12 juin 1908
8 septembre 2002
Rol-Tanguy, Henri (1908-2002)
Henri Tanguy, fils de Mathilde Bizien, blanchisseuse, est né à Morlaix le 12 juin 1908. Son enfance se passe d’abord à Brest puis à Toulon où son père adoptif, Anatole Tanguy, officier de marine, est affecté de 1913 à 1918. La famille revient à Brest en 1919. C’est là que Henri Tanguy passe son certificat d’études, occupe ses premiers emplois et développe une sensibilité aux questions sociales. Fin 1923, il suit sa mère qui s’installe à Paris. D’abord apprenti, puis ouvrier métallurgiste, il travaille successivement dans plusieurs entreprises. Lors de son passage aux usines Renault (avril 1925-mai 1926), il adhère aux Jeunesses communistes et à la CGTU. Sans militer très activement, il est cependant licencié pour fait de grève. De 1923 à 1929, il consacre tous ses loisirs au club de vélo dont il est membre. En 1929-1930, il fait son service militaire à la compagnie de mitrailleuses du 8e régiment de zouaves, près d’Oran, d’où il revient avec la qualification de « combattant d’élite ».
De septembre 1930 à décembre 1935, Henri Tanguy est ouvrier métallurgiste qualifié aux usines Berliet. Les événements de février 1934 font de lui un militant très actif, à la CGTU puis à la CGT réunifiée, au comité Amsterdam Pleyel, au Parti communiste auquel il adhère en cette même année. Licencié en décembre 1935 suite à une grève, puis de nouveau en octobre 1936 d'un autre emploi, il est en novembre coopté permanent de la commission exécutive du Syndicat des métaux CGT de la Seine.
Volontaire pour rejoindre les Brigades internationales, il part en Espagne en février 1937 et est nommé commissaire politique à l’arsenal d’Albacete. Il revient en France en octobre 1937 pour la brève période militaire alors obligatoire pour les soldats du contingent. De retour en Espagne en février 1938, il se retrouve commissaire politique du bataillon d’instruction des Brigades, puis est envoyé au front en mai comme commissaire politique de la 14e Brigade, qui participe en juillet à la bataille de l’Ebre. Expérience décisive pour Henri Tanguy, qui y confirme ses aptitudes militaires. C’est en hommage au commandant de l’un des bataillons de la Brigade, Théo Rol, tué au combat le 8 septembre 1938, que Henri Tanguy prend en 1944 le pseudonyme de Rol. Après le retrait des Brigades décidé par le gouvernement espagnol en septembre 1938, il revient au Syndicat des métaux.
En novembre 1936, Henri Tanguy a fait la connaissance de Cécile Le Bihan, née le 10 avril 1919, dont le père est un militant syndicaliste et communiste très actif, et qui vient d’être embauchée comme dactylographe au Syndicat des métaux. Elle-même, membre de l’Union des jeunes filles de France (UJFF), adhère au Parti communiste en janvier 1938. Henri Tanguy et Cécile Le Bihan se marient le 15 avril 1939.
Mobilisé en septembre 1939, Henri Tanguy est affecté dans l’infanterie comme armurier, à Brest, puis en Lorraine (fin novembre), enfin à Rivesaltes (mai 1940), d’où son régiment rejoint la zone des armées dans le Cher. Il est démobilisé dans la Creuse le 16 août. Il ne sait alors rien des fluctuations de la politique du Parti communiste depuis sa dissolution en septembre 1939.
Il reprend contact avec ses camarades des Métaux dès son retour à Paris grâce à Cécile et participe à la mise en place des premiers comités populaires dans les usines de la région parisienne. Il passe dans la clandestinité le 5 octobre 1940, suite à la vague d’arrestations de militants dans la région parisienne. En mars 1941, il est désigné par le Parti communiste responsable politique du triangle de direction, dans Paris, de l’une des régions qui composent l’interrégion parisienne du PC (Seine, Seine-et-Oise, Seine-et-Marne).
En juillet 1941, Henri Tanguy est appelé, comme ancien brigadiste, à participer à la lutte armée, dont l’organisation se met peu à peu en place et devient les Francs-tireurs et partisans (FTP) en février 1942. Jusqu’à la Libération, Cécile Tanguy est à la fois sa secrétaire et son principal agent de liaison. Lui-même est d’abord responsable militaire des deux premiers triangles de direction de l’interrégion parisienne (été 1941-septembre 1942), responsable politique de l’interrégion Anjou-Poitou (septembre 1942-avril 1943), puis de la région parisienne (avril-août 1943). En août 1943, il est affecté au Comité d’action contre la déportation (CAD). La résistance n’empêche pas le maintien de la vie familiale : deux enfants naissent pendant la clandestinité – deux autres verront le jour après la guerre.
Fin 1943, Henri Tanguy est désigné pour représenter les FTP dans les Forces françaises de l’intérieur (FFI) en cours de constitution : il est à l’état-major d’une vaste région comprenant entre autres la région parisienne. Début juin 1944 , Henri Tanguy devient chef régional de la région P1 (Seine, Seine-et-Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Oise) avec le grade de colonel. Suivant de très près le mouvement des troupes alliées et notamment celui de la 2e DB du général Leclerc, secondé par un état-major qualifié, il prépare la libération de la région et dirige l’insurrection de Paris. Il cosigne le 25 août avec le général Leclerc un exemplaire de l’acte de reddition du général von Choltitz.
Le 3 septembre 1944, Henri Tanguy, désormais Henri Rol-Tanguy, entre à l’état-major du général Kœnig, gouverneur militaire de Paris. Il y est chargé de préparer l’intégration des FFI dans l’armée. Il s’engage dans l’armée le 26 octobre, suit en janvier 1945 un stage de perfectionnement des officiers supérieurs à Provins, est mis en mars à la disposition de la 1re Armée du général de Lattre de Tassigny et rejoint le 6 avril en Alsace le 151e régiment d’infanterie, produit de l’amalgame FFI/1re Armée. Officier supérieur stagiaire adjoint du commandant du régiment, il fait la campagne d’Allemagne à ce poste, qu’il occupe jusqu’à la fin de la guerre.
En juin 1945, le général de Gaulle le fait Compagnon de la Libération.
Régularisé comme officier d’active en décembre 1945, son grade de lieutenant-colonel officialisé le 15 mars 1946, Henri Rol-Tanguy est successivement affecté dans plusieurs unités de juillet 1945 à janvier 1952. De cette période ressortent surtout sa fonction d’adjoint au gouverneur militaire de Coblence (juillet-octobre 1945), sa nomination comme chef de corps au 27e Régiment d’infanterie à Villefranche-sur-Mer puis à Dijon (18 février 1946-15 mars 1947), son affectation à l’État-major comme chef du 3e bureau et officier de garnison à la subdivision du Mans de la région militaire de Rennes. Avec la guerre froide, la volonté des gouvernants d’éliminer les officiers issus du Parti communiste le frappe alors, bien qu’il n’ait eu aucune activité politique depuis son engagement dans l’armée. En janvier 1952, il est relégué au Dépôt central des isolés de Versailles et reste dix ans sans aucune affectation. Il consacre alors en partie son temps au perfectionnement, hors de l’armée, de la formation militaire d’officiers communistes relégués comme lui à Versailles. En juin 1962, Henri Rol-Tanguy est mis à la retraite.
Dès sa mise à la retraite, Henri Rol-Tanguy milite à nouveau immédiatement au Parti communiste. Il est élu membre du Comité central en mai 1964 lors du 17e Congrès du PCF et sera responsable à ce titre de quelques fédérations départementales jusqu’en 1979. Il participe également aux réunions de la commission militaire du parti. Il quitte le Comité central à sa demande en 1987.
Dans l’Amicale des anciens volontaires en Espagne républicaine (AVER), dans l’Association nationale des anciens combattants de la Résistance (ANACR), comme dans les rangs du Parti communiste, l’activité militante de Henri Rol-Tanguy est très largement consacrée à faire connaître les hommes, la mémoire et l’histoire de ses deux engagements majeurs, d’ailleurs associés dans le patronyme de Rol-Tanguy, officiellement accordé à la famille en 1970 : le combat pour la République espagnole et la Résistance. En août 1994, à l’occasion du 50e anniversaire de la Libération de Paris, l’attribution de la Grand Croix de la Légion d’honneur par le Président de la République souligne l’importance de son engagement résistant. Le titre d’ancien combattant reconnu aux brigadistes en 1996 par l’Assemblée nationale à l’occasion du 60e anniversaire de la guerre d’Espagne marque par ailleurs la reconnaissance officielle du volontariat en Espagne. En juillet 2002, à quelques semaines de sa disparition, les remises de croix d’officier de la Légion d’honneur à deux de ses camarades résistants sont les tout derniers gestes militants d’Henri Rol-Tanguy. Il décède le 8 septembre 2002.
Was this content helpful? Let Archives Portal Europe and the archival institution know what you think.
Feedback is sent directly to the institution holding this material and should preferably be submitted in English or in the language of the institution, if possible. The institution will aim at getting back to you as soon as possible to help you with your request, though you might need to allow between two and four weeks for this depending on the current workload at the institution.
Please select amongst the relevant tips we can help with. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
Starting your search here will include all content available in Archives Portal Europe. Simply enter your keyword(s) and hit the search button. Wrap fixed expressions in quotation marks, e.g. “French Revolution”. Check the box to “Search each term separately” in case you are looking for documents containing at least one word, but not necessarily all keywords; this will also allow you to search for the same term in multiple languages at the same time (e.g. “French Revolution” “Révolution Française”). You can also use wildcards - find more about Research Tools here. If you would like to use more specific settings, try our Advanced search
The additional advanced search options give you the possibility to focus your search in:
When searching with multiple terms at the same time, wrap fixed expressions in quotation marks (e.g. "French Revolution"), or check the box "Search each term separately" in case you are looking for either one term of the other. This will also allow you to search for the same term in multiple languages (e.g. "French Revolution" "Révolution française"). You can also choose one of the suggestions matching your search term once you start typing.
This will only show results that include documents that have been digitised and are available online
Use this option to search only one or more keywords, rather than all of them
Select where your search terms should appear specifically inside the archival description:
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the archival description:
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the description of the archive:
Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions:
Enter a start and/or end date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01-01-1900 for 1 January 1900. This will allow you to focus your search on a specific period of time. You can use the calendar function or type directly in the text field. The checkbox "Exact date search" concentrates the search on one specific date.
Check "View in context" to view the results in the hierarchical structure of archives.
For more details see Research Tools
Please sign in to save your searches.
A holdings guide is an overview of the collections and fonds of one archival institution.
A finding aid is a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level.
You can filter results by selecting one or more countries of interest. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by one or more holding archival institutions. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can select to view results from a specific Finding Aid, i.e., a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter by type of descriptive document:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting "Fonds description" for a general overview or "Other descriptions" for item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter
selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results
matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting only those containing digital objects, i.e. the link to the digitised version of the archival material you are looking for. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by type of digital object you are interested in:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers)
Please note that not all documents contain a machine-readable date. More information here
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers). This filter will only include materials with "Full dates", i.e. those that include date information available for date-based searches. You can either search for a specific date of interest or focus step by step on the time span of a century, decade, year or month. When searching for a specific date, enter the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01/01/1900 for 1 January 1900, via the calendar function or by typing directly in the text field.
This filter concentrates on the earliest dates mentioned in the materials.
You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers). This filter will only include materials with "Full dates", i.e. those that include date information available for date-based searches. You can either search for a specific date of interest or focus step by step on the time span of a century, decade, year or month. When searching for a specific date, enter the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01/01/1900 for 1 January 1900, via the calendar function or by typing directly in the text field.
This filter concentrates on the latest dates mentioned in the materials.
You can filter results based on the language in which the material is written. Please note that this filter will only include materials where specific language information has been provided by the institution and is therefore in a machine-readable format. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting one or more topics of interest. Please note that this filter will only include materials where the topic has been assigned and is therefore in a machine-readable format. Read how to assign a topic to documents on the Topics page. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the archival description:
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results by type of entities:
You can filter results based on the language in which the material is written. Please note that this filter will only include materials where specific language information has been provided by the institution and is therefore in a machine-readable format. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.
You can filter results based on the type of holding institution. Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions.
Write your message in your own language and use this drop-down menu to have your message translated into English or in the language of the institution for a swifter response. By checking this box and selecting a language you will send your original message along with the translated version
What kind of suggestion would you like to make?
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for Attribution Creative Commons Licence
This object is not or no longer protected by copyright and has been labelled with the Public Domain Mark. It can be used by anyone without any restrictions.
This object is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication. All possible existing rights in the content are waived, and the object can be used by anyone without any restrictions.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution (BY) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object, even
commercially, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described
in the licence.
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for Attribution Creative Commons Share Alike Licence
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for NoDerivs
This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for NonCommercial
This object is in the public domain, but has been digitised as the outcome of a public-private partnership, where the terms of the contractual agreement limit commercial use for a certain period of time. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the object for non-commercial use only.
This object has been
identified as an Orphan Work in the country of first publication and in
line with the requirements of the national law implementing Directive
2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October
2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.
The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the
copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy, or moral rights.
This object is currently in copyright and the rights holder(s) have allowed re-use for educational purposes only. You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak and build upon the licensed object, even for commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak and build upon the licensed object, even for commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, No Derivates (BY-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object, even
commercially, as long as no alteration is made to the object and you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.
If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial (BY-NC) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only and as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only, as long as you attribute the rights
holder as described in
the licence, and as long as you license your adaptations of the object under the same
terms.
This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivates (BY-NC-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object for non-commercial use only, as long as no alteration is made to the object and as long as you attribute the rights
holder as described in
the licence.
If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.
This object is in the public domain, but has been digitised as the outcome of a public-private partnership, where the terms of the contractual agreement limit commercial use for a certain period of time. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the object for non-commercial use only.
This object has been
identified as an Orphan Work in the country of first publication and in
line with the requirements of the national law implementing Directive
2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October
2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.
The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.
You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the
copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy, or moral rights.
This object is currently in copyright and the rights holder(s) have allowed re-use for educational purposes only. You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.
Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.