Marcel Pourchier

André Eugène Marcel Pourchier (1 June 1897 – 1 September 1944)[1] was a French military officer whose last rank was Lieutenant-Colonel.

Marcel Pourchier
Marcel Pourchier (1935)
Birth nameAndré Eugène Marcel Pourchier
Born(1897-06-01)1 June 1897
Beuil, France
Died1 September 1944(1944-09-01) (aged 47)
Natzweiler-Struthof, Germany
AllegianceFrance
Service/branchFrench Army
Years of service1916–1944
RankLieutenant-colonel (posthumously)
Commands heldÉcole de Haute Montagne
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
Awards

Biography

Pourchier was born in Beuil. He was a chasseurs alpins soldier and a member of his hometown's winter sports club, which was founded in 1924.[2] As a Lieutenant, he was the leader of the national military patrol team at the 1928 Winter Olympics (demonstration event), which finished last.

In 1930 he designed the first ski jumping hill in Beuil.[3] Because of his expertise, he was made the first commander and captain of the newly founded French mountain warfare school École de Haute Montagne (EHM) in Chamonix in 1932. The school was founded for the special training of the ski reconnaissance platoons, which were founded in 1930. During his time at the EHM, he created new techniques of ski warfare, methods of training,[4] and clothing for mountain warfare.[5][6] He recruited Pierre Dalloz, an engineer who supported his drawings of detailed alpine maps after 1941.[7] During World War II he was captured by the Germans. He was transferred to the concentration camp Natzweiler-Struthof where he died.[8]

In his hometown, his name is listed on a war memorial and a street is named Boulevard Marcel Pourchier.[9]

Bibliography
  • Marcel Pourchier, Edouard Frendo: La Technique de l'Alpinisme, Arthaud, 1943.
  • J.-P. Martin: Jusqu’au bout du devoir . Le Lieutenant-Colonel Marcel POURCHIER, in Les Cahiers des Troupes de Montagne, No. 17, June 1999, pp. 30–38.
  • Pierre Dalloz: Vérités sur le drame du Vercors, Paris, 1979, Chap. 3.
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References
  1. Index des noms commençant par P
  2. L'histoire de Beuil (French).
  3. Association Montagne et Traditions: Surveiller et protéger la frontière (French).
  4. Association Montagne et Traditions (French), 2008.
  5. Matériel du C.E.F.S. (French).
  6. Ian Sumner, Francois Vauvillier, Mike Chappell: The French Army 1939-45 (1), Osprey Publishing, 1998, p. 20.
  7. Les Allemands à Villard de Lans Archived 2008-11-14 at the Wayback Machine (French).
  8. D'une Guerre à l'autre: L’Ecole militaire de haute montagne de Chamonix (French).
  9. Beuil: Monument aux Morts
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