Jump to content

Jean-Baptiste Molinié

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jean-Baptiste Molinié
Born(1880-09-21)21 September 1880
Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France
Died13 January 1971(1971-01-13) (aged 90)
5th arrondissement of Paris
Military career
Rank
Général de division
Commands
Conflicts
Siege of Lille.
AwardsLégion d'honneur (Grand-Officier)

Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Molinié, (21 September 1880 – 13 January 1971) was general in the French Army who commanded the 25th Motorized Division and the Groupement Molinié [fr] during the Siege of Lille in May 1940.

Biography

[edit]

Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Molinié was born on 21 September 1880 in Bayonne.[1] He is the son of Jean Baptiste Camille Molinié and of Maria Refugio Alexandria de la Puente[2]

He entered Saint-Cyr in 1900, in the promotion Tchad and graduated in 1902,[3] he was assigned as a Sub-lieutenant of infantry in the 107th Infantry Regiment.[2][4]

On 24 March 1906 he married Marie Léonie Joséphine Marthe Léglise[2].

He participated in World War I and was cited four times[2].

He is promoted to Brigadier general on 28 May 1936[5] and then to Divisional general on 9 September 1939.[6] On 2 September 1939 he was given command of the 25th Motorized Division, part of the 7th Army under general Giraud.

On 25 May 1940, during the Battle of France his division ended stuck in the Lille pocket along with other units retreating. As the most senior Officer in Lille, he took command of the defence of the city along with 3 Brigadier generals : Alphonse Juin, Pierre Dame [fr] and Léon Jenoudet [fr].

The three pockets of resistance regroup 35,000 to 40,000 soldiers. During the night of 27-28 May they tried to escape the city, it ended in a bloodbath in which they lose much of their ammunition. By 31 May they could no longer resist and Molinié accepted a proposition of general Waeger to surrender with honour and the ceasefire started at 5pm. On 1 June the Germans paid honours to the defenders who laid down their arms in front of the railway station. Molinié becomes a POW in the Königstein Fortress.

In 1956 he wrote a study for National Defence named : La 25e Division motorisée dans la bataille de France.

General Molinié died on 13 January 1971 in the 5th arrondissement of Paris.

Distinctions

[edit]

Legion of Honour

[edit]
Ribbon bar class Date Source
Grand Officer 17 January 1952 [2]
Commander 22 November 1940 [2]
Officer 24 December 1931 [2]
Knight 28 December 1918 [2]

Decorations

[edit]
Ribbon bar Name Source
War Cross 1914–1918 – 4 citations [2]
War Cross 1939–1945 – 2 citations
War Cross 1914–1918 (Belgium) [2]

Military ranks

[edit]
Sub-Lieutenant Lieutenant Captain Battalion chief
1 October 1902[2] 1 October 1904[2] 4 August 1914[2] 25 June 1919[2][a]
Lieutenant colonel Colonel Brigade general Division general
25 September 1928[7] 25 March 1933[8] 28 May 1936[5] 9 September 1939[6]

Notes and references

[edit]
  1. ↑ He already was acting battalion chief since 24 March 1918
  1. ↑ birth certificate (with date and place of death), Archives Bayonne p. 600/777
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "N° de Notice : c-244095". Base Léonore. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  3. ↑ Boÿ, Jean (7 February 2011). "Historique de la 85e promotion de l'Ecole spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (1900-1902), promotion du Tchad" (PDF). saint-cyr.org. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "PROMOTIONS ET NOMINATIONS". Journal officiel de la République française (in French): 6442. 28 September 1902.
  5. 1 2 "ETAT-MAJOR GENERAL DE L'ARMEE". Journal officiel de la République française (in French): 5700. 30 May 1936.
  6. 1 2 "ETAT-MAJOR GENERAL DE L'ARMEE". Journal officiel de la République française (in French): 11291. 10 September 1939.
  7. ↑ "INFANTERIE". Journal officiel de la République française (in French): 10504. 25 September 1928.
  8. ↑ "INFANTERIE". Journal officiel de la République française (in French): 2982. 25 March 1933.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jean-Baptiste_Molinié&oldid=1368010149"