Colonel Dimitri Amilakhvari

Prince Dimitri Zedguinidze-Amilakhvari, more commonly known as Dimitri Amilakhvari (Georgian: დიმიტრი ამილახვარი, French: Dimitri Amilakvari) (October 31, 1906 - September 24, 1942) was a French military officer of Georgian extraction who, as a Lieutenant Colonel of the French Foreign Legion, became a hero of the French Resistance during World War II. He was nicknamed Bazorka after the place he was born. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... In the U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a commissioned officer superior to a major and inferior to a colonel. ... Legionnaire (film) The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion étrangère) is a unique elite unit within the French Army established in 1831. ... The French Resistance is the name used for resistance movements during World War II which fought the German occupation of France and the collaborationist Vichy regime, and was a vital and some say decisive factor in the defeat of Hitler and the Nazi revolution. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Early life and career

Amilakhvari was born in Bazorkino (now Chermen, North Ossetia-Alania, Russian Federation), where his family had moved from their ancestral estate at Gori, Georgia during the Russian Revolution of 1905. The house of Zedguinidze-Amilakhvari had formerly served as hereditary Master of the Horse to the Georgian Crown (Amilakhvari) and retained their princely dingity during the Imperial Russian rule of Georgia. Dimitri's grandfather, Ivane Zedguinidze (1829-1905), was an eminent general in the Russian army. His father, Colonel Giorgi Zedguinidze-Amilakhvari, also served in the Russian military and transferred his loyalty to the short-lived Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918-21. After Soviet Russia occupied Georgia early in 1921, the family fled to Istanbul, Turkey, where Dimitri attended a local British School, and later, in 1922, emigrated to France. Capital Vladikavkaz Area - total - % water Ranked 84th - 8,000 km² - negligible Population - Total - Density Ranked 68th - est. ... Gori Fortress as of 1642, by an Italian missionary Cristoforo di Castelli Statue of Stalin outside the Town Hall, Gori Gori is an industrial city in the Shida Kartli province of Georgia. ... The Russian Revolution of 1905 was an empire-wide struggle of both anti-government and undirected violence. ... The Master of the Horse was (and in some cases, is) a historical position of varying importance in several European nations. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... Anthem: Dideba Zetsit Kurtheuls (Praise Be To The Heavenly Bestower of Blessings) Map of the Democratic Republic of Georgia from November 1918 to May 1920. ... Soviet Russia is sometimes used as a somewhat sloppy synonym to the Soviet Union — although the term Soviet Russia sometimes refers to Bolshevist Russia from the October Revolution in 1917 to 1922 (Although Russian communists officially formed RSFSR in 1918). ... Combatants •  Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic •  Republic of Turkey •  Georgian SSR •  Democratic Republic of Georgia Commanders •  Anatoli Gekker • Mikhail Velikanov • Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze •  Kazım Karabekir • Giorgi Kvinitadze • Giorgi Mazniashvili • Valiko Jugheli Strength ~50,000 (Red Army) ~35,000 Casualties Unknown, dead estimated at 5,500 Soviet soldiers Unknown, dead estimated... Istanbul (Turkish: , Greek: , historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see other names) is Turkeys most populous city, and its cultural and financial center. ...

In 1924, Dimitri Amilakhvari entered the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr and was commissioned as a second lieutenant after his graduation in 1926. At the same time, he was enlisted in the French Foreign Legion and promoted to to lieutenant in 1926. He later served in French North Africa and took part in all important operations in the south of Morocco from 1932 to 1933. From 1934 to 1939, he was Head of the French military school in Agadir, being promoted to captain in 1937. Naturalised a French National , he married Princess Irina, née Dadiani (1904-1944) in August 1927. Cadets parading in dress uniform A cadet in formal uniform The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, Special Military School of St Cyr) is the foremost French military academy. ... Second Lieutenant is the lowest commissioned rank in many armed forces. ... Lieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service or police officer rank. ... Map of the first (light blue) and second (dark blue — plain and hachured) French colonial empires France had colonial possessions, in various forms, from the beginning of the 17th century until the 1960s. ... Panorama of the seaside from the Kasbah Agadir (Arabic: أكادير, Berber (Amazigh): ) is a city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Souss-Massa-Dra region. ... Captain is a nautical term, an organizational title, and a rank in various uniformed organizations. ... Dadiani coat of arms Dadiani (დადიანი in Georgian) was a Georgian family of nobles, and a ruling dynasty of the western Georgian province of Samegrelo. ...

World War II

Amilakhvari served in Algiers before the German occupation of France. Later that year, he served at Narvik in the Norwegian camp. and evacuated to the United Kingdom to join the Free French Forces. After a brief service at Dakar and Cameroun, he fought in the British and Free French campaigns in Eritrea (against Italy) and Syria (against Vichy France) throughout 1941. “Alger” redirects here. ... The military history of France during World War II covers the period from 1939 until 1940, which witnessed French military participation under the Third Republic, and the period from 1940 until 1945, which was marked by colonial struggles between Vichy France and the Free French Forces under Charles de Gaulle... County Nordland District Ofoten Municipality NO-1805 Administrative centre Narvik Mayor (2004) Olav Sigurd Alstad (Ap) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 29 2,023 km² 1,905 km² 0. ... Free French Forces under review during the Battle of Normandy. ... (City of Dakar, divided into 19 communes darrondissement) City proper (commune) Région Dakar Département Dakar Mayor Pape Diop (PDS) (since 2002) Area 82. ... The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central Africa. ... Motto: Travail, famille, patrie (Work, family, country) unoccupied zone of Vichy France (until November 1942) Capital Vichy Language(s) French Religion Roman Catholicism Government Republic President of the Council  - 1940 - 1944 Philippe Pétain Legislature National Assembly Historical era World War II  - Battle of France June 16, 1940  - Battle of...

He fought his last battles during the North African Campaign of 1942. In June, he received a Cross of Liberation. During operations at Bir-Hakeim (January) he wrote: "We, foreigners, have only one way to prove to France our gratitude: to be killed ..." During World War II, the North African Campaign, also known as the Desert War, took place in the North African desert from September 13, 1940 to May 13, 1943. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... The Ordre de la Libération (Order of the Liberation) is a French Order (decoration) awarded to heroes of the Liberation of France during the Second World War. ... Combatants Free French Forces Afrika Korps Commanders Marie Pierre Koenig Erwin Rommel Strength 3703  ? Casualties 140 Dead, 229 Wounded, 814 Captured 3300 Dead and Wounded, 277 Captured The Battle of Bir Hakeim (May 26, 1942 - June 11, 1942) is a World War II battle following the Afrika Korps 1942 campaign. ...

He was killed in action on the second day of the Second Battle of El Alamein. In 1955 Amilakhvari was posthumously awarded the highest order of France Legion of Honour (Legion d'Honneur). General Charles De Gaulle named him and his legionaries the "honour of France" for their heroic defence of the Allies' positions. In 1942 he was also awarded the Norwegian War Cross. Temporary grave of an American machine-gunner during the Battle of Normandy. ... For the Battle of Alam Halfa, which is also often termed the Second Battle of El Alamein, see Battle of Alam Halfa Combatants British Eighth Army Panzer Army Africa Commanders Bernard Montgomery Erwin Rommel Strength 220,000 men 1,100 tanks[1] 116,000 men[1] 559 tanks(220 panzers... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A posthumous recognition is a ceremonial award given after the recipient has passed away. ... French Legion of Honor The Légion dhonneur (in Legion of Honor (AmE) or Legion of Honour (ComE)) is an Order of Chivalry awarded by the President of France. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... The War Cross No. ...

External links

• (French) Entry on ordredelaliberation.fr

Literature

• Rayer G., L'Homme qui a étonné la Légion- Paris Match, 1956 18 fevr., N 358, p. 77-82 (in French)
• I. Tabagua and E. Menabde. He fought for the liberation.- Molodyoj Gruzii, Tbilisi, March 10, 1970 (in Russian)
• G. Zhordania. Amilakhvari Dimitri.- The Encyclopedia Sakartvelo, vol. I, Tbilisi, 1997, p. 129 (in Georgian)
• L. Urushadze. Europe and the Georgian Political Emigration, Publishing House Ena da Kultura, Tbilisi, 2005, (in Georgian, English summary)