There are few metro stations in Paris that are named after victories in battle. In fact, I only remember three: Bir Hakeim, Austerlitz, and Pyramids. I used Bir Hakeim a lot, to transport travelers like, “Hey, I’m in Paris for the first time, where Eiffel Tower?” This time she will lead us, albeit to Nantes.
Bir Hakim – General Pierre Koenig tells Rommel to get a sack up his ass
Bir-Hakim is named after the place where General Pierre Koenig defeated General Rommel in the Libyan Desert in North Africa during World War II. In fact, it was not a real victory, more of a heroic stand followed by a successful breakout from the siege imposed by 45,000 Germans and Italians on 5,500 German soldiers. France The free. But even that wasn't little, even though Churchill, in a speech he gave after the miraculous evacuation from Dunkirk, said, "No one wins a war by successful retreats." By the way, we'll visit Dunkirk sometime, but for now we'll stay in Bir-Hakim.
In the successful breakthrough through the German-Italian encirclement, General Koenig rode at the head of his forces, in a buggie driven by his beautiful lover, Susanne Travers, the only woman to ever serve in the Foreign Legion. She was, by the way, decorated with the “Croix de Guerre” and the “Décoration des Honors” for her performance. I know what you’re thinking. Shame on you. Not another word. à la guerre comme à la guerre (in war as in war).
In any case, before the breakthrough, when Koenig’s army was surrounded by superior forces, Rommel sent two Italian officers to Koenig “to discuss surrender,” as they put it. There are two versions of Koenig’s response. The moderate version is that he replied, “I will consider Rommel’s request to surrender, and will respond as soon as possible.” The version accepted by all is: “Rommel will kiss my ass.”
Alterman wrote about the event in the “Seventh Column” from Kama under the title “General Koenig’s Reply.” Here are two stanzas from it:
I declared to them: Your position is desperate.
Therefore, from Rommel to König is presented
A chivalrous demand for respectful submission
And why should you deceive yourselves with hopes?
And Koenig's response from one of the Italian officers to Rommel:
And what is Koenig's answer?
I was privileged to hear –
It comes from his lips with unparalleled clarity.
And this is the answer Koenig's words expressed:
Rommel's lips are covered with kisses.
Alterman ended the song with a moral: If the entire world had given Hitler, in the 1930s, Koenig's answer, the world would have looked different. And if you want to learn more about the Battle of Bir Hakim, you can do so through this video:
Before we leave Koenig, let us recall that we, as Israelis, owe him a great debt. Not only did he help stop Rommel from storming toward Egypt and then Israel, and prevent the extermination of the Jews of the land, but as Minister of Defense in the French government, just before his retirement in 1955, he ordered the opening of the French army's emergency depots to the IDF, and to provide us with whatever we asked for. That is why streets are named after him in several cities in Israel.
Merde! General Cambronne's response
We started at the Bir-Hakim metro station in Paris, let's move on to Waterloo station on the London Metro (oops… on the Tube). What should we look for there? Just as Bir-Hakim station is named after the French victory in battle, Waterloo station is also named after an equally great victory. But that's not all. The similarity is much greater.
General Koenig was not the first French commander to respond as he did.
He was preceded, by almost 130 years, by General Pierre Cambronne.
At the Battle of Waterloo, where the French army led by Napoleon faced the armies of the European coalition led by England, Cambronne found himself in a similar situation. He commanded the “Old Guard,” an elite unit of Napoleon’s army that was called into battle only when the situation was truly desperate. And so, indeed, it was this time. Desperate is not the word. A large part of the French army had been destroyed or ceased to function, and only the “Old Guard” remained. Surrounded on all sides, cannons aimed at it.
The English General Colville suggested that Cambronne surrender.
Here too there are two versions of the answer.
The moderate version says that Cambron replied: “La garde meurt et ne se rend pas!”. That is:
The guard will die and not surrender!”
The accepted version claims that Cambron replied: “Merde!”
This second answer has since been known as “le mot de Cambronne” (Cambronne’s word) and in this indirect version it is convenient for correct use even by those who are not generals, but who find themselves in difficulty. Everything was immortalized, by the way, in the book of Victor Hugo "Wretched people".
There is also a station dedicated to Cambron's memory. Metro in Paris In the 15th arrondissement, where line 6 passes. The memory of General Cambronne is commemorated not only in Paris but also in the city Nantes There his statue stands proudly.
If you look closely, you might see that one of the two versions of the general's response is engraved on the base of the statue.
This statue will serve us well on my journey through the city of Nantes, which I will write about very soon. So as I return to the work of writing, I bid you adieu!
Dan Ashkenazi