French World War I veteran dies at 110

updated 4:39 p.m. ET Jan. 20, 2008

PARIS - World War I veteran Louis de Cazenave died Sunday at age 110, his son said, leaving just one known French survivor of the 1914-1918 conflict.

De Cazenave, who took part in the Battle of the Somme, died in his home in Brioude in central France, said his son, also named Louis de Cazenave.

"He died at his house, in his sleep, without suffering," the son said by telephone. He said his father was to be buried Tuesday in Brioude.

The last known French veteran of World War I — known as "poilus," meaning hairy or tough — is Lazare Ponticelli, also 110.

Born Oct. 16, 1897, de Cazenave was called up to fight in 1916 and served in different infantry regiments before joining an artillery unit in January 1918, according to a statement from the French president's office.

De Cazenave took part in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, in which more than a million soldiers died, and in the liberation of France from German forces, the statement said.

"His death is an occasion for all of us to think of the 1.4 million French who sacrificed their lives during this conflict, for the 4.5 million wounded, for the 8.5 million mobilized," President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement.

"This generation has only one remaining representative today."

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