User:Sturmvogel 66/Sandbox/Henri Bléhaut

Henri Bléhaut (22 November 1889 – 8 December 1962) was a French naval officer who served in the First and Second World Wars.

Naval career

 * 1908: Entry to the École Navale (Naval School)
 * 1914: Assigned to the torpedo boat FRENCH TORPEDO BOAT Commander-Rivière, he participated with this building in operations against the Austro-Hungarian fleet in the Adriatic, in particular in the evacuation of the Serbian Army. His composure during a night fight on December 22, 1916 earned him a mention in dispatches.
 * 1918 - 1927: Commander of submarines (FRENCH SUBMARINE Cigogne, FRENCH SUBMARINE Clorinde, FRENCH SUBMARINE Joessel, FRENCH SUBMARINE Requin)
 * 1927: Returns to surface ships (destroyer FRENCH DESTROYER Panthère, light cruiser FRENCH CRUISER Lamotte-Picquet)
 * May 1929: Commander of the 11th torpedo boat division in the Mediterranean on the destroyer FRENCH DESTROYER L'Alcyon and reveals himself as " an exceptionally talented officer and a brilliant maneuver"
 * 1932 - 1934: Chief of Staff of the Far Eastern Naval Forces on the light cruiser FRENCH CRUISER Primauguet
 * 1936 - 1938: Commander of the destroyer FRENCH DESTROYER Maillé Brézé and a squadron of destroyers
 * 1938: Chief of Staff of the Maritime Prefecture of Toulon
 * 1939 - 1941: Chief of Staff of the Mediterranean Fleet and then of the Maritime Forces of the South
 * 1940: Promoted Rear Admiral
 * 1941 - 1942: Commander of the 3rd division of cruisers on the Marseillaise, in Toulon. On 13 November 1942, when the Allies had just landed in North Africa, he tried in vain to convince Admiral de Laborde, commander-in-chief of the high seas forces, to have the Fleet set sail for Africa. At the dawn of 27 November 1942, when the German forces arrived in the Toulon, he ordered his cruisers to scuttle themselves.

Political career
In 1943, asked to take over the Secretary of State for the Navy and the Colonies, he hesitated. But faced with fears of seeing this ministry fall into pro-German hands, he finally made the decision to accept. From then on, “he never ceased to fight every moment against the German and Italian armistice commissions, to sabotage in the arsenals all work on behalf of the enemy and to preserve the personnel of the Navy and the Colonies everything sent to Germany. Thanks to him, Naval Security worked on intelligence on behalf of the Allies and the navy's infrastructure was relatively preserved".

Arrested in Vichy on August 20, 1944 at the same time as Marshal Pétain by the head of the Gestapo in Vichy and the German Feldgendarmerie, he was forcibly taken to Sigmaringen, Germany. The new French authorities dismissed him from the cadre of the Navy in September 1944. Admiral Bléhaut was part of the small suite that accompanies Marshal Pétain when the latter is evacuated by the Germans from Sigmaringen at the end of April 1945 before the advance of the Allies. After a passage through Switzerland, the marshal and his suite are prisoners at the border post of Vallorbe a few days later. Admiral Bléhaut was then imprisoned in Fresnes Prison, in the Paris suburbs.

Released provisionally in March 1946, he decided not to appear before the High Court of Justice and took refuge in Switzerland. Convicted of crimes against national security and national indignity by the High Court of Justice, he was sentenced in absentia to ten years in prison and to national degradation for life. Returning voluntarily to France in 1955, he appeared before the Justice and was immediately acquitted by the High Court of Justice, on March 18, 1955. The decree revoking it was canceled by the Council of State in May 1956.

In 1946, Lieutenant-Commander André Storelli, decorated with the Resistance medal and later to be admiral and chief of the naval staff (1970 - 1972), gave testimony on the actions of Admiral Bléhaut:

"'First of all, I admire, admiral, that you have the right to the gratitude of the Resistance, just like us who, for having carried out your orders, have seen our efforts officially rewarded. [...] All those who knew you and had the honor to serve under your orders, in the difficult circumstances where you were their leader, know that your action was solely inspired by the concern to defend, in your sphere of command, what was left of our maritime heritage. None of them had to be ashamed of their actions by following your orders. [...] You gave them [these officers] directives and advice, either verbally or through your staff, in order to fight in all fields against the occupier. It is with your whole agreement that the Navy spontaneously and very largely made available to the resistance the means at its disposal. [...] I can assure you that you have done the maximum. [...] In addition, many adversaries, particularly suspicious of sailors, surrounded us, and it was obvious that a more direct action would have immediately exposed you, resulting in the immediate control of the enemy over the means valuable and effective that you still have.'"

Decorations

 * Legion of honor: Knight (June 16, 1920), Officer (December 21, 1931), Commander (November 7, 1942) [ 7 ]
 * War Cross 1914-1918 (1 citation)
 * Military value - Silver ( Drapeau de l'Italie Italy )
 * Savior's Order - Officer ( Drapeau de la Grèce Greece )
 * Romanian Star - Officer ( Drapeau de la Roumanie Romania )
 * Order of the Rising Sun - 4th class ( Drapeau du Japon Japan )
 * Order of Leopold - Commander ( Drapeau de la Belgique Belgium )