Raoul Augereau

Augereau was born in October 1889 in Chavagné, a village in La Crèche.^[1] A teacher like his father, he studied at the Normal School of Parthenay between 1906 and 1909.^[1][2] He later served in the French Army's 114th and 125th Infantry Regiments as part of his mandatory military service. Returning to civilian life, he worked as a professor in Mazières-en-Gâtine.^[1]

At the start of World War I in August 1914, Augereau was commissioned as an Army lieutenant.^[1] On 1 March 1915, he was shot three times during a night patrol in no man's land. One bullet broke his right femur, causing his leg to be shortened by 5 centimetres (2.0 in) and preventing him from further infantry combat. However, he continued service as a fighter pilot, joining the Air Force as a captain.^[1][2]

After the war, Augereau was appointed the flight chief of the Istres Aviation School. He was later appointed commander of a school in Étampes.^[1] Between 1934 and 1938, he was head of military aviation in French Indochina.^[1][2] At the time of World War II, he was the Chief of the General Staff of the Ministry of the Colonies.^[1][2]

At the beginning of the war, Augereau was placed in command of the Air Force during the Battle of Sedan.^[1] He reported to Henri Giraud. Augereau's unit was virtually annihilated in combat against German forces, losing all of its equipment and most of its troops.^[2] He was shot in the forehead and killed in action on 18 May 1940 as he defended the town hall of Le Catelet.^[2][3]