More information in Drôme Ardèche: The Spahi who “liberated” Strasbourg

This Saturday, Emmanuel Macron will preside over the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Strasbourg, delivered by a lightning offensive by French troops in 1944. Like every year, a delegation of Spahis from Valence will take part in taking up arms. Because the history of the regiment is closely linked to this event. Colonel Christophe Maurin commands the 1st Spahis regiment of Valence: “it is a spahi, the spahi Maurice Lebrun, who climbed to the top of the Strasbourg cathedral the French flag and who thus fulfilled the oath that General Leclerc had made at Koufra, which was the beginning of the epic of his division for the liberation of France“.

The Oath of Kufra

General Leclerc had promised in North Africa at Koufra in March 1941 to only lay down his arms after having seen “our beautiful colors” float on the Strasbourg cathedral. This will be done on November 23, 1944. At 2:30 p.m., the tricolor flag actually flies on the spire of this cathedral. After Paris, it is the symbol of a France finally liberated. The Spahis therefore part of the units of General Leclerc's 2nd Armored Division Why was Maurice Lebrun chosen to carry the French standard?We can think that it is because his unit was the first to arrive in the center of Strasbourg. Perhaps he probably also distinguished himself by a form of audacity or intrepidity that he allowed to climb the 142 meters of the cathedral to go and plant this flag up there, in certainly difficult weather in November and under bullets”. Spahi Lebrun subsequently wrote a text: “I climb. Finally here is the summit, I attack the lightning rod, and I think I'm shaking. I take the flag out of my jacket; the wind seems to be fighting for it. That's it, it's well attached, I'm still holding it tight”.

“Remember the fight of the ancients”

Every year, the Spahis of Valence are therefore invited to the Strasbourg commemorations which will be chaired for this 80th anniversary by Emmanuel Macron. Colonel Christophe Maurin and around fifteen of his Drôme soldiers will travel to participate. “First, there is this aspect of homage, and behind the homage, there is the recognition or appropriation of a memory for the freedom we enjoy today“. The commander continues: “The second reason is that it is what makes it possible to face, to use the regiment's motto, adversity today, which will make it possible to face adversity tomorrow. And being Spahi means being part of a family whose history we know. And then the third reason, and this is more professional, is that it is always also an opportunity to remember the battles of our elders, who even with different equipment used the same military virtues to achieve this cathedral“.
Maurice Lebrun died on May 25, 2009 in Ganges in Herault. The flag that he displayed on Strasbourg Cathedral is today preserved in Valence, at the Baquet barracks.