Officer of the 1er RCP Engaged for 8 years at the ESMIA promotion «
French Union » on September 29, 1952, Philipe Erulin followed the course of the school of infantry application () until January 1955. He was assigned to the
1e RCP from 1954 to 1959 first at Bône, then at Philippeville, with the rank of
lieutenant. He served with the 1e RCP in the
Algerian War () and
Operation Musketeer (). In Algeria, he commanded a section which served mainly in the Aurès and in Kabylie. He was wounded twice, once seriously, and was cited 4 times. He was made a Chevalier of the
Legion of Honor at the age of 26. He participated in the
Battle of Algiers () in which his regiment was engaged in 1957. He was with André Charbonnier, one of the two officers that arrested
Maurice Audin (),
Algerian militant communist whose party was engaged in the armed struggle with the FLN, on June 10, 1957. He was assigned to the 6th company of the 153rd Motorized Infantry Regiment 153e RIM at Bône in Algeria and assumed command of the company on June 1, 1962. The 153e RIM was repatriated from Algeria and became mechanized and garrisoned at Mutzig on January 4, 1963. On July 1, 1964, he joined the general staff headquarters of the 6th Mechanized Brigade. Destined for a deployment overseas, he was assigned as a quality chief at the operations bureau of the
3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment 3e REI at Diego Suarez on August 2, 1966, as well as the general staff headquarters of the regiment. He was promoted to the rank of
chef de bataillon on July 1, 1968. Repatriated by end of tour on August 12, 1968, he was assigned to the ninth administrative regional company. In November, he joined the inspection of the infantry then integrated the 84th promotion of the Superior War School on September 1, 1970.
Controversy on assumed acts of torture Henri Alleg (), a communist militant, director of Alger républicain (), stopped right after Audin in the same operation, accused Charbonnier and Erulin of having tortured him under the orders of
Captain Roger Faulques. He published in 1958
La Question (), a testimony denouncing
torture during the Algerian war of independence (). On the services which were applicable on him, Henri Alleg talked about a « torturing lieutenant », trying to refer to Philippe Erulin.
Pierre Vidal-Naquet () reported the testimony of Georges Hadjad, another communist militant, who was trying to confirm having seen «
lieutenant Erulin » and other officers with Audin in the space where the latter was tortured. All denied torture. In 1978, the guest of the television broadcast ''Les Dossiers de l'écran'' (),
René Andrieu (), also editor chief of L'Humanité (), profited from the resounding of Operation Kolwezi, to accuse Philippe Erulin to have been the torturer of
Henri Alleg, the latter, still insisting as mentioned in his book. The
Ministre de la Défense Yvon Bourges (), announced in a statement that he was scandalized by the behavior of
René Andrieu, while the rescue intervention in
Shaba was still on going in action. A little later, Jean Planchais () profited from the death of
Colonel Philipe Erulin to criticize the amnesty and silence on the
torture during that war (). and the affair inspired the film
A Captain's Honor (). The family of Colonel Erulin launched accordingly several legal accusations while winning some. In 2014, Jean-Charles Deniau (), who obtained the undisclosed topics of
général Paul Aussaresses () confirmed that Audin and Alleg were tortured, but did not cite or mention Philipe Erulin as a torturer of these last two.
Commandant of the 2e REP , 2e REP On July 9, 1976, Philipe Erulin assumed the command of the
2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment at Calvi with the designated rank of
Colonel.
Battle of Kolwezi On May 17, the
President of
France Valéry Giscard d'Estaing () decided on an operation on
Zaïre where Katanga rebels were committing massacres and apprehending hostages. Making his way out of Calvi with his regiment on May 19, 1978, after a transit in Kinshasa, he jumped spearheading 700
paratroopers organized in two waves on
Kolwezi (). The town which consisted of 2000 European civilians (principally Belgian and French), was liberated after violent combats with the rebels. The regiment endured the loss of 5 men, twenty legionnaires being
wounded. On June 6, the President of Zaïre
Mobutu Sese Seko () gave the accolade to colonels Yves Gras () (
military attaché of Zaire) and Philippe Erulin: the Franco-Belge intervention equally permitted to consolidate his regime. On June 7, they returned to Calvi. The following week,
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing rendered them a visit to congratulate the operation during an arms ceremony at Bastia. Under his orders, during this battle, served notably
Benoît Puga,
Bruno Dary and
Ante Gotovina, who according to ''L'Humanité'',also served to drive Erulin. The same journal confirmed that his brother Dominique (who associated later with Ante Gotovina) participated to the battle, while the latter had already left the army, following the Algerian War. Assigned to the general staff headquarters of the
French Army EMAT in July 1978, he died on September 26, 1979, from a
ruptured aneurysm in Paris.
Hommages to the operation of Kolwezi Thirty years later, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing returned to Calvi and confirmed that the operation of Kolwezi has become a reference, a school for all, military and political directors, which would have to prepare what is referred today as exterior operations. The operation of Kolwezi is actually taught in military schools. For Jean Guisnel (), this operation also marked the end of defiance of the political power towards the
French Foreign Legion following the
general's putsch. == Citations and homages ==