WWII photo French surrender

[j56bp]

CAN SOME ONE HELP ME FIGURE OUT THE NAME OF THE POEPLE ON THIS PHOTO ?













PLS ADVISE[size=9]

[PapageiStaffel]

Hi,

The picture is blur so I'am going to try to identify these men :
From left to right :
Rear Admiral Maurice R LELUC ( french navy)
General Jean-Marie Joseph BERGERET ( french air force)
Unkown french officier of the army, I can see his rank but it isn't a general.
Army Corps General Georges PARISOT ( not sure)
General Charles L. C HUNTZIGER ( army), chairman of the delegation
Ambassador Léon NOEL ( in civilian clothes)
Unknown german officer.

So long

[j56bp]

thanx very much ....papa

PÉTAIN Henri Philippe or LAVAL Pierre not on the picture ? also the german officer is not some one "'big" ? can you tell his rank ?

you sure the civilian is not german ?

[PapageiStaffel]

Hi,

No, Petain and Laval weren't at Rethondes the 22nd june 1940. By the way, at this date it was yet the third republic in France. Philippe PETAIN was only the "Président du Conseil" ( some kind of prime minister). The President of the french republic was Albert LEBRUN. Pierre LAVAL was just a politician. PETAIN became the chief of the french state ( it's the official term) the 10th july 1940 after the vote of the french assembly and the senate which gave him the full powers. Pierre Laval was his prime minister until december 1940.
For the civilian, he was with the french delegation so I suppose he was french and the only civilian in the french delegation was léon NOEL. Moreover, I guess all the germans wore an uniform ( civilians and military).
For the german officer, sorry but the picture is too blur.

So long.

[AlifRafikKhan]

Who is the French officer in the center? This is the same armistice negotiation...

Source : LIFE

[Matteus]

Alif are you sure that this is the same event?

could be the armistice Day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_day, as there seem to be soviet and polish (and lithuanian?) officers in the picture?

[AlifRafikKhan]

Hi Matteus, LIFE clearly says that this pic was taken on June 22, 1940: http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l? ... 46b0e04c55

[Matteus]

hi Alif,

yes i searched the source before i commented this.
but i do wonder why there is a polish officer behind the soviet officer in the first row (?) - in 1940. correct me if i missed something, please.
i have seen some pics from the surrender ceremony, but never spotted any audience so far. this and the various uniforms in the picture make me think that the description is wrong.

maybe its the armistice day in London, 1939? http://images.google.com/search?sa=4&imgc=&imgsz=&q=armistice+day+1939+source%3Alife&biw=1600&bih=689&sei=kGDATvu7Dcb54QTY-eWSBA&tbm=isch
just wild guessing, though.


here a video from youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_vrkV8Qdq0


kind regards,
Matteus

[AlifRafikKhan]

Now it make sense, Matteus. I don't know if this was taken in armistice day in London, 1939...

[Steen Ammentorp]

Hi,

The photo includes officers of several nations: Soviet, French, British, Dutch, Spanish, Lithuanian & US. So I thought that the picture shows a group military attaché watching a parade or something. Question is were? Life says the photographer is Heinrich Hoffmann and I thought that the British officer in front looks like Noel Mason-MacFarlane, the British military atatché to Germany prior to the War. So I made a search on Mason in the Hoffmann Bildarchiv at the Bavarian State Library and here we are:
http://elektra.bsb-muenchen.de/jsp/fram ... timeout=10
The photo is taken in Berlin on Hitler's birthday on the 20th April 1939.

This means that the French officer most like is Henri-Antoine Didelet, and looking at the photo of Didelet as this page http://ecole-superieure-de-guerre.fr/pr ... aphie/2983 I am convinced that it is him.

[AlifRafikKhan]

Superb research! Thank you Steen!

[Matteus]

here is another picture of this occasion:

source: http://wapedia.mobi/de/F%C3%BChrergeburtstag#5.

youtube has him here (min 6:30) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX8i60xbFac&NR=1