Georges Henri Journois (13 November 1896 – 26 September 1944) was a French resistance fighter and Brigadier General who died in a subcamp of the Neuengamme concentration camp in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
Early life Journois was born on 13 November 1896 to Pierre Hyppolite Journois (4 March 1858 – 7 January 1935) and Henriette Grillière (7 February 1858 – 27 June 1906). Journois had a sister Georgette and a brother Roger, fraternal twins born on 21 April 1903. Roger died in infancy in December 1904.
Journois lived in the commune of Bosc-Bordel in the Normandy region of France, and went to elementary school there until he and his family moved to the commune of Buchy in northern France in 1906. On 27 June of that year, Journois's mother died; his father remarried on 6 October 1908 to Anne Marie Grebeauval.
Following the move, Journois went to elementary school in Buchy. Later, he was sent to boarding school at Armentières in northern France. He was an excellent student and was accepted at the School of Arts and Crafts in Armentières where he hoped to become an engineer.
Military career
World War I
When World War I began in 1914, Journois was too young to be enlisted and stayed in school. One year later, on 13 April 1915, he was called up and enlisted into the 3rd Engineers Regiment. He was then transferred to the 101st Infantry Regiment on 29 May 1915 and was sent on the same day to the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (St. Cyr Special Military School) to become an officer. He stayed there until 1 September 1915 and was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer. He was assigned to the 103rd Infantry Regiment on 2 October 1915 and, a few days later on 7 October, to the 130th Infantry.
He was deployed to the front on 5 December 1915. He fought with the 9th Battalion of the 130th Infantry until 25 March 1916, when he was transferred to the 412th Infantry. In April, his battalion was in Champagne at the Boyaux camp. He was temporarily promoted to the rank of second lieutenant on 29 June 1916. He was awarded his first Order of the Army Corps on 3 July 1916, making him a recipient of the Croix de guerre with bronze star.
He stayed in the Verdun area until May 1917, when he was lightly wounded in the face. His battalion took a position in Helly Ravine, close to the village of Fleury, at Caurrières Wood. In the trenches at Caurrières Wood, he was briefly taken prisoner of war. This action gave him his second Order of the Army Corps on 29 July 1917, the Croix de guerre with palm. On 6 July 1917, he was promoted to second lieutenant.
During July 1917 he saw action at Fort Vaux at Fort Souville, in the Caillete ravines, and in Bazil. At the end of the July and in the August he took part in the attack retaking Vaucouleurs, which got him back his War Cross with palm. In the September he fought at Andernay.
In January 1918, the 412th Infantry broke through Domrémy-La-Pucelle. In the February and March, he was in the Nomény sector. In May, he was in the area of Croix-en-Ternois, Pas-de-Calais. In the June and July, he was in the Verzy area (Aisne) where he was wounded in the leg. He was promoted to lieutenant on 16 June 1918, and in July 1918 received his third medal: a Divisional Order of 27 July 1918 awarded him a Croix de guerre (Silver Star).
On 3 August 1918 he obtained his fourth citation, the Order of the Army Corps (Bronze Star).
In August and September 1918, he was treated at the hospital at Argentan, Orne.
On his return to his regiment in October 1918, he participated in an attack that earned him another medal, the Order the Army Corps (Red Star) on 3 December 1918. After the Armistice, the Colonel commanding the 412th Infantry was to award him a sixth citation, the Order of the Regiment (Bronze Star), dated 27 February 1919.
Cilician campaign After the German surrender, Journois chose to stay in the army and continued his service in the 412th Infantry. He remained in the Laon area (Aisne) until May 1919 before removing to Sorgues (Vaucluse) to prepare for his departure to the Levant, because after the war a national resistance movement against the Allies had developed in the Ottoman Empire.
During the war Turkey had been allied with Germany. The Paris Peace Conference sought to apply the principles of self-determination to the Arab and Armenian minorities, which endorsed the division of the empire between France, Italy, and Greece. Even though the Sultan had accepted the Allies' propositions, the arrival of 20,000 Greek soldiers was enough to ignite Turkish opinion in a desire for revenge and to rally many supporters of the national movement of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The military uprising began on 5 August 1919.
Under the orders of General Gourand, French troops were sent to the Levant to relieve the British troops in Syria and Cilicia.
A company from this regiment, under Commander Mesnil, was designated to take up a position in Pozanti. Journois, Mesnil's Assistant Officer, took part in this. He took part in preparing the support base to resist assaults and repel Turkish attacks. He took part in defense and in counterattacks. He suffered a siege, the French reinforcements having never arrived, and decided to return to the French battle lines. He participated in the night march to avoid the Turkish forces and fell with what was left of the battalion in an ambush; everyone became Turkish prisoners. He was held captive for a year and four months, from 30 May 1920 to 25 September 1921.
During this captivity, on 6 June 1920, he was named Knight of the Legion of Honor and upon his release, on 24 October 1921 he was inducted into the Order of the Army of Levant and received the War Cross in Foreign Operations, with palm.
War of the Rif On his return to France at the end of the campaign, he took leave and then was assigned to the 23rd Algerian Infantry Regiment ("Skirmishers") in occupied Germany at Wiesbaden. He served from 26 April 1922 to 28 April 1924. He was first assigned to a company and then became deputy chief officer of the battalion. In 1923, he was employed for company and platoon level instruction of junior ranks. He also served as a mathematics teacher for candidates at the National School for Active Servicemen in Saint-Maixent. On 28 April 1924, he was seconded to Versailles to take technical courses in reception and transmission . He joined his unit on 23 July 1924 and remained in Germany with the 23rd Algerians until 9 August 1925, when he posted back to make transmissions with the Army of the Rhine.
His regiment was assigned to serve in Morocco, where he landed on 13 August 1925. He was posted on 23 August at the Moroccan state headquarters of the 3rd Marching Brigade until 3 March 1926 and took part in all operations. During the September and October he took part in all operations of the brigade (Bab Mezraoua, Sof Azeroual, Messaoud...) These operations earned him a Brigade citation on 15 February 1926 and so the War Cross with Bronze Star.
On 5 March 1926 he returned to France on duty leave and was made available to the General Commander of the Overseas Territories. On 22 June 1926, he was again ready to make another trip to Morocco. He was assigned to the 15th Regiment of Algerian Rifles and was in the ranks on 23 June 1926. He was posted on 26 June at the Group General Staff HQ in Fes. He served as an officer of the 4th Office. In August, he was promoted to as an honorary captain. He performed many tasks to link on the front north and operations of the task of Taza. These acts earned him a citation to the order of the Army Corps with a star on the Vermeil Croix de Guerre des TOE dated 14 November 1926. He also received the Colonial Medal with vermeil clip "Morocco 1925 – 1926".
Back in France
In 1927 he was seconded by the chief of staff as chief officer in charge of communications, then made responsible for instructing No 1 European Company and Platoon. At the end of June, he was seconded as an officer on an order from General Pétin (no link with Maréchal Pétain). On resuming his service, he prepared for the entrance examinations of the School of War. He remained with Pétain until June 1928. He was promoted to captain on 26 March 1928. He left Morocco and at the end of his leave, he was posted to 152nd Infantry Regiment at Colmar on 9 November 1928. He took command of the 9th Company and served until 31 October 1930. During this time, he attained entrance to the School of War. During his stay in Colmar in the 152nd Infantry, one of his companions (and future brother-in-law) got him permission to spend time at Bonnal, Doubs, a small village where he met his future wife.
He was admitted to the Ecole de Guerre (School of War) in Paris on 1 November 1930. His studies and subsequent coursework over two years at the School of War were noted to be brilliant. He was the first in his class on 31 October 1932.
He was married at Besançon on 8 April 1931, and on 14 February 1932, his first son, Jean Claude, was born in Paris.
He was assigned an internship at the General Staff of the 7th Military Region in Besançon where it was announced by the Superior School of War as a matter of choice. As an intern, he went through all the offices of the General Staff where he fulfilled all his duties satisfactorily. At the end of the probationary period, he remained assigned to the staff of the 7th Military Region and in mid-August 1934 he was posted to the 3rd Office. He served in 1935 and 1936, dealing with issues of "coverage" and the preparation of maneuvers to be performed by the divisions of the corps.
Meanwhile, his second son Jacques was born in Besançon on 27 December 1933 and on 8 July 1936 his third son Pierre was born.
He left the General Staff of the 7th military region and on 1 November 1936 was assigned to the 60th Infantry Regiment to complete his commission. He commanded CA2, machine-gunners which he pulled into a remarkable team. He relinquished command of the 60th Infantry on 16 April 1937 and was entered in the competition to be named an officer of the Légion d'Honneur.
On 16 April 1937 he was assigned the command of 5th Battalion of Foot-Soldiers in Heather, Vosges with a mission to rebuild it into a combat unit. He was able to do this in a few months in spite of difficulties due to the dispersion of its various companies and an inadequate barracks.
He was promoted to the grade of chief of the battalion (commander) on 25 June 1937 and named officer of the Légion d'Honneur on 2 December 1937.
His battalion was fully consolidated in Bruyères by mid-1937. In 1938 and 1939, he had got the unit all fighting fit and in the mobilization of September 1939 as a unit ready to fulfill its mission in an armored unit.
The Battle of France
After the declaration of war, Journois was not to command his battalion in battle to his regret and sorrow. In view of his value and his moments of brilliance, he was posted on 2 October 1939 at the Supreme Headquarters of the territory of operations in the north-east at 310th Office.
On 28 January 1940, he was assigned to the General Staff of the Commander in Chief on the front north-east, 3rd Office. During the active phase of operations, he was particularly distinguished by missions to the IX Army in Belgium (Corapi Army) and the II Army (General Huntziger) during the Battle of the Bulge. He received the Order of the Army (Croix de Guerre with palm 39/45).
Falling back, the Supreme Headquarters moved south. Commander Journois was in Vichy on 16 June, at Montauban on the 21st, at Montélimar on the 25th, at Capvern on the 26th and in Bordeaux the same day.