Date of birth:

January 25th, 1922 (Saint-Malo, France)

Date of death:

January 24th, 1970 (Saint-Malo, France)

Nationality:

French (1870-present, Republic)

He was 18 when he heard General de Gaulle's appeal. He immediately decides to join England by escaping from France.

He contracted in London, on July 1, 1940, an engagement for the duration of the war in the Free French Forces.

Very quickly, his training completed, Henri Cotteret was appointed corporal in March 1941.

Promoted to sergeant in June 1941, he was sent to Cameroon, to the 1st Tirailleurs Regiment of Cameroon. At the beginning of 1942, the 3rd Battalion of the 1st RTC became the March Battalion n ° 5 (BM 5), in formation under the orders of Commander Gardet. Henri Cotteret was assigned to the 1st company in February 1942.

In March 1942, BM 5 left the AEF for Syria where it was attached to the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Free French Division.

In October 1942, Henri Cotteret took part in the Egyptian campaign (El-Alamein) then in the operations of Tunisia in May 1943, in particular in the battle of Takrouna.

He fought in Italy from April 1944. On May 24, he came to the aid of a battalion commander wounded in the front line and brought him back despite the mortar fire. On June 12, in the region of Bagno Reggio, he strongly contributed, despite a violent enemy fire, to reduce an enemy position.

He landed in Provence at Cavalaire on August 16, 1944 and took part in the capture of Toulon and Hyères. In the fall of 1944, he fought in the Vosges where he distinguished himself by the capture of many prisoners.

Staff Sergeant Cotteret took part in the fighting in Belfort and then in Alsace before ending the war, in April-May 1945, in the Alps, in the Authion massif, where he carried out daring patrols in difficult and heavily mined sectors. .

Demobilized on June 30, 1945, Henri Cotteret returned to Saint-Malo where, initially at the head of a small business, he launched himself, a few years later, in a plastic boat business, which he practically ran until 'when he died.

His older brother Marcel is also a big name in the resistance, he was executed by the Germans at Mont Valérien on December 2, 1943. His other brother fought all the war within the Free French Naval Forces (FNFL).

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• - Henri COTTERET | L'Ordre de la Libération et son Musée