Eight Second Lieutenants from the EMIA (Inter-Services Military School) decided, during their leave, to retrace the journey of their class patron, General Paul Girot de Langlade, traveling from Royan to Berchtesgaden.
The first leg of their journey thus brought them to La Martinerie, where the General had spent the first night of his own epic trek.
Acting on the advice of the Director of the Saint Michel School, who was hosting them, they stopped to visit the Departmental House of Military Memory (la Maison départementale de la mémoire militaire). There, they were welcomed by Captain Jean Eurin (Deputy to the DMD 36), Brother Jean Remy of the Saint Michel School, and the President of “Les Amis de La Martinerie”.
A brief historical refresher:
In March 1945, while the 2nd Armored Division (2nd DB) was in a period of rest, primarily within the Indre department, a detachment from the division joined General d’Anselme’s "Gironde" March Division to participate in Operation "Vénérable," an offensive aimed at liberating the Royan Pocket.
This detachment of the 2nd DB was placed under the command of General Girot de Langlade.
With the fighting all but concluded, General Leclerc summoned General Girot de Langlade to inform him that the 2nd DB was departing for Germany. In the span of five days, from April 23, the date of departure for the units stationed around Royan, to April 27, when the units first took up positions in the heart of the Swabia region (southern Germany), the 2nd Armored Division was poised to reach its objective: the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s residence, which it entered on May 4, 1945.
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Photo credit: Jean-Jacques Bérenguier – X
