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     In 1939 he was recalled to active duty and served, initially as a sergeant, with the 79e Régiment d'Infanterie de Forteresse (79th Fortress Infantry Regiment) in the fortified sector of Hoffen. Bigeard rose quickly through the ranks and reached the position of adjutant as a warrant officer, but in June 1940, during the Battle of France he was captured and made a prisoner of war. After two unsuccessful attempts he managed to escape from a German POW camp on November 11, 1941. Bigeard eventually made his way to Africa to join with the Free French. In 1943 he was commissioned as an officer with the rank of Second Lieutenant. In 1944, after special service training by the British, he was parachuted into occupied France near Rieucros in the Ariège region of France the 8^th augustas part of a team of four with the mission of leading the resistance in the Ariège département close to the border with Andorra.  He received the German surrender and was awarded the French “Légion  d’Honneur”  and the British “Distinguished Service Order”. His nickname of "Bruno" has its origins in his radio call sign of this period. By the end of the war he had attained 

     Indochina

    After VE Captain Bigeard stayed in the army and was sent to Indochina where his exceptional soldier skills quickly gained him fame. He will always be remembered alongside his fellow paratrooper Colonel Pierre Langlais to have spirited the defence of Dien  Bien  Phu until the bitter end . Bigeard was first sent to Indo-China in October 1945 to assist with French efforts to reassert its influence over the former French colonies. He commanded the 23rd Colonial Infantry and then volunteered to train Thai auxiliaries in their interdiction of Viet Minh incursions around the Laos border along the 'road' R.C. 41 (Route Coloniale). In 1947 he returned to France and commanded a company in the newly forming 3è BPC (Bataillon de Parachutistes Coloniaux). He returned to Vietnam in 1948 for combat duty in the Tonkin delta with the 3è RPC then the 3rd Thai Battalion and finally back to the Tonkinese highlands in command of an Indochinese battalion. In July 1952 (his third Vietnam posting) as a Major commanding the newly-created 6th BPC (Colonial Parachute Battalion) with whom he established his fame and reputation. He was a keen self-publicist, welcoming journalists among his troops, which assisted his cause to get the materials needed to help him succeed. His units were noted for their dedication to physical fitness above the normal requirements by the army. This unique style included creating the famous 'casquette Bigeard' cap from the 'excess' material of the long shorts in the standard uniform. He participated in many operations including a combat drop on Tu-Lê in November 1952.

    On 20 November 1953 Bigeard and his unit took part in Operation Castor, the opening stage of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu/. Bigeard and the 6th BPC returned to Dien Bien Phu on 16 March 1954, parachuting in to reinforce the now besieged garrison. He acted as deputy to Pierre Langlais, and was a member of the "Parachute mafia" – a unity of the high-ranking paratroopers at the camp who oversaw combat operations. Historian Bernard Fall asserts that an armed Bigeard, along with Langlais, took de facto command of the camp from General Christian de Castries in mid-March. The historian Jules Roy, however, makes no mention of this event, and Martin Windrow argues that the 'Paratrooper putsch' is unlikely to have happened. Both Langlais and Bigeard were known to be on good relations with their commanding officer. Bigeard helped organize local counter-attack, having been placed in command of the camps counter-attacking force, and was heavily involved in the fighting for strongpoints Eliane 1 and Eliane 2. Towards the end of the battle he was promoted (along with other commanders) to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. This was in some way seen as a reward for his valiant command of his troops before the expected massacre at the end of the battle. Bigeard entered captivity after the main garrison fell on 7 May 1954 He survived the Viet Minh death camps and was repatriated three months later. He is thought by many to have been a dominating influence on French 'unconventional' warfare thinking from that time onwards

     He the returned to combat duty to resume fighting in Algeria . After the withdrawal from Algeria he held several commands in Europe and Africa before finishing his military career as M.O.D. representative which he resigned following disaccord with the government defence politic.

 

    General Bigeard retired in his hometown of Toul after a brief spell in politics to become a prolific author.

 

    He died the 18^th June 2010 aged 94 and the most decorated officer of the French army. His last victory was to obtain that his ashes be dispersed over Dien Bien Phu to rejoin his long fallen comrades.

 

1967 Promoted to Brigadier General and placed in command of ground forces in Dakar Senegal

1970–1973 Placed in command all forces in the French Indian Ocean Territory

1975–1976 Appointed State Secretary in Ministry of National Defence by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

1976 Resigned from the army

1978–1988 Deputy for the region of Meurthe-et-Moselle served as a minister in the government of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

2010 dies – buried with honours