French ambassador to Armenia recalls Vice-Admiral Louis Rene Charles Marie Dartige du Fournet`s role in saving Armenians of Musa Dagh during Armenian Genocide
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French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies recalled the role of Vice-Admiral of the Third Squadron of the French Naval Forces to the East Louis Rene Charles Marie Dartige du Fournet in saving the Armenians of Musa Dagh during the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.
“On February 16, 1940, Admiral Louis Dartige du Fournet passed away. In September 1915, together with his sailors from the 3rd French Fleet in the Mediterranean, he extended a helping hand to save more than 4,000 Armenians of Musa Dagh, allowing them to escape the genocide.
A decision that Louis Dartige du Fournet made without instructions, remaining faithful only to his conscience and the honor of a French officer,” the French diplomat wrote on his Twitter microblog (X).
Louis Rene Charles Marie Dartige du Fournet gave an unauthorized order in the autumn of 1915 to evacuate more than 4,000 Armenian men, women, and children. If it were not for the courage of Louis Rene Charles Marie Dartige du Fournet, these people would have perished in the foothills of Musa Dagh in what is now southeastern Turkey. This story began in the summer of 1915, when most of the inhabitants of six Armenian villages refused to join the columns of Armenians who were to be deported by order of the Turkish authorities. The few who did obey were sent on a death march. Almost all of them died on the way, never reaching the Syrian desert. The remaining villagers – about 5,000 people – left their homes and took refuge in the foothills of Musa Dagh (Mount Moses or Jebel Musa). There they organized a militia and courageously fought off Turkish attacks for more than fifty days. There were only 600 fighters among the Armenians.
On September 5, when the Musa Dagh people had been fighting for a month, the crew of the French warship Guichen saw their signals. One of the militia members, Pierre Dimlakian, reached the cruiser, boarded it and directly addressed the French commander asking for help. He promised to do everything possible.
According to the diary entry of Louis Rene Charles Marie Dartige du Fournet, on September 6, 1915, the vice admiral received a telegram describing the situation and changed the ship’s course. The next day, the flagship Saint Jeanne d’Arc approached the shore to conduct reconnaissance. This time, one of the militia leaders, Tigran Andreasian, boarded it. He asked to take away at least those who were not participating in the fighting: women, children and the elderly. He was again assured that the French fleet would come to the aid of the Armenians.
“I realized that it was our duty to help these unfortunate people,” wrote Louis Rene Charles Marie Dartige du Fournet in his diary. He sent an urgent telegram, but was afraid that the slow bureaucracy of the French command could turn into a tragedy for the besieged.
Risking his career, the vice-admiral, without waiting for an answer, ordered all the ships at his disposal to head for Musa Dagh and immediately begin the evacuation.
“There was no time to wait. Whatever the answer, everyone had to be evacuated,” wrote Louis Rene Charles Marie Dartige du Fournet, whose words are quoted by the Aurora humanitarian initiative.