Erwan Bergot was a
French ArmyThe French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
officer and author; he served in the
French ArmyThe French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
during the
First Indochina WarThe First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
and Algerian War.
Biography
Born to a Breton family, Erwan Bergot volunteered to serve in Indochina after completing his mandatory military service in 1951. He served in the
6th Colonial Parachute Battalion-Indochina:Formed as the 6th Colonial Commando Parachute Battalion in Quimper, Brittany on 16 May 1948 from elements of the 1st Colonial Commando Parachute Demi-brigade, disembarks in Saigon, French Indochina, in July 1949. The battalion distinguished itself in fighting throughout the First...
under Major
Marcel BigeardMarcel "Bruno" Bigeard was a French military officer who fought in World War II, Indochina and Algeria. He was one of the commanders in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and is thought by many to have been a dominating influence on French 'unconventional' warfare thinking from that time onwards...
, after that he commanded the heavy mortar company of the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion at the
Battle of Dien Bien PhuThe Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
. He was taken prisoner and experienced the hell of the
Viet MinhViệt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
interment camps; he was among the few that survived. In 1955, Bergot was recalled to serve in Algeria in the
2nd Foreign Parachute RegimentThe 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment is an Airborne regiment of the French Foreign Legion. It is a part of the 11e Brigade Parachutiste and the spearhead of the French Rapid reaction force.-Indochina:...
and 11e Choc. He was seriously wounded in his right eye during a clash at
ConstantineConstantine is the capital of Constantine Province in north-eastern Algeria. It was the capital of the same-named French département until 1962. Slightly inland, it is about 80 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast, on the banks of Rhumel river...
in 1961, leaving the frontline to write and report.
He became the first editor of the magazine of the French Army in 1962, writing his first book in 1964,
Deuxième classe à Dien-Bien-Phu, which achieved immediate success. He then dedicated himself completely to writing, which resulted in around fifty books and additional notority. He received numerous literary awards including the prize of the
Académie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
and the
Claude FarrèreClaude Farrère, pseudonym of Frédéric-Charles Bargone , was a French author of novels set in such exotic locations as Istanbul, Saigon, and Nagasaki. One of his novels, Les civilisés won the Prix Goncourt for 1905. He was elected for a chair at the Académie Française on 26 March 1935...
prize. The French Army annually awards an Erwan Bergot prize.