A long tribute ceremony to Captain Charles N’Tchoréré took place on Sunday June 2, 2024 in Airaines (Somme). This Gabonese soldier and French officer was shot there by the Germans on June 7, 1940. The president of the Gabonese transition, Brice Oligui Nguema, praised the memory of this hero who died for France.
“Charles N’Tchoréré is a national hero. I wanted to be the first Gabonese head of state to come and honor his memory here in Airaines“, underlines Brice Oligui Nguema. Nine months after his coup d’état against Ali Bongo, the president of the Gabonese transition, made the trip to attend the tribute ceremony to Captain Charles N’Tchoréré, Sunday June 2, 2024 in Airaines (Somme).
A day to honor the memory of this Senegalese rifleman assassinated by the Germans on June 7, 1940.His figure is anchored in our Gabonese youth. It is highly represented in Gabon. There is a monument and a barracks named after him“, supports Brice Oligui Nguema.
Born in 1896 in Libreville, Gabon, Charles N’Tchoréré participated in the First World War, which he ended with the rank of sergeant. Promoted to adjutant, he trained at the officer school in Fréjus, becoming a lieutenant as a native, then as a French officer. He then became captain and directed the troops’ children’s school in Saint-Louis, Senegal.
In 1940, he commanded the 7th company of the 53rd colonial infantry regiment, which he prepared for combat. He and his men were deployed in the Somme from June 4 to 7. After three days of fighting, Airaines was nothing but ruins and the regiment, short of ammunition and men, retreated. Charles N’Tchoréré volunteers to cover the retreat.
Captain Charles N’Tchoréré, commander of the 7th company of the 53rd colonial infantry regiment, during the Second World War.
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© INA
Captured, the men are sorted. The Nazis separated white prisoners from blacks, whom they considered subhuman. But the captain refuses to be separated from his subordinates and wants to join the other officers. He was then coldly executed by the Germans, with a bullet to the head.
Charles N’Tchoréré’s son, Jean-Baptiste, died the next day a few kilometers away. In all, 1,500 to 3,000 French colonial soldiers were killed during the French campaign.
This Sunday, June 2, the town of Airaines paid tribute to this hero of the Second World War, in the presence of the Secretary of State for the Armed Forces, in charge of veterans and memory, and a crowd of French and Gabonese officials.
He was a hero because heroes don’t live long, they give of themselves body and soul.
Marcel Robert N’Tchoréré, nephew of Captain N’Tchoréré
The Head of State posthumously presented the medal of the Order of the Black Panther in the presence of the descendants of the deceased, who came especially from Gabon. Like Marcel Robert N’Tchoréré, nephew of Captain N’Tchoréré. The presence of the president of the Gabonese transition in Airaines represents for him “an honor that we can’t even explain, because it’s greater than happiness“.
Marcel Robert N’Tchoréré, nephew of Captain N’Tchoréré, during the ceremony paying tribute to his ancestor on June 2, 2024 in Airaines (Somme)
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© FTV
He greets “a son of Gabon“which he underlines”bravery“.”He was a hero because heroes don’t live long, they give of themselves body and soul“, he insists. “He had a high idea of freedom, universal rights and the value of human beings.“
Alongside Captain N’Tchoréré, many other Senegalese riflemen fell during the defense of the city. Men to whom the town of Airaines feels indebted.
“The Airainois who returned after the evacuation and found a field of ruins […] came across almost 800 Senegalese riflemen whom they themselves buried“, specifies François Rouillard, deputy mayor of Airaines, passionate about Captain N’Tchoréré.
To continue to honor their memory, a partnership between Libreville and Airaines was signed, on the promise of cultural and memorial exchanges.
With Narjis El Asraoui / FTV
