Dimitri Amilakhvari
Prince Dimitri Amilakhvari (დიმიტრი ამილახვარი in Georgian;French spelling: Amilakvari) (October 31,1906-September 24,1942) was a French officer of Georgian origins, hero of the French Resistance during World War II. Lieutenant Colonel of the French Foreign Legion, he was commonly known as Bazorka after the place he was born.
Prince Dimitri Amilakhvari was born in the aristocratic family in a village Bazorkino (now Chermen, Northern Caucasus, Russia). His father was Colonel of the Army of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, Prince Giorgi Amilakhvari. Dimitri was a grandson of General Ivane Amilakhvari (1829-1905). After the occupation of Georgia by the Bolshevik Russia's Red Army in February 25, 1921, his family moved to Istanbul and later, in 1922 to France. In 1926 he graduated from the High Military School. In 1926-1933 Amilakhvari served in North Africa. In 1932-1933 he participated in all important operations in the south of Morocco. In 1934-1939 he was Head of the French military school in Agadir (Morocco). In 1940, before the occupation of France, Amilakhvari served in Algiers. Later he joined the Free French forces in England. He took part in the Eritrean campaign and the Syrian campaign. Amilakhvari managed the capture of Damascus. In 1941 he was promoted Lieutenant Colonel and was appointed as Commander of the Brigade.
Amilakhvari fought his last battles in Libya in 1942. In June, 1942 he received a "Cross of Liberation". During the fights at Bir-Hakeim (January 1942) he wrote: "We, foreigners, have only one way to prove to France our gratitude: to be killed ..." General Charles De Gaulle named him and his legionaries the "honour of France" for their heroic defense of the Allies' positions. Amilakhvari fell during the battle of El-Alamein on its second day on September 24, 1942. In 1955 Amilakhvari was awarded the highest order of France Legion of Honour (Legion d'Honneur).
External Links
Literature
- Rayer G., L'Homme qui a étonné la Légion- "Paris Match", 1956 18 fevr., N 358, p. 77-82 (in French)
- I. Tabagua and E. Menabde. He fought for the liberation.- "Molodyoj Gruzii", Tbilisi, March 10, 1970 (in Russian)
- G. Zhordania. Amilakhvari Dimitri.- The Encyclopedia "Sakartvelo", vol. I, Tbilisi, 1997, p. 129 (in Georgian)
- L. Urushadze. Europe and the Georgian Political Emigration, Publishing House "Ena da Kultura", Tbilisi, 2005, ISBN 99940-23-20-8 (in Georgian, English summary)