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Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu | |
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 Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu as Charles de Gaulle's representative in Canada, March 1941. | |
| Born | 7 August 1889 (1889-08-07) |
| Died | 7 September 1964(1964-09-07) (aged 75) Brest,France |
| Allegiance |  France Free French Forces |
| Branch |  French Navy Free French Naval Forces |
| Years of service | 1912-1947 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Grand Cross of the Légion d'Honneur Compagnon de la Libération Médaille Militaire Croix de Guerre |
| Native name | Louis de la Trinité, OCD |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1925 |
| Personal details | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu (French pronunciation:[ʒɔʁʒtjɛʁidaʁʒɑ̃ljø]), in religionFather Louis of the Trinity,OCD (7 August 1889 – 7 September 1964), was aDiscalced Carmelitefriar and priest, who was also a diplomat andFrench Navy officer and admiral; he became a major personality of theForces navales françaises libres. He was the chancellor of theOrdre de la Libération.
He was born inBrest on 7 August 1889, in a family of Navy officers. He joined theÉcole navale (Naval Academy) at 17.
D'Argenlieu served on theDu Chayla as a midshipman, taking part in the campaign inMorocco, which led to theTreaty of Fez, in 1912. During the campaign, he was awarded theLegion of Honour, and befriendedHubert Lyautey, something that d'Argenlieu later recalled as one of the happy memories in his life.
During the First World War, d'Argenlieu served in the Mediterranean; in 1915, while on leave in Malta, he became a member of theSecular Order of Discalced Carmelites. He was promoted tolieutenant de vaisseau in 1917. The next year, as commanding officer of a patrol boat, theTourterelle, he distinguished himself in the rescue of a troop transport.
Upon the conclusion of the war, d'Argenlieu undertook theological studies at the Pontifical Angelicum College, the futurePontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas,Angelicum in Rome, which he completed in 1920.[1] That year, he entered thenovitiate of the Discalced Carmelite friars inAvon, Seine-et-Marne.[2] He was given thereligious habit and thereligious nameLouis de la Trinité (Louis of theTrinity) and he made his firstvows on 15 September 1921.
Fr. Louis then studied theology for four years at theCatholic University of Lille. He finished his studies there and wasordained a priest there in 1925. The Discalced Carmelite friars re-established theprovince of Paris in 1932, and Fr. Louis was electedPrior Provincial in 1935.[3]
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In September 1939, d'Argenlieu was mobilised as a reserve Navy officer, rising to the rank ofcapitaine de corvette in 1940. During theBattle of France, d'Argenlieu was captured as he was defending the arsenal ofCherbourg. After three days, he escaped from the prisoner train to Germany and joinedCharles de Gaulle on 30 June.
D'Argenlieu joined theFree French Forces, intending to serve as chaplain, but eventually took on the duties of a fighting naval officer, with a special authorisation of his religious superiors because of the small number of Navy officers in theFree French Naval Forces. He was made chief of staff in July.
He attempted to convince theVichy French governor ofDakar to join De Gaulle and was severely wounded when he was fired upon in his small and unarmed craft on 23 September, during theBattle of Dakar. In November, hedirected successful operations inGabon.[4]
D'Argenlieu was made acapitaine de vaisseau, and chancellor of the newly createdOrdre de la Libération. In 1941, he rose tocounter admiral; he undertook several missions to administer French colonies loyal toFree France.
In 1943, he was made commanding officer for the naval forces in Great Britain On 14 June 1944, he ferried de Gaulle to France aboard the destroyerLa Combattante, and entered Paris with him on 25 August.
After the defeat of Japan, d'Argenlieu arrived inFrench Indochina on 31 October 1945. AsHigh Commissioner of theFrench Far East Expeditionary Corps, his task was to restore the French colonial administration.[5] In 1946, he was promoted tovice-amiral d'escadre, and soon later toadmiral. As High Commissioner in Indochina, he installed a puppetAutonomous Republic of Cochinchina in violation of the March 6Ho–Sainteny agreement whilst theViet Minh leadership was in negotiations in France, effectively beginning theFirst Indochina War.[6]
Starting the war, he ordered the French forces inHaiphong on November 23, 1946, to "Use all the means at your disposal to make yourself complete master of Haiphong", resulting in theHaiphong Massacre, in which about 6,000 Vietnamese civilians were killed.
During the war, his actions grew more and more controversial, and in March 1947, he was replaced byÉmile Bollaert. Back in France, he was made inspector general of the Naval Forces before retiring to a monastery.
In 1958, sick, d'Argenlieu resigned his position of chancellor of theOrdre de la Libération and withdrew to monastery life again. He died on 7 September 1964 in Brest and was buried inAvrechy.
