France 100 Francs Silver Coin 1994 French Marshal Alphonse Juin
Commemorative issue: 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of Paris
Obverse: French General (Marshal of France) Alphonse Juin; Map of Italy at right, mountain top building and five stars (Military rank insignia of the French Army - "Général d'armée - army general")
Lettering: ROMA - CASSINO - NAPOLI - SALERNO - ALPHONSE JUIN
Engraver: Émile Rousseau.
Reverse: Monte Cassino in ruins after Allied bombing in February 1944 (Battle of Monte Cassino)
Lettering: MONTE CASSINO . JANVIER RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE 100F 1994
Edge: Smooth.
Year: 1994.
Value: 100 Francs.
Metal: Silver (.900).
Weight: 22.2 g.
Diameter: 37 mm.
Thickness: 2.2 mm.
Shape: Round.
Commemorative coins of France: 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of Paris
100 Francs Silver Coin 1994 French Marshal Alphonse Juin
Alphonse Juin
Alphonse Pierre Juin (16 December 1888 – 27 January 1967) was a Marshal of France. A graduate of the Saint-Cyr class of 1912, he served in Morocco in 1914 in command of native troops. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, he was sent to the Western Front in France, where he was gravely wounded in 1915. As a result of this wound, he lost the use of his right arm.
After the war, he attended the École Supérieure de Guerre. He chose to serve in North Africa again. After the outbreak of the Second World War, he assumed command of a division, the 15e Division d'Infantrie Motorisée (fr). The division was encircled in the Lille pocket during the Battle of France and Juin was captured. He was a prisoner of war until he was released at the behest of the Vichy Government in 1941, and was assigned to command French forces in North Africa.
After Operation Torch, the invasion of Algeria and Morocco by British and American forces in November 1942, Juin ordered French forces in Tunisia to resist the Germans and the Italians. His great skills were exhibited during the Italian campaign as commander of the French Expeditionary Corps. His expertise in mountain warfare was crucial in breaking the Gustav Line, which had held up the Allied advance for six months. it has also been alleged, however, that he instigated the Marocchinate by telling the Goumiers (in order to motivate them) that they would be allowed to rape and pillage if they succeeded in battle.
Following this assignment he was Chief of Staff of French forces, and represented France at the San Francisco Conference. In 1947 he returned to Africa as the Resident General in Morocco, where he opposed Moroccan attempts to gain independence. Next came a senior NATO position as he assumed command of CENTAG until 1956. During his NATO command, he was promoted to Marshal of France in 1952. He was greatly opposed to Charles De Gaulle's decision to grant independence to Algeria, and was "retired" in 1962 as a result. He was the French Army's last living Marshal of France until his death in Paris in 1967, when he was buried in Les Invalides.
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino) was a costly series of four assaults by the Allies against the Winter Line in Italy held by Axis forces during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The intention was a breakthrough to Rome.
At the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans holding the Rapido-Gari, Liri, and Garigliano valleys and some of the surrounding peaks and ridges. Together, these features formed the Gustav Line. Monte Cassino, a historic hilltop abbey founded in AD 529 by Benedict of Nursia, dominated the nearby town of Cassino and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys. Lying in a protected historic zone, it had been left unoccupied by the Germans. They had, however, manned some positions set into the steep slopes below the abbey's walls.
Repeated pinpoint artillery attacks on Allied assault troops caused their leaders to conclude the abbey was being used by the Germans as an observation post, at the least. Fears escalated along with casualties, and in spite of a lack of clear evidence, it was marked for destruction. On 15 February American bombers dropped 1,400 tons of high explosives, creating widespread damage. The raid failed to achieve its objective, as German paratroopers occupied the rubble and established excellent defensive positions amid the ruins.
Between 17 January and 18 May, Monte Cassino and the Gustav defences were assaulted four times by Allied troops, the last involving twenty divisions attacking along a twenty-mile front. The German defenders were finally driven from their positions, but at a high cost. The capture of Monte Cassino tolled some 55,000 Allied casualties, with German losses being far fewer, estimated at around 20,000 killed and wounded.