He was the last surviving member of the Kieffer commando, also called the 1st Battalion of Fusiliers-Marins Commandos, the only unit of Free French troops to go ashore on 6 June 1944 on Sword beach opposite Colleville sur Orne (now Colleville-Montgomery). This 177-man unit was created and led by Philippe Kieffer. Integrated into Lieutenant-Colonel Dawson’s British n°4 Commando, these men landed from 2 small landing crafts around 7:25 am with the main mission of liberating Ouistreham, with in particular the capture of the German defensive position at the “Casino”. In the afternoon, the Kieffer commando marched towards Pegasus Bridge to help protect the eastern flank of the Invasion. At the end of the day, 10 men were already killed in action. For 78 days, the Kieffer commando helped to defend the positions against German counterattacks. During the battle for Normandy, more than half of the unit were killed. Léon Gautier was one of the few in this unit who survived the war uninjured. To learn more about Léon Gautier’s life, here is a link with a text both in french and english.
