Gustave Mesny

Gustave Marie Maurice Mesny (28 March 1886 – 19 January 1945) was a French Army general in command of the 5th North African Infantry Division who was captured during the Second World War. Mesny was unlawfully executed in retribution for the death of German general Fritz von Brodowski.

Gustave Marie Maurice Mesny
Born28 March 1886
Le Puy-en-Velay, France
Died19 January 1945(1945-01-19) (aged 58)
near Nossen, Nazi Germany
Allegiance France
RankDivisional general (Major General)
Commands held5th North African Infantry Division
Battles/warsSecond World War  

Biography

Mesny was a member of the military command of the eleventh region until 1939, then in 1940 he commanded the 5th North African Infantry Division. His unit was surrounded in the Siege of Lille (1940) and he fought with the group of General Jean-Baptiste Molinié until 31 May 1940 at Haubourdin. Mesny was taken prisoner and interned in the Königstein Fortress. Mesny was involved in the escape of General Henri Giraud in 1942.

On 28 October 1944, the German general Fritz von Brodowski was shot and killed under suspicious circumstances after he was taken prisoner by the French. On 8 and 9 November, Swiss and British media announced that the Wehrmacht general who, according to the same journalists had participated in the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre, was shot. The German High Command concluded, without due process, that the general died in revenge for Oradour. In return the command asked Adolf Hitler to avenge the death of Brodowski.

Hitler ordered Wilhelm Keitel to send a list of French generals imprisoned at Königstein. General de Boisse was then chosen by Hitler to be executed in retribution. The case then fell to three jurisdictions: the RSHA, the Foreign Office, and the chief of the Kriegsgefangenwesen (KGW, administration of prisoners of war). Details were planned by the chief of staff Gottlob Berger and Colonel Friedrich Meurer, inspector general assigned to prisoners of war. With the large number of authorities involved no longer ensuring the secrecy surrounding the execution of General de Boisse, Meurer arbitrarily chose Mesny.

The execution was carried out on 19 January 1945 by two members of the SS. For the occasion they wore Wehrmacht uniforms. Mesny and other generals were officially transferred to Oflag IV-C in Colditz Castle. During the transfer, a fictitious car crash separated Mesny from the rest of the group. Mesny was then shot in the neck with a bullet near Nossen.[1][2]

Promotions
Mesny's Ranks
Date Rank
25 December 1937 Colonel
1 June 1940 Temporary Brigadier-General
1 September 1940 Reverted to Colonel
20 May 1941 Conditional Brigadier-General
10 August 1944 Brigadier-General (Dated back to 20 May 1941)
10 August 1944 Major-General (Dated back to 20 November 1942)

References
  1. Murder by Government, Robert M. W. Kempner https://www.jstor.org/pss/1138297
  2. This article incorporates information from the corresponding article in the French Wikipedia
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