Charles Delestraint

Charles Delestraint (also called Vidal) (March 12, 1879 — April 19, 1945) was a French general, hero of the French Resistance and the first commander of the Armée secrète during World War II. He was a Companion of the Liberation. Delestraint was killed by the Gestapo in 1945.

Early life Delestraint was born in Biache-Saint-Vaast, Pas-de-Calais, France. He entered the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in 1897 and later joined the 16th Battalion of the chausseurs à pied in the French Armée de terre (France).

Interwar Period After the war he remained in the army where he was a proponent for the use of armoured forces. Regularly promoted from 1918 to 1936 to the rank of colonel, he commanded the 3rd Tank Brigade at Quartier Lizé in Montigny-lès-Metz and counted Lieutenant-Colonel Charles de Gaulle (then Colonel de Gaulle commanding the 507th Tank Regiment) among his subordinates. Both men inherited from General Jean-Baptiste Eugène Estienne the same innovative vision of the use of armored vehicles in modern strategy. In 1936, Delestraint made brigadier general (général de brigade). In March 1939, he was transferred to the reserve.

Honours

Commander of the Légion d'honneur Companion of the Liberation Croix de guerre 1914–1918 with palm Croix de guerre 1939–1945 Croix de Guerre from Belgium