Pierre Dufour d'Astafort

Pierre Dufour d’Astafort, son of warrant officer Baron François Dufour d’Astafort, entered the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr in 1905 and was assigned to the 5th Dragoon Regiment as second lieutenant two years later. In 1908, he was transferred to the 3rd Cuirassier Regiment, where he was promoted to lieutenant.

At the 1912 Olympics, Dufour d’Astafort competed in all three equestrian sports. In show jumping, he won silver in team event with his horse Amazone. One day earlier, he placed equal 13th in the individual event. In the following year, he was transferred to the 27th Dragoon Regiment.

In the first year of World War I, Dufour d’Astafort was wounded in action in the abdomen. In 1916 he rose to the rank of captain and was despatched at the disposal of the Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honour. In the final year of the war, he was seconded to the army general staff. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

In 1919, Dufour d’Astafort joined the 22nd Dragoon Regiment and in the same year married Antoinette Pierrine Lucie Fischer. In 1933, he became squadron leader in the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment in Morocco. For his merits in World War II as lieutenant colonel in the 9th Divisional Reconnaissance Group, he was appointed Commander of the Legion of Honour in 1942.