Date of birth:

June 11th, 1919 (Ceyzeriat/Ain, France)

Date of death:

August 14th, 2002 (Paris, France)

Nationality:

French (1870-present, Republic)

Henri-Joseph Fenet served during the German invasion of France in 1940 as an "aspirant" (officer candidate) and a platoon leader (3 x 25mm guns) in the 21 Régiment d'Infanterie Colonial (RIC). He was wounded on 13th june 1940 near Mort-Homme (small hill near Verdun in France). After the French capitulation het served in the Vichy army with the 21th RIC in Frejus (Var, south of France). Later he served with the 3rd battalion of the 1st RTS (régiment de tirailleurs sénégalais) in Akjoujt (Mauritania) in Thessalonique, AOF (French occidental Africa). He was admitted to the officer course at the school for infantry of Saint Maixent, which as moved to Aix en Provence in july 1942 and was promoted to Leutenant in November 1942. On 29th november 1942 he was discharged. In March 1943 he entered the 'Milice' as chief of the Ain department and went into the Waffen-SS late in the summer of 1943. He was incorporated as Waffen-Oberscharführer on 18th October 1943. He received his instructions and training at Sennheim and the Junkerschule Bad Töls between 10th January and 14th March 1944. On 20th March 1944 he was promoted to Waffen-Obersturmführer and took 3.Kompanie at Neweklau, Bohemia/Moravia, at the end of May 1944 to form the SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade 8. Traning was undertaken at Networschitz near Beneschau. At the end of December 1944 he commanded the I. / SS-Grenadier-Regiment 57 and was promoted to Waffen-Hauptsturmführer on 18th March 1945. In April 1945 he commanded the SS-Sturmbataillon "Charlemagne".

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Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Aspirant

Unit:

21 Régiment d'Infanterie Colonial

Awarded on:

1940

Received in 1940 with silver star (Divisional level awarding). Presented by Général Bridoux)

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

SS-Obersturmführer

Awarded on:

August 22nd, 1944

Received for a action in Galicia.

Presented on 10th November 1944 at Wildflecken.

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

SS-Obersturmführer

Awarded on:

August 24th, 1944

Received for a wound inflicted in Galicia.

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

SS-Obersturmführer

Unit:

I. / SS-Grenadier-Regiment 57

Awarded on:

March 18th, 1945

Received for breaking the Soviet encirclement in Pomerania.

Presented at Meseritz.
Promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer on the day of his awarding.

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Waffen-Hauptsturmführer

Unit:

Kommandeur Sturm-Bataillon / 33.SS-Freiwillige-Grenadier-Division "Charlemagne"

Awarded on:

April 29th, 1945

Awarded for the outstanding leadership of his French volunteers during the final fighting for Berlin.

Decoration presented by SS-Brigadeführer Mohnke in the Reichs Kanzlerei between 20th and 30th APril 1945. Awarding has been established through rersearch by the Ordensgemeinschaft der Ritterkreuzträger. Of the awarding is no evidence in the Bundesarchiv.

• Photo 1: Willi Schumacher Collection
• - THOMAS, FRANZ & WEGMANN, GÜNTER, Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939-1945, Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf, 2003.
  - Die Ordensträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht (CD), VMD-Verlag GmbH, Osnabrück, 2002
  - Fellgiebel W.P., Elite of the Third Reich, The recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939-1945: A Reference, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull, 2003, ISBN 1-874622-46-9
  - Marcelot P., Ritterkreuzträger der Waffen SS und Polizei, éditions de l'homme libre, 2006, ISBN 2-912104-43-2
  - Schneider J.W., Their Honor was Loyalty!, R. James Bender Publishing, 1977
  - Axis Biographical Research