Colonel Roux

Colonel RouxColonel Roux was the commander of the 4th R.T.T. in 1943 and 1944. Born in Saint-Firmin-en-Valgodemar (Hautes-Alpes) in 1891, he was familiar with mountainous terrain.

He did his military service in the 17th Infantry Regiment at Gap in 1912 and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1913. A reserve Sergeant in 1914, he ended the First World War with the rank of Captain and six citations. He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour.

He was posted to the 140th Infantry Regiment in Grenoble in 1919, joined the Foreign Legion in Morocco in 1920, then the 136th Infantry Regiment stationed in Germany in 1922. He was admitted to the Ecole Supérieure de Guerre [an elite Military Academy] in 1926. He was promoted to Colonel in 1942 and received the command of the 16th R.T.T. in Algeria. He took command of the 4th R.T.T. on 9 May 1943.

He was killed on 27 January 1944, the 3rd day of the fighting at Belvedere, while trying to escape after being ambushed and taken prisoner.

His death symbolised the sacrifice of the 4th R.T.T. where troops as well as officers did not answer the roll call when the fighting was over.

He was buried on 30 January 1944 in the Venafro cemetery. His body was repatriated on 21 July 1948 and the burial took place in the municipal cemetery in the presence of the local Gapençais population. Like the other officers and soldiers killed in the fighting, his name has slipped little by little from people’s minds with the passage of time.

However, the oldest street in Gap bears his name. Colonel Roux also appears alongside General Guillaume as one of the key figures of the town in the local museum.

The officer cadet class of 94/12 bears his name.