giraud and de Gaulle became co-presidents of the French Committee of National Liberation, but their continual disagreements forced his retirement in 1944. After the war, Giraud was elected to the Constituent Assembly of the French Fourth Republic.
He died in Dijon in 1949.