KOENIG MARIE JOSEPH: (1898-1970) French General of WWII. Posthumously appointed Marshal of France. Koenig commanded ...

KOENIG MARIE JOSEPH: (1898-1970) French General of WWII. Posthumously appointed Marshal of France. Koenig commanded the Free French Brigade at the Battle of Bir Hakeim in North Africa, 1942. T.L.S., Koenig, with two holograph annotations, one page, 4to, Paris, 21st March 1964, to Louis Joxe, Minister of State, in French. The letter bearing the printed heading ''Le General Koenig'', is a request for funds stating `As you may have learned, I have received from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Army, Veterans and war victims, the mission of promoting a Committee in charge of collecting funds which will be intended for the change of site of the memorial of Camerone and to its reconstruction.´ Koenig further explains to the Minister how much he expects his collaboration and adds two friendly lines in his hand. Light crease to the upper left border. G to VG The Battle of Camerone or Camaron, took place on 30th April 1863 in Mexico, between the French Foreign Legion and the Mexican army, and is regarded as a defining moment in the Foreign Legion's history. A small infantry patrol, led by Captain Jean Danjou, numbering just 65 men? was attacked and besieged by a force that may have eventually reached 3,000 Mexican infantry and cavalry, and was forced to make a defensive stand at the Hacienda Camaron, in Veracruz. The conduct of the Legion, who refused to surrender, led to a certain mystique, and the battle of Camaron became synonymous with bravery and a fight-to-the-death attitude.