page_title: Jean-Baptiste Piron
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Jean-Baptiste Piron / World War II
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Pantserwagen Staghound tijdens een statische show op het vliegveld van Ursel, België
context_page_description: Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Piron DSO was a Belgian military officer, best known for his role in the Free Belgian forces during World War II as commander of the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, widely known as the "Piron Brigade", between 1942 and 1944.
  Piron entered the Belgian Army and served during World War I as both a junior infantry officer and, briefly, in the Belgian Air Force. He rose through the ranks during the interwar period and held the rank of major at the time of the German invasion of Belgium in World War II. He subsequently escaped from German-occupied Belgium and reached the United Kingdom, where he led a re-organisation of the Free Belgian military. Promoted to the head of the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, he led the unit from 1942 to 1944, including on the Western Front in late 1944. He commanded the Belgian army of occupation in Germany in 1946–1947 and was aide de camp to Prince-Regent Charles and, later, to King Baudouin. He ended his career as lieutenant general and retired in 1957. He died in 1974.
context_section_description: During World War II, Piron served during the German invasion of Belgium (10–28 May 1940), after which the Belgian Army surrendered and Belgium was placed under military occupation. Piron, however, refused to accept the Belgian surrender and succeeded in escaping from occupied Belgium via France and Spain to British Gibraltar. He arrived in Scotland in February 1942.
  The Belgian government in exile began to form a Free Belgian army in late 1940 among Belgian soldiers and expatriates who had succeeded in reaching the United Kingdom. Following his arrival in Britain, Piron was tasked with reforming the Belgian and Luxembourgish forces into an infantry battalion, an artillery battery, and an armoured squadron. The move followed a period of unrest among the Belgian troops which had culminated in a minor mutiny on 14 November, caused by inactivity and political infighting. The reaction by the incumbent commander, Colonel Lecomte, had been considered inadequate by the Belgian government. Piron, designated as Lecomte's successor, took command in December 1942 and became commander of the resulting unit, the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade, on its formation in January 1943. The unit, numbering between 1,800 and 2,200 men, was soon popularly nicknamed the "Piron Brigade" (Brigade Piron) after him. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1944. His style of command earned him the nickname "the pasha" or "the lion". According to Luc De Vos, a historian, "it was [...] indisputably Piron who played the major role in transforming the unit into a well-oiled military machine".
  The Brigade Piron was deployed to France in August 1944 following the Normandy Landings. Although it was kept in reserve for most of the campaign, the unit was deployed in combat in Normandy alongside the British 6th Airborne Division and, later, the Guards Armoured Division. Among other operations, the unit liberated the French town of Honfleur on 25 August. It was also involved in the Liberation of Belgium in September 1944 and entered Brussels on 4 September, the day after the arrival of the first British troops. The brigade was then moved to Dutch Limburg, where it participated in heavy fighting until November.
  After the Liberation, Piron became aide de camp to Charles, Count of Flanders, who became prince regent in 1944 and commander of the 2nd Infantry Regiment. Piron was promoted to the rank of major general in December 1945.
caption: A T17 Staghound armoured car with the markings of the Piron Brigade
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