Augustin Trébuchon
Augustin-Joseph Victorin Trébuchon (born May 30, 1878 in Le Malzieu-Forain , Lozère , † November 11, 1918 in Vrigne-Meuse , Ardennes ) was the last French soldier to die in the First World War . He died at 10:45 a.m. - 15 minutes before the armistice went into effect.
Life
Augustin Trébuchon worked as a shepherd before the war began and joined the army on August 4, 1914. Trébuchon served as messengers used in the 415th Infantry Regiment. He was halfway between Sedan and Charleville in Vrigne-sur-Meuse, where the 163rd Infantry Division under the command of General Henri Gouraud carried out an attack on the German troops. Marshal Foch had urged this attack because he wanted to increase the pressure on the Germans who, in his opinion, were too hesitant in the negotiations in Compiègne .
A total of 91 French soldiers were killed in this attack; the last of them was Augustin Trebuchon. The date of his death was backdated by the military authorities (as with the other French victims of November 11, 1918) to November 10, because it seemed inconceivable that a soldier had died for France on the very day of victory.
Augustin Trébuchon was buried in the municipal cemetery in Vrigne-sur-Meuse.
Web links
- Augustin Trébuchon in the database of Find a Grave (English)
- Pascal Remy, En mémoire d'Augustin Trébuchon , in: l 'Union - L'Ardennais, November 8, 2008, available online here.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jean-Dominique Merchet: November 11, 1918: Vrigne-Meuse, la bataille de trop. In: Secret Défense Blog from Liberation.fr. November 11, 2008, accessed November 18, 2014 (French).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Trébuchon, Augustin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Trébuchon, Augustin-Joseph Victorin (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | last French soldier killed in World War I. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 30, 1878 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Le Malzieu-Forain , Lozère |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 11, 1918 |
| Place of death | Vrigne-sur-Meuse , Ardennes |