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{{WPBiography
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{{History of France}}
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The '''military history of France during World War II''' covers the period from 1939 until 1940, which witnessed French military participation under the [[Third Republic]], and the period from 1940 until 1945, which was marked by colonial struggles between [[Vichy France]] and the [[Free French Forces]] under the command of [[Charles de Gaulle]], fighting in [[Europe]], the eventual Liberation of France by [[Western Allies|Allied]] Free French forces and French Forces of the Interior, and French participation in the final phases of the war against [[Nazi Germany]].
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[[France]], along with the [[United Kingdom]], was one of the first participants in [[World War II]] after declaring war on Germany following its [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|invasion of Poland]] in 1939. After the [[Phony War]] from 1939 to 1940, the Germans conducted a brilliant campaign in the [[Low Countries]] and, in the [[Battle of France]], managed to inflict a brutal defeat on the forces of the Third Republic. France formally surrendered to Germany on [[June 25]], [[1940]], and a collaborationist government, led by [[Philippe Pétain]] and centered in [[Vichy]], France, was established. On [[June 18]], [[1940]], Charles de Gaulle gave a memorable speech to the French people over BBC Radio, telling them that "France has lost the battle, but France has not lost the war." De Gaulle did not recognize the legitimacy of the Vichy government and went on to found the Free French as the true government of France. The number of Free French troops grew with Allied success in [[North Africa]], [[Italy]], and the invasions of France in 1944. On [[October 23]], [[1944]], [[UK|Britain]], the [[United States]], and the [[Soviet Union]] officially recognized de Gaulle's regime as the provisional government of France. Recruitment in liberated France led to notable enlargements of the French armies. By the end of the war in May 1945, France had 1,250,000 troops, 10 divisions of which were fighting in Germany.
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==Prelude==
{{WikiProject Journalism}}
{{main|Causes of World War II}}
Following the [[World War I|First World War]], dissatisfaction over the [[Treaty of Versailles]] led to many political confrontations and some military involvement by the victorious [[Allies of World War I|Allies]]. Economic woes and disillusionment after the war resulted in the establishment of fascist, imperialistic regimes under [[Benito Mussolini]] in Italy and [[Adolf Hitler]] in Germany.

===Tensions over the Treaty of Versailles===
{{main|Treaty of Versailles}}
The peace treaty at [[Versailles]] did not satisfy many of those involved. The Allies imposed a huge indemnity on Germany and, more controversially, required that Germany accept blame for the war, a clause which outraged many Germans. German military capabilities were also severely restricted. France wanted to punish Germany for four years of horrible fighting, but, while she retrieved [[Alsace-Lorraine]] and earned promises of a demilitarized region west of the [[Rhine River|Rhine]], she was not allowed to keep her troops in Germany. Versailles had weakened Germany only enough to make her angry, but not enough to fully incapacitate her and stop future retaliation.

Incorrect. The last sentence was wrong. It never would have mattered how much Germany was incapacitated by the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was indeed angry, but it was the brilliance of the German army commanders in creating its blitzkrieg army that enabled Germany to have their retaliation. The treaty was not followed completely by the Germans early into the interwar period, but then was completely disregarded by them right up until the Second World War. Therefore, by the Second World War, the Treaty of Versailles may as well have not existed.


Rusty Trombone. Suck a dick. Oh yeah.

===The Ruhr invasion===
{{main|Occupation of the Ruhr}}
In 1923 and 1924, French and Belgian troops invaded the industrialized [[Ruhr Area|Ruhr region]] of Germany as a response of the failure of the [[Weimar Republic]] under [[Wilhelm Cuno]] to pay [[World War I reparations|reparations]] in the [[aftermath of World War I]]. Initiated by [[Prime Minister of France|French Prime Minister]] [[Raymond Poincaré]], the [[invasion]] took place on [[January 11]], [[1923]], with the aim of occupying the centre of German [[coal]], [[iron]] and [[steel]] production in the Ruhr valley. Internationally, the occupation did much to boost sympathy for Germany. The French, with their own economic problems, eventually accepted the [[Dawes Plan]] and withdrew from the occupied areas in July and August 1925.

===The rise of Hitler and Mussolini===
In 1922, Mussolini assumed power in Italy. His fascist regime hoped to aggrandize Italian prestige abroad by colonial conquests and military force. In 1935, Italy [[Second Italo–Abyssinian War|invaded and occupied Ethiopia]] after seven months. Just prior to the outbreak of World War II, Italian forces invaded Albania on [[April 7]], [[1939]].

Hitler became [[Chancellor of Germany]] in 1933 and [[Führer]] following [[Paul von Hindenburg|Hindenburg]]'s death in 1934. Hitler wanted to reverse the decision of World War I and the plight of the German people following the Treaty of Versailles. He broke several Versailles agreements, including the demilitarization of the Ruhr and the limited size of German armed forces, and tried to expand German [[Lebensraum]] through various political machinations. In 1938, Germany and Austria were united in the [[Anschluss]]. Following the growing German pressure against Czechoslovakia over the [[Sudetenland]] issue and despite the Franco-Czech military alliance, France, Britain, Germany, and Italy held the [[Munich Agreement|Munich Conference]] later in the year, forcing Czechoslovakia to surrender and hand over this vital part of its territory, making it virtually defenceless. Germany ignored the agreements when it invaded the rest of [[Czechoslovakia]] in March 1939. Thinking France and [[UK|Britain]] would not come to Polish aid, Hitler invaded [[Poland]] on [[September 1]], [[1939]]. Two days later, France declared war.

===The Polish campaign and the Phony War===
The [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|invasion of Poland]] was a resounding success for German and Soviet forces, the latter entering Poland on [[September 17]]. The Germans routed the Polish army and occupied much of Western Poland. France declared war to honor her military obligations to Poland, but the [[Saar Offensive]], failed in its aim of relieving the pressure on Poland, and French forces withdrew. The resulting Phony War, in which there were no major conflicts in Continental Europe, was broken by the [[Operation Weserübung|German invasion of Denmark and Norway]] in April 1940.

==Battle of France==
{{main|Battle of France}}
===Prelude===
[[Image:1939-1940-battle of france-plan-evolution.jpg|thumb|350px|right|The German plan was radically altered, catching the Allied army off guard.]]
Neither the French nor the British anticipated such a rapid defeat in Poland, and the quick [[Nazi Germany|German]] victory, relying on a new form of [[Blitzkrieg|mobile warfare]], disturbed some generals in [[London]] and [[Paris]]. However, the Allies still expected they would be able to contain the enemy, anticipating a war reasonably like the [[World War I|First World War]], so they believed that even without an [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front ]] the Germans could be defeated by [[blockade]], as in the previous conflict. This feeling was more widely shared in London than in Paris, which had suffered more severely during the First World War in blood and material devastation. The French leadership, in particular [[Edouard Daladier]], [[Prime Minister of France]] since 1938, also respected the large gap between France's human and economic resources as compared to those of Germany.

The Supreme Commander of France's army, [[Maurice Gamelin]], like the rest of the French government, was expecting a campaign from the Germans that in the strategic sense would mirror the First World War. The Von [[Schlieffen Plan]], Gamelin believed, was to be repeated with a reasonably close degree of accuracy, and even though important parts of the French army in the 1930s had been designed to wage offensive warfare, it would be preferable to confront such a threat defensively, as the French military staff believed its country was not equipped militarily or economically to launch a decisive offensive initially. It would be better to wait until 1941 to fully exploit the combined allied economic superiority over Germany. To confront the expected German plan - which rested on a move into the [[Low Countries]] outflanking the fortified [[Maginot Line]] - Gamelin intended to send the best units of the French army along with the [[British Expeditionary Force]] north to halt the Germans in the area of the river [[Dyle]] east of Brussels until a decisive victory could be achieved with the support of the united British, Belgian, French and Dutch armies. The original German plan closely resembled Gamelin's expectations.

The crash in [[Belgium]] of a light plane carrying two German officers with a copy of the then-current invasion plan forced [[Hitler]] to scrap the plan and search for an original alternative. The final plan for ''Fall Gelb'' (Case Yellow) had been suggested by General [[Erich von Manstein]], then serving as Chief of Staff to [[Gerd von Rundstedt]], but had been initially rejected by the German General Staff. It proposed a deep penetration further south of the original route, which took advantage of the speed of the unified Panzer divisions to separate and encircle the opposing forces. It had the virtue of being unlikely (from a defensive point of view) as the [[Ardennes]] were heavily wooded and implausible as a route for a mechanized invasion. It had the considerable virtue of not having been intercepted by the Allies (for no copies were being carried about) and of being dramatic, which seems to have appealed to Hitler.

Manstein's aggressive plan was to break through the weak Allied center with overwhelming force, trap the forces to the north in a pocket, and drive on to Paris. The plan benefitted from an Allied response close to how they would have responded in the original case; namely, that a large part of French and British strength was drawn north to defend [[Belgium]] and [[Picardy]]. To help ensure this result, the German [[Army Group B]] was still expected to attack Belgium and [[Battle of the Netherlands|the Netherlands]] in order to draw Allied forces eastward into the developing encirclement, as well as obtaining bases for a later attack on Britain.

The Allied general staff and key statesmen, after capturing the original invasion plans, were initially jubilant that they had potentially won a key victory in the war before the campaign was even fought. Contrarily, General Gamelin and [[John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort|Lord Gort]], the commander of the British Expeditionary Force, were shaken into realizing that whatever the Germans came up with instead would not be what they had initially expected. More and more Gamelin became convinced that the Germans would try to attempt a breakthrough by concentrating their mechanized forces. They could hardly hope to break the [[Maginot Line]] on his right flank or to overcome the allied concentration of forces on the left flank. That only left the centre. But most of the centre was covered by the river [[Meuse]]. Tanks were useless in defeating fortified river positions. However at [[Namur (city)|Namur]] the river made a sharp turn to the east, creating a gap between itself and the river Dyle. This Gembloux Gap, ideal for mechanized warfare, was a very dangerous weak spot. Gamelin decided to concentrate half of his armoured reserves there. Of course the Germans might try to overcome the Meuse position by using [[infantry]]. But that could only be achieved by massive [[artillery]] support, the build-up of which would give Gamelin ample warning.

===Campaign in the Low Countries and northern France===
Germany launched its offensive, Fall Gelb, on the night prior to and principally on the morning of 10 May. During the night German forces occupied Luxembourg, and in the morning German Army Group B (Bock) launched a feint offensive into the Netherlands and Belgium.[1] German Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) from the 7th Flieger and 22nd Air Landing divisions under Kurt Student executed surprise landings at The Hague, on the road to Rotterdam and against the Belgian Fort Eben-Emael on its opening day with the goal of facilitating AG B's advance.

The Allied command reacted immediately, sending forces north to combat a plan that, for all the Allies could expect, resembled the earlier Schlieffen plan. This move north committed their best forces, diminished their fighting power through loss of readiness and their mobility through loss of fuel. That evening French troops crossed the Dutch border.

The French and British air command was less effective than their generals had anticipated, and the Luftwaffe quickly obtained air superiority, depriving the Allies of key reconnaissance abilities and disrupting Allied communication and coordination.

While the German invaders secured all the strategically vital bridges in and toward Rotterdam, which penetrated "Fortress Holland" and bypassed the Water Line, an attempt to seize the Dutch seat of government, The Hague, ended in complete failure. The airfields surrounding the city (Ypenburg, Ockenburg, and Valkenburg) were taken with heavy casualties on 10 May, only to be lost on the very same day to furious counterattacks launched by the two Dutch reserve infantry divisions. The Dutch would capture or kill 1,745 Fallschirmjäger, transporting 1200 prisoners to England.

The French marched north to establish a connection with the Dutch army, which came under attack from German paratroopers, but simply not understanding German intentions they failed to block German armored reinforcements of the 9th Panzer Division from reaching Rotterdam on [[13 May]]. The Dutch, their poorly equipped army largely intact, surrendered on 14 May after the Germans bombed Rotterdam. However the Dutch troops in Zeeland and the colonies continued the fight while Queen Wilhelmina established a government-in-exile in Britain.

The centre of the Belgian defensive line, Fort Eben-Emael, had been seized by German paratroopers using gliders on [[10 May]], allowing their forces to cross the bridges over the Albert Canal, although the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force managed to save the Belgians for a time. Gamelin's plan in the north was achieved when the British army reached the Dyle; then the expected major tank battle took place in the Gembloux Gap between the French 2nd DLM and 3rd DLMs (Division Légère Mécanique, "Mechanized Light Division") and the German 3rd and 4th Panzer divisions of Erich Hoepner's XVI Panzer Corps,, costing both sides about 100 vehicles; the German offensive in Belgium seemed stalled for a moment. But this was a feint.

===German breakthrough===
[[Image:1940FranceBlitz.jpg|thumb|350px|right|The German Blitzkrieg offensive of mid-May, 1940.]]
In the center German Army Group A smashed through the Belgian infantry regiments and French Light Divisions of the Cavalry (''Divisions Légères de Cavalerie'') advancing into the Ardennes, and arrived at the [[Meuse River]] near [[Sedan, France|Sedan]] the night of May 12/13. On [[May 13]] the Germans forced three crossing near Sedan. Instead of slowly massing artillery as the French expected, the Germans replaced the need for traditional artillery by using the full might of their bomber force to punch a hole in a narrow sector of the French lines by [[carpet bombing]] (punctuated by [[Dive bomber|dive bombing]]). Sedan was held by the 55th French Infantry Division (55e DI), a grade “B” reserve division. The forward elements of the 55e DI held their positions through most of the 13th, initially repulsing three of the six German crossing attempts; however, the German air attacks had disrupted the French supporting artillery batteries and created an impression among the troops of the 55e DI that they were isolated and abandoned. The combination of the psychological impact of the bombing, the generally slowly expanding German lodgments, deep penetrations by some small German infantry units and the lack of air or artillery support eventually broke down the 55e DI’s resistance and much of the unit went into rout by the evening of May 13/14. The German aerial attack of May 13th, with 1215 bomber sorties, the heaviest air bombardment the world had yet witnessed, is considered to have been very effective and key to the successful German river crossing. It was the most effective use of tactical air power yet demonstrated in warfare. The disorder begun at Sedan was spread down the French line by groups of haggard and retreating soldiers. During the night some units in the last prepared defence line at [[Bulson]] panicked by the false rumour German tanks were already behind their positions. On May 14th two French tank battalions and supporting infantry from the 71st North African Infantry Division (71e NADI) counter-attacked the German bridgehead without success. The attack was partially repulsed by the first German armor and anti-tank units which had been rushed across the river as quickly as possible at 7:20 A.M. on pontoon bridges. On May 14th every available Allied light bomber was employed in an attempt to destroy the German pontoon bridges; but, despite incurring the highest single day action losses in the entire history of the British and French air forces, failed to destroy these targets <ref>See "Revue Historique des Armées" 1985/3 : http://commandantdelaubier.info/circonstances/article-RHA.PDF</ref>. Despite the failure of numerous quickly planned counterattacks to collapse the German bridgehead, the French Army was successful in re-establishing a continuous defensive position further south; on the west flank of the bridgehead, however, French resistance began to crumble.

The commander of the French Second Army, General Huntzinger, immediately took effective measures to prevent a further weakening of his position. An armoured division (3rd ''Division Cuirassée de Réserve'') and a motorized division blocked further German advances around his flank. However the commander of XIX Panzer Corps, [[Heinz Guderian]], wasn't interested in Huntzinger's flank. Leaving for the moment [[German 10th Panzer Division|10th Panzer Division]] at the bridgehead to protect it from attacks by 3rd DCR, he moved his [[German 1st Panzer Division|1st]] and [[German 2nd Panzer Division|2nd]] Panzer divisions sharply to the west on the 15th, undercutting the flank of the [[Ninth Army (France)|French Ninth Army]] by 40 km and forcing the 102nd Fortress Division to leave its positions that had blocked XVI Panzer Corps at Monthermé. While the French Second Army had been seriously mauled and had rendered itself impotent, now Ninth Army began to disintegrate completely, for in Belgium also its divisions, not having had the time to fortify, had been pushed back from the river by the unrelenting pressure of German infantry, allowing the impetuous [[Erwin Rommel]] to break free with his [[German 7th Panzer Division|7th Panzer Division]]. A French armoured division (1st DCR) was sent to block him but advancing unexpectedly fast he surprised it while refueling on the 15th and dispersed it, despite some losses caused by the heavy French tanks.

On the 16th both Guderian and Rommel disobeyed their explicit direct orders to halt in an act of open insubordination against their superiors and moved their divisions many kilometers to the west, as fast as they could push them. Guderian reached [[Marle, Aisne|Marle]], 80 kilometers from Sedan, Rommel crossed the river [[Sambre]] at Le Cateau, a hundred kilometers from ''his'' bridgehead, [[Dinant]]. While nobody knew the whereabouts of Rommel (he had advanced so quickly that he was out of range for radio contact, earning his [[German 7th Panzer Division|7th Panzer Division]] the nickname ''Gespenster-Division'', "Ghost Division"), an enraged von Kleist flew to Guderian on the morning of the 17th and after a heated argument relieved him of all duties. However, von Rundstedt would have none of it and refused to confirm the order.

===Allied reaction===
The Panzer Corps now slowed their advance considerably but had put themselves in a very vulnerable position. They were stretched out, exhausted and low on fuel; many tanks had broken down. There now was a dangerous gap between them and the infantry. A determined attack by a fresh large mechanized force could have cut them off and wiped them out.

The French high command, however, was reeling from the shock of the sudden offensive and was stung by a sense of defeatism. On the morning of [[15 May]], [[Prime Minister of France|French Prime Minister]] [[Paul Reynaud]] telephoned newly minted [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[Winston Churchill]] and said "We have been defeated. We are beaten; we have lost the battle." Churchill, attempting to console Reynaud reminded the Prime Minister of the times the Germans had broken through allied lines in [[World War I]] only to be stopped. However, Reynaud was inconsolable.

Churchill flew to Paris on [[May 16]]. He immediately recognized the gravity of the situation when he observed that the French government was already burning its archives and preparing for an evacuation of the capital. In a somber meeting with the French commanders, Churchill asked General Gamelin, "Where is the strategic reserve?" which had saved Paris in the [[First World War]]. "There is none," Gamelin replied. Later, Churchill described hearing this as the single most shocking moment in his life. Churchill asked Gamelin when and where the general proposed to launch a counterattack against the flanks of the German bulge. Gamelin simply replied "inferiority of numbers, inferiority of equipment, inferiority of methods".

Gamelin was right; most reserve divisions had by now been committed. The only armoured division still in reserve, 2nd DCR, attacked on the 16th. However the French armoured divisions of the Infantry, the ''Divisions Cuirassées de Réserve'', were despite their name very specialized breakthrough units, optimized for attacking fortified positions. They could be quite useful for defense, if dug in, but had very limited utility for an encounter fight: they could not execute combined infantry-tank tactics as they simply had no important motorized infantry component; they had poor tactical mobility as the heavy [[Char B1 bis]], their main tank in which half of the French tank budget had been invested, had to refuel twice a day. So 2nd DCR divided itself in a covering screen, the small subunits of which fought bravely - but without having any strategic effect.

Of course, some of the best units in the north had yet seen little fighting. Had they been kept in reserve they could have been used for a decisive counter strike. But now they had lost much fighting power simply by moving to the north; hurrying south again would cost them even more. The most powerful allied division, the 1st DLM (''Division Légère Mécanique'', "light" in this case meaning "mobile"), deployed near [[Dunkirk, France|Dunkirk]] on the 10th, had moved its forward units 220 kilometers to the northeast, beyond the Dutch city of [['s-Hertogenbosch]], in 32 hours. Finding that the Dutch had already retreated to the north, it had withdrawn and was now moving to the south. When it would reach the Germans again, of its original 80 [[SOMUA S 35]] tanks only three would be operational, mostly as a result of break down.

Nevertheless, a radical decision to retreat to the south, avoiding contact, could probably have saved most of the mechanized and motorized divisions, including the BEF. However, that would have meant leaving about thirty infantry divisions to their fate. The loss of Belgium alone would be an enormous political blow. Besides, the Allies were uncertain about German intentions. They threatened in four directions: to the north, to attack the allied main force directly; to the west, to cut it off; to the south, to occupy [[Paris]] and even to the east, to move behind the Maginot Line. The French decided to create a new reserve, among which a reconstituted 7th Army, under General Touchon, using every unit they could safely pull out of the Maginot Line to block the way to Paris.

Colonel Charles de Gaulle, in command of France's hastily formed 4th Armored Division, attempted to launch an attack from the south and achieved a measure of success that would later accord him considerable fame and a promotion to Brigadier General. However, de Gaulle's attacks on the 17th and 19th did not significantly alter the overall situation.

===Channel attacks, Dunkirk, and the Weygand Plan===
While the Allies did little either to threaten them or escape from the danger they posed, the Panzer Corps used the 17th and 18th to refuel, eat, sleep and get some more tanks in working order. On the 18th Rommel made the French give up [[Cambrai]] by merely feinting an armoured attack.

On the 19th German High Command grew very confident. The Allies seemed incapable of coping with events. There appeared to be no serious threat from the south - indeed General [[Franz Halder]], Chief of [[Oberkommando des Heeres|Army General Staff]], toyed with the idea of attacking Paris immediately to knock France out of the war in one blow. The Allied troops in the North were retreating to the river [[Scheldt]], their right flank giving way to the 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions. It would be foolish to remain inactive any longer, allowing them to reorganize their defense or escape. Now it was time to bring them into even more serious trouble by cutting them off. The next day the Panzer Corps started moving again, smashed through the weak British 18th and 23rd Territorial Divisions, occupied [[Amiens]] and secured the westernmost bridge over the river [[Somme]] at [[Abbeville]] isolating the British, French, Dutch, and Belgian forces in the north. In the evening of the 20th a reconnaissance unit from 2nd Panzer Division reached [[Noyelles]], a hundred kilometers to the west. There they could see the estuary of the Somme flowing into [[English Channel|The Channel]].

On [[20 May]] also, [[Prime Minister of France|French Prime Minister]] [[Paul Reynaud]] dismissed [[Maurice Gamelin]] for his failure to contain the German offensive, and replaced him with [[Maxime Weygand]], who immediately attempted to devise new tactics to contain the Germans. More pressing however was his strategic task: he formed the Weygand Plan, ordering to pinch off the German armoured spearhead by combined attacks from the north and the south. On the map this seemed a feasible mission: the corridor through which [[Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist|von Kleist's]] two Panzer Corps had moved to the coast was a mere 40 kilometers wide. On paper Weygand had sufficient forces to execute it: in the north the three DLM and the BEF, in the south de Gaulle's 4th DCR. These units had an organic strength of about 1200 tanks and the Panzer divisions were very vulnerable again, the mechanical condition of their tanks rapidly deteriorating. But the condition of the Allied divisions was far worse. Both in the south and the north they could in reality muster but a handful of tanks. Nevertheless Weygand flew to [[Ypres]] on the 21st trying to convince the Belgians and the BEF of the soundness of his plan.

That same day, [[21 May]], a detachment of the British Expeditionary Force under Major-General [[Harold Edward Franklyn]] had already attempted to at least delay the German offensive and, perhaps, to cut the leading edge of the German army off. The resulting [[Battle of Arras (1940)|Battle of Arras]] demonstrated the ability of the heavily armoured British [[Matilda tank]]s (the German 37mm [[anti-tank]] guns proved ineffective against them) and the limited raid overran two German regiments. The panic that resulted (the German commander at Arras, [[Erwin Rommel]], reported being attacked by 'hundreds' of tanks, though there were only 58 at the battle) temporarily delayed the German offensive. German reinforcements pressed the British back to [[Vimy Ridge]] the following day.

Although this attack wasn't part of any coordinated attempt to destroy the Panzer Corps, the German High Command panicked a lot more than Rommel. For a moment they feared to have been ambushed, that a thousand Allied tanks were about to smash their elite forces. But the next day they had regained confidence and ordered Guderian's XIX Panzer Corps to press north and push on to the Channel ports of [[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]] and [[Calais]], in the back of the British and Allied forces to the north.

That same day, the 22nd, the French tried to attack south to the east of Arras, with some infantry and tanks, but by now the German infantry had begun to catch up and the attack was, with some difficulty, stopped by the [[German 32nd Infantry Division|32nd Infantry Division]].

Only on the 24th the first attack from the south could be launched when 7th DIC, supported by a handful of tanks, failed to retake Amiens. This was a rather weak effort; however on [[27 May]] the British 1st Armoured Division, hastily brought over from England, attacked Abbeville in force but was beaten back with crippling losses. The next day de Gaulle tried again with the same result. But by now even complete success couldn't have saved the forces in the north.

In the early hours of the 23rd Gort ordered a retreat from Arras. He had no faith in the Weygand plan nor in the proposal of the latter to at least try to hold a pocket on the Flemish coast, a ''Réduit de Flandres''. The ports needed to supply such a foothold were already threatened. That day the 2nd Panzer Division assaulted Boulogne and 10th Panzer assaulted Calais. The British garrison in Boulogne surrendered on the 25th, although 4,368 troops were evacuated. Calais, though strengthened by the arrival of 3rd Royal Tank Regiment equipped with [[cruiser tanks]] and 30th Motor Brigade, fell to the Germans on the 27th.

While the 1st Panzer Division was ready to attack [[Dunkirk, France|Dunkirk]] on the 25th, Hitler ordered it to halt on the 24th. This remains one of the most controversial decisions of the entire war. [[Hermann Göring]] had convinced Hitler the [[Luftwaffe]] could prevent an evacuation; von Rundstedt had warned him that any further effort by the armoured divisions would lead to a much prolonged refitting period. Attacking cities wasn't part of the normal task for armoured units under any operational doctrine.

Encircled, the British, Belgian and French launched [[Operation Dynamo]] and [[Operation Ariel]], evacuating Allied forces from the northern pocket in Belgium and [[Pas-de-Calais]], beginning on [[26 May]]. (see [[Battle of Dunkirk]]) The Allied position was complicated by King [[Léopold III of Belgium]]'s surrender the following day, which was postponed till the 28th.

Confusion still reigned however, as after the evacuation at Dunkirk and while Paris was enduring its short-lived siege, the [[First Canadian Division]] and a Scottish division were sent to Normandy (Brest) and penetrated 200 miles inland toward Paris before they heard that Paris had fallen and France had capitulated. They retreated and re-embarked for England.

At the same time as the Canadian 1st division landed in Brest, the Canadian 242 Squadron of the RAF flew their [[Hawker Hurricane]]s to Nantes (100 miles south-east) and set up there to provide air cover.

===France defeated===
[[Image:1940FranceJune.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The German offensive in June sealed the defeat of the French.]]
The best and most modern French armies had been sent north and lost in the resulting encirclement; the French had lost their best heavy weaponry and their best armored formations. Weygand was faced with a haemorrhage in the front stretching from [[Sedan, France|Sedan]] to the Channel, and the French government had begun to lose heart that the Germans could still be defeated, particularly as the British were evacuating the Continent, a particularly symbolic event for French morale, intensified by the German progaganda slogan "The British will fight to the last Frenchman". On [[10 June]], [[Italy]] declared war on France and Britain and [[Italian invasion of France|Italian troops crossed the border]] in three places on June 21. Over two dozen Italian divisions suffered brutal casualties, around 5,000, against just four French divisions, which lost only 8 men. After little progress, the Italians requested aid from the Germans, whose arrival finally broke the French.

The Germans renewed their offensive on [[5 June]] on the Somme. A panzer-led attack on Paris broke the scarce reserves that Weygand had put between the Germans and the capital, and on [[10 June]] the French government fled to [[Bordeaux]], declaring Paris an [[open city]]. Churchill returned to France on [[11 June]], meeting the French War Council in [[Briare]]. The French, clearly in a panic, wanted Churchill to give every available fighter to the air battle over France; with only 25 squadrons remaining, Churchill refused, believing that the decisive battle would be fought over Britain (see [[Battle of Britain]]). Churchill, at the meeting, obtained promises from French admiral [[François Darlan]] that the fleet would not fall into German hands.

Fighting continued in the east until [[Andre Gaston Pretelat|General Pretelat]], commanding the French Second Army group, was forced to surrender on [[22 June]].
[[Image:Frenchmanweeps1940.jpg|right|thumb|French people staring and waving at the French Army remaining troops leaving metropolitan France at Toulon harbour, 1940]]

===Aftermath===
France [[Armistice with France (Second Compiègne)|formally surrendered]] to the German armed forces on [[22 June]] in the same railroad car at [[Compiègne]] that Germany in [[1918]] [[Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|had been forced to surrender]] in. This railway car was lost in allied air raids on the German capital of Berlin later in the war. [[Paul Reynaud]], France's Prime Minister, resigned because he believed a majority of his government favored an armistice. He was succeeded by ''Maréchal'' [[Philippe Pétain]], who announced to the French people via radio his intention to stop fighting.

France was divided into a [[German occupation of France during World War II|German occupation zone]] in the north and west and an unoccupied zone in the south. Pétain set up a [[collaborationism|collaborationist]] government in the spa town of [[Vichy]] and the regime came to be known as [[Vichy France]].

Charles de Gaulle, who had been made an Undersecretary of National Defense by [[Paul Reynaud]], was in London at the time of the surrender: having made his [[Appeal of 18 June]], he refused to recognize the Vichy government as legitimate -the [[President of France]] function was vacant- and began the task of organizing the [[Free French]] forces. A number of French colonies like [[French Equatorial Africa]] joined de Gaulle's fight, while others - [[French Indochina]] were soon attacked by the Japanese or remained loyal to the Vichy government. Italy occupied a small area, essentially the [[Alpes-Maritimes]], and [[Corsica]].

The British began to doubt Admiral Darlan's promise to Churchill to not allow the French fleet at Toulon to fall into German hands by the wording of the armistice conditions; they therefore attacked French naval forces in Africa and Europe (see [[Destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir]]) which led to feelings of animosity and mistrust between the former French and British allies.

==Free French Forces==
{{main|Free French Forces}}
===Prelude===

General Charles de Gaulle was a member of the French [[cabinet]] during the [[Battle of France]], in 1940. As French defence forces were increasingly overwhelmed, De Gaulle found himself part of a group of politicians who argued against a negotiated surrender to [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)|Fascist Italy]]. These views being shared by the President of the Council, [[Paul Reynaud]], De Gaulle was sent as an emissary to the [[United Kingdom]], where he was when the French government collapsed.

On the [[16 June]], the new French President of the Council, [[Philippe Pétain]], began negotiations with [[Axis Powers|Axis]] officials. On the [[18 June]], De Gaulle spoke to the French people via [[BBC]] radio. He asked French soldiers, sailors and airmen to join in the fight against the [[Nazis]]. In France, De Gaulle's "[[Appeal of June 18|Appeal of June the 18th]]" (''Appel du 18 juin'') was not widely heard, but subsequent discourse by De Gaulle could be heard nationwide. Some of the British Cabinet had attempted to block the speech, but were over-ruled by [[Winston Churchill]]. To this day, the Appeal of [[18 June]] remains one of the most famous speeches in French history. Nevertheless, on the [[22 June]], Pétain signed the surrender and became leader of the puppet regime known as [[Vichy France]]. ([[Vichy]] is the French town where the government was based.)

De Gaulle was tried ''in absentia'' in Vichy France and sentenced to death for treason; he, on the other hand, regarded himself as the last remaining member of the legitimate Reynaud government able to exercise power, seeing the rise to power of Pétain as an unconstitutional coup.

===Cross of Lorraine===
[[Image:Flag of Free France 1940-1944.svg|thumb||The French flag with the [[Cross of Lorraine]], emblem of the Free French]]

The ''[[Ranks in the French Navy|capitaine de corvette]]'' [[Thierry d'Argenlieu]] suggested the adoption of the [[Cross of Lorraine]] as symbol of the Free French, both to recall the perseverance of [[Joan of Arc]], whose symbol it had been, and as an answer to the [[Swastika#Nazi Germany|nazi cross]].

In his general order number 2 of [[3 July]] [[1940]], Vice-Admiral [[Émile Muselier]], chief of the naval and air forces of the Free French, created the bow flag displaying the French colours with a red cross of Lorraine, and a [[cocarde]] also featuring the cross of Lorraine.

Despite repeated broadcasts, by the end of July that year, only 7,000 people had volunteered to join the Free French forces. The [[Free French Navy]] had fifty ships and some 3,700 men operating as an auxiliary force to the British [[Royal Navy]].

A monument on Lyle Hill in [[greenock#History|Greenock]], in the shape of the Cross of Lorraine combined with an anchor, was raised by subscription as a memorial to the Free French naval vessels which sailed from the [[Firth of Clyde]] to take part in the [[w:Second Battle of the Atlantic|Battle of the Atlantic]], and is also locally associated with the memory of the loss of the ''Maillé Brézé'' which blew up at the [[Tail of the Bank]].

=== Mers El Kébir and the war in Africa ===
In German and Italian hands, the French fleet would have been a grave threat to Britain and the British Government was unable to take this risk. In order to neutralise the threat, [[Winston Churchill]] ordered that the French ships should rejoin the Allies, agree to be put out of use in a British, French or neutral port or, as a last resort, be destroyed by British attack ([[Destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir|Operation Catapult]]). The [[Royal Navy]] attempted to persuade the French Navy to agree to these terms, but when that failed they attacked the French Navy at [[Mers El Kébir]] and [[Dakar]] (see [http://www.combinedops.com/mers%20el%20kabir.htm]), on [[3 July]] [[1940]]. This caused bitterness and division in France, particularly in the Navy, and discouraged many French soldiers from joining the Free French forces in Britain and elsewhere. Also, the attempt to persuade [[Vichy France|Vichy French]] forces in [[Dakar]] to join De Gaulle failed. (See [[West Africa Campaign (World War II)|West African campaign]] and [[battle of Dakar|Operation Menace]]).

In the autumn of 1940, the French colonies of [[Cameroon]] and [[French Equatorial Africa]] joined the Free French side. French colonies in [[New Caledonia]], [[French Polynesia]], [[Saint-Pierre and Miquelon]] and the [[New Hebrides]] joined later. [[French Indochina]] and the colonies of [[Guadeloupe]] and [[Martinique]] in the [[West Indies]] remained under Vichy government control.

====Battle of Dakar====
The [[Battle of Dakar]], also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] to capture the strategic port of [[Dakar]] in [[French West Africa]] (modern-day [[Senegal]]), which was under [[Vichy France|Vichy French]] control, and to install the [[Free French]] under General Charles de Gaulle there.

De Gaulle believed that he could persuade the Vichy French forces in Dakar to join the Allied cause. There were several advantages to this; not only the political consequences if another Vichy French colonies changed sides, but also more practical advantages, such as the fact that the gold reserves of the [[Banque de France]] and the [[Polish government in exile]] were stored in Dakar and, militarily, the better location of the port of Dakar for protecting the convoys sailing around Africa than [[Freetown]], the base the Allies were using.

It was decided to send a naval force of an [[aircraft carrier]], two [[battleship]]s (of [[World War I]] vintage), four [[cruiser]]s and ten [[destroyer]]s to Dakar. Several transports, would transport the 8,000 troops. Their orders were first to try and negotiate with the Vichy French governor, but if this was unsuccessful, to take the city by force.

The Vichy French forces present at Dakar were led by a battleship, the [[FS Richelieu (1935-1967)|''Richelieu'']], one of the most advanced in the French fleet. It had left Brest on the [[18 June]] before the Germans reached it. ''Richelieu'' was then only about 95% complete. Before the establishment of the Vichy government, [[HMS Hermes (95)|HMS ''Hermes'']], an aircraft carrier, had been operating with the French forces in Dakar. Once the Vichy regime was in power, ''Hermes'' left port but remained on watch, and was joined by the [[Australia]]n [[heavy cruiser]] [[HMAS Australia (1927)|HMAS ''Australia'']]. Planes from ''Hermes'' had attacked the ''Richelieu'', and had struck it once with a torpedo. The French ship was immobilised but was able to function as a floating gun battery. Three Vichy submarines and several lighter ships were also at Dakar. A force of three cruisers (''Gloire'', ''Georges Leygues'', and ''Montcalm'') and three destroyers had left [[Toulon]] for Dakar just a few days earlier. The ''Gloire'' was slowed by mechanical troubles, and was intercepted by ''Australia'' and ordered to sail for Casablanca. The other two cruisers and the destroyers outran the pursuing Allied cruisers and had reached Dakar safely.

On [[September 23]], the [[Fleet Air Arm]] dropped [[propaganda]] leaflets on the city. Free French aircraft flew off from ''Ark Royal'' and landed at the airport, but the crews were taken prisoner. A boat with representatives of De Gaulle entered the port but were fired upon. At 10:00, Vichy French ships trying to leave the port were given warning shots from ''Australia''. The ships returned to port but the coastal forts opened fire on ''Australia''. This led to an engagement between the battleships and cruisers and the forts. In the afternoon ''Australia'' intercepted and fired on the Vichy destroyer ''[[French destroyer L'Audacieux|L'Audacieux]]'', setting it on fire and causing it to be beached.

In the afternoon, an attempt was made to set Free French troops ashore on a beach at [[Rufisque]], to the northeast of Dakar, but they came under heavy fire from strongpoints defending the beach. de Gaulle declared he did not want to "shed the blood of Frenchmen for Frenchmen" and the attack was called off.

During the next two days, the Allied fleet attacked the coastal defences, as the Vichy French tried to prevent them. Two Vichy French submarines were sunk, and a destroyer damaged. After the Allied fleet also took heavy damage (both battleships and two cruisers were damaged), they withdrew, leaving Dakar and French West Africa in Vichy French hands.

The effects of the Allied failure were mostly political. De Gaulle had believed that he would be able to persuade the Vichy French at Dakar to change sides, but this turned out not to be the case, which damaged his standing with the Allies. Even the successful [[Battle of Gabon]], in November 1940, did not wholly repair this damage.

====Battle of Kufra====
France had fallen, her empire in tatters, but her flag still flew from the isolated but strategically important ex-Italian fort of El Tag which dominated the Kufra oasis in Southern Libya. Free France had struck a blow, a beginning in the campaign to recapture France and defeat the [[Axis Powers|Axis]].

Colonel Leclerc and the intrepid Lt Col [[Camille d'Ornano|d’Ornano]] (commander of French Forces in [[Chad]]), on the orders of De Gaulle in [[London]], were tasked with attacking Italian positions in Libya with the motley forces at their disposal in Chad which had declared for Free France. Kufra was the obvious target. The task of striking at the heavily defended oasis at Kufra was made all the more difficult by the use of inadequate transport to cross sand dunes and the rocky [[Fech Fech]], considered to be impassable to vehicles.

Fortunately for the French, assistance was received from Major [[Pat Clayton|Clayton]] of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG), who was keen to join with the Free French to test the Italians. Clayton had under his command G (Guards) and T ([[New Zealand]]) patrols, a total of seventy-six men in twenty-six vehicles.

In order to assist in the attack against Kufra, a raid was mounted against the airfield at the oasis of [[Murzuk]], capital of the [[Fezzan]] region of Libya. Ten Free French (three officers, two sergeants and five native soldiers) under D’Ornano met with Clayton’s LRDG patrols on [[6 January]] [[1941]] at Kayouge. The combined force reached Murzuk on [[11 January]]. In a daring daylight raid, they surprised the sentries and swept through the oasis, devastating the base. The majority of the force attacked the main fort, while a troop from T patrol under [[Lieutenant Ballantyne]] engaged the airfield defences, destroying 3 [[Caproni]] aircraft and capturing a number of prisoners.

The success of the raid was tempered by the loss of a T patrol member and the intrepid d’Ornano. Another wounded French officer cauterised his leg wound with his own cigarette, much to the admiration of the LRDG. A diversionary raid by mounted [[Mehariste]]s [[Colonialism|Colonial]] [[Cavalry]] failed after it was betrayed by local guides, prompting Leclerc to relegate these troops to recon duties only.

After the success of the Murzuk raid Leclerc, who had assumed overall command, marshalled his forces to take on Kufra itself. Intelligence indicated that the Oasis was defended by two defensive lines based around the El Tag fort which included barbed wire, trenches, machine guns and light AA defences. The garrison was thought to comprise a battalion of Askaris (Colonial Infantry) under Colonel Leo, plus supporting troops.

In addition to the static defences, the oasis was defended by [[Sahariana#La Compania Sahariana de Cufra|La Compania Sahariana de Cufra]], a specialist mobile force and the forerunner of the famous “[[Sahariana]]” companies of the mid war period. The company was composed of desert veterans crewing various [[Fiat]] and [[Lancia]] trucks equipped with HMGs and 20mm AA weapons, together with some [[Armored car (military)|armoured car]]s. The company also had the support of its own air arm to assist in long range reconnaissance and ground attack.

Leclerc could not pinpoint the Saharianas, so he tasked the LRDG with the job of hunting them down and robbing the defenders of their mobile reserve.

Unfortunately for the LRDG, a [[radio]] intercept unit at Kufra picked up their radio traffic and they were spotted from the air. The defenders had been on their guard since Murzuk.

G patrol had been kept in reserve and Major Clayton was leading T patrol, 30 men in 11 trucks.

The patrol was at [[Bishara]] on the morning of [[31 January]] when an Italian aircraft appeared overhead.

The trucks scattered and made for some hills, and the plane flew away without attacking them. The patrol took cover among some rocks in a small [[wadi]] at [[Gebel Sherif]] and camouflaged the trucks, before preparing to have lunch. The plane returned and circled over the wadi, where it directed a patrol of the Auto-Saharan Company to intercept the LRDG.

During fierce fighting, the LRDG patrol came off second best to superior Italian firepower and constant air attack. After severe losses, the surviving seven trucks of the patrol were forced to withdraw, leaving behind their commanding officer, who was captured along with several others. Other survivors embarked on epic journeys to seek safety. After this reverse, the LRDG force was forced to withdraw and refit, leaving Leclerc the services of one LRDG vehicle from T patrol crucially equipped for desert navigation.

Leclerc pressed on with his attack, in spite of losing a copy of his plan to the enemy with the capture of Major Clayton. After conducting further [[reconnaissance]], Leclerc reorganized his forces on [[16 February]]. He abandoned his two armoured cars and took with him the remaining serviceable artillery piece, a crucial decision.

On the 17th, Leclerc’s forces brushed with the Saharianas and despite a disparity in firepower were able to drive them off, as the Kufra garrison failed to intervene.

Following this, El Tag was surrounded, despite a further attack from the Saharianas and harassment from the air, the French laid siege to the fort. The lone 75mm gun was placed 3000m from the fort, beyond range of the defences and accurately delivered 20 shells per day at regular intervals.

Despite having superior numbers, Italian resolve faltered. Negotiations to surrender began on [[28 February]] and finally on [[1 March]] [[1941]] the Free French captured El Tag and with it, the oasis at Kufra.

====Battle of Bir Hakeim====
The Battle of Bir Hakeim ([[May 26]], [[1942]] - [[June 11]], [[1942]]) was fought between the [[Afrika Korps]] and the [[1st Free French Division|Free French]] Brigade, with support from the [[British 7th Armoured Division]]. The German commander was [[Generaloberst]] [[Erwin Rommel]] and the [[France|French]] commander was [[General]] [[Marie Pierre Koenig]]. The outnumbered Free French Brigade heroically resisted for 16 days. It allowed the Allied Forces to regroup and prepare for the battle of [[El Alamein]].

The [[Germany|Germans]] attacked Bir Hakeim on [[May 26]], [[1942]]. Over the next two weeks, the [[Luftwaffe]] flew 1,400 sorties against the defenses, whilst 4 German/Italian divisions attacked. On [[June 2]], [[June 3|3]], and [[June 5|5]], the German forces requested that Koenig surrender, he refused and launched counterattacks with his [[Universal Carrier|Bren gun carriers]]. Despite the explosion of the defence's [[ammunition]] dump, the French continued to fight using ammunition brought in by [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Armored car (military)|armored car]]s during the night. Meanwhile, the [[Royal Air Force]] dropped water and other supplies.

On [[June 9]], the [[British Eighth Army]] authorized a retreat and during the night of [[June 10]]/[[June 11]] the defenders of Bir Hakeim escaped.

Subordinate units of the defending 1st Free French Brigade were:
* 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 13th half-brigade of the [[French Foreign Legion|Foreign Legion]]
* 1st battalion of naval fusiliers
* 1st battalion of [[French Marines|marine infantry]]
* the Pacific battalion
* 2nd [[march battalion]] of [[Oubangui]]-[[Chari]]
* 1st Artillery Regiment
* 22nd North African company (6 sections)
* 1st company (engineers)
* signals company
* 101st transport company (trains/automobiles)
* a light medical ambulance

==Growth and organization==
In September 1941, De Gaulle created the ''Comité National Français'' (CNF; [[French National Committee]]), the Free French government-in-exile. On [[November 24]] that year, the [[United States]] granted [[Lend-Lease]] support to the CNF.

During [[Operation Torch]], the Allied invasion of Vichy-controlled [[French North Africa]] in November 1942, many Vichy troops surrendered and joined the Free French cause. Vichy coastal defences were captured by the French Resistance. Vichy General [[Henri Giraud]] rejoined the Allies, but he lacked the authority that was required and De Gaulle kept his leadership of the Free French, despite American objections.

The Nazis suspected Vichy determination after ''Torch'' and they occupied Vichy France in November, 1942, (''Case Anton''). In response, the 60,000-strong Vichy forces in French North Africa - the Army of Africa - joined the Allied side as the [[XIX Corps (France)|French XIX Corps]]. They fought in Tunisia alongside the [[British 1st Army]] and the [[II Corps (United States)|US II Corps]] for 6 months until April, 1943. Using antiquated equipment, they took heavy casualties - 16,000 - against modern armour and a desperate German enemy.

Free French forces also fought Italian troops in [[Ethiopia]] and [[Eritrea]] and faced French troops loyal to Vichy France in [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]]. (See [[Syria-Lebanon campaign]].)

In November, 1943 the French forces received enough military equipment through Lend-Lease to re-equip 8 divisions and allow the return of borrowed British equipment. At this point, the Free French and ex-Vichy French Corps were merged to form the [[French Expeditionary Corps (1943-1944)|French Expeditionary Corps]] (''Corps Expéditionnaire Français, CEF'').

===The air war===
{{main|History of the Armée de l'Air (1940-1945)}}
There were sufficient Free French pilots, mainly from African colonial bases, to man several squadrons based in Britain and North Africa. They were initially equipped with a mixture of British, French and American aircraft. They had mixed success at first, and French army - air cooperation was often poor.

At De Gaulle's initiative, the ''[[Normandie-Niemen|Groupe de Chasse 3 Normandie]]'' was formed on [[September 1]], [[1942]], for service on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]]. It served with distinction and was awarded the supplementary title ''Niemen'' by Stalin.

=== The ''Forces Françaises Combattantes'' and National Council of the Resistance ===
The [[French Resistance]] gradually grew in strength. Charles De Gaulle set a plan to bring together the different groups under his leadership. He changed the name of his movement to ''Forces Françaises Combattantes'' (Fighting French Forces) and sent [[Jean Moulin]] back to France to unite the eight major [[French Resistance]] groups into one organisation. Moulin got their agreement to form the ''Conseil National de la Résistance'' ([[National Council of the Resistance]]). He was eventually captured, and died under brutal torture.

==French contribution to the Italian Campaign==
The 1st group, Ist Landing Corps (''1er groupement du Ier corps de débarquement''), later redesignated CEF participated in the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]] with two divisions and two separate brigades from late 1943 to [[July 23]] [[1944]]. In 1944 this corps was reinforced by two additional divisions and played an essential role in the [[Battle of Monte Cassino]]. After the Allied capture of Rome the Corps was gradually withdrawn from Italy and incorporated into the [[French First Army|B Army]] (''Armée B'') for the invasion of Southern France.

In September-October 1943, an [[ad hoc]] force (ca. 6,000 troops) of the [[I Corps (France)|French Ist Corps]] [[I Corps (France)#Corsica 1943|liberated Corsica]], defended by the German [[90th Light Infantry Division (Germany)|90th Panzergrenadier Division]] and the [[16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS|Sturmbrigade Reichsführer-SS]] (ca. 30,000 troops) (45,000 Italians were also present, but at least part of that force joined the Allies). Thereby Corsica became the first French [[Departments of France|department]] liberated in World War II.

This success was followed in June 1944 by the [[I Corps (France)#Elba 1944|invasion of Elba]] in which the 9th Colonial Infantry Division (9 DIC) and ''Choc'' ([[special forces]]) battalions of I Corps assaulted and seized the heavily fortified island, defended by German fortress infantry and coastal artillery troops. Combat on the island was characterized by close-in fighting, use of [[flamethrower]]s, well-ranged German artillery, and the liberal use of [[landmine|mines]].

==Liberation of France==
During the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]] of 1943, 130,000 Free French soldiers fought on the Allied side. By the time of the [[Normandy Invasion]], the Free French forces numbered 500,000 regulars and more than 100,000 FFI. The [[2nd Armored Division (France)|Free French 2nd Armoured Division]], under General [[Philippe de Hauteclocque|Philippe Leclerc]], landed at [[Normandy]] and eventually led the drive towards [[Paris]].
The FFI began to seriously harass the German forces, cutting roads, railways, making ambushes as well as fighting battles alongside their allies.

===Heroics of the 2nd Division===
[[Image:Logo-2eDB-p1000401.jpg|thumb|Arms of the ''2ème D.B.'', the Second Armoured Division commanded by Leclerc. The Division's emblem features the [[Cross of Lorraine]].]]
The 2nd Division landed in [[Normandy]] on August 1, [[1944]], about two months after the [[D-Day|D-Day landings]], and served under [[General Patton]]'s [[United States Third Army|Third Army]]. The division played a critical role in [[Operation Cobra]], the Allied breakthrough from Normandy, when it served as a link between American and Canadian armies and made rapid progress against German forces. They all but destroyed the [[German 9th Panzer Division|9th Panzer Division]] and defeated several other German units. During the Battle for Normandy, the 2nd Division lost 133 men killed, 648 wounded, and 85 missing. Division material losses included 76 armored vehicles, 7 cannons, 27 halftracks, and 133 other vehicles. In the same period, the 2nd Division inflicted losses on the Germans of 4,500 killed and 8,800 taken prisoner, while the Germans' material losses in combat against the 2nd Division during the same period were 117 tanks, 79 cannons, and 750 wheeled vehicles.<ref>GUF, p. 989</ref>

The most celebrated moment in the unit's history involved the [[Liberation of Paris]]. Allied strategy emphasized destroying German forces retreating towards the [[Rhine River|Rhine]], but when the French Resistance under Colonel Rol staged an uprising in the city, Charles de Gaulle pleaded with [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] to send help. Eisenhower agreed and Leclerc's forces headed for [[Paris]]. After hard fighting that cost the 2nd Division 35 tanks, 6 self-propelled guns, and 111 vehicles, [[Dietrich von Choltitz|von Choltitz]], the military governor of Paris, surrendered the city at the Hotel Meurice. Jubilant crowds greeted French forces, and de Gaulle conducted a famous parade through the city.

Subsequently, the 2nd Division campaigned with American forces in [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine]], spearheading the [[U.S. Seventh Army]] drive through the northern [[Vosges Mountains]] and forcing the [[Saverne]] Gap. Eventually, after liberating [[Strasbourg]] in November 1944, defending against the German [[Operation Nordwind|Nordwind]] counter-offensive in [[Alsace]] in January 1945, and conducting operations against the [[Royan]] Pocket on the Atlantic coast of France, the 2nd Division finished its campaigning at the [[Nazi]] resort town of [[Berchtesgaden]], in southeastern [[Germany]], where Hitler's mountain residence, the Berghof, was located.

===The invasion of southern France===
[[Operation Dragoon]] was the [[Allies|Allied]] invasion of southern [[France]], on [[15 August]], [[1944]], as part of [[World War II]]. The invasion took place between [[Toulon]] and [[Cannes]]. During the planning stages, the operation was known as ''Anvil'', to complement ''Operation Hammer'', which was at that time the codename for the invasion of [[Normandy]]. Subsequently both plans were renamed, the latter becoming [[Operation Overlord]], the former becoming Operation ''Dragoon''; a name supposedly picked by [[Winston Churchill]], who was opposed to the plan, and claimed to having been "dragooned" into accepting it.

The plan originally envisaged a mixture of [[Free French Forces|Free French]] and American troops taking [[Toulon]] and later [[Marseille]], with subsequent revisions encompassing [[Saint Tropez]]. The plan was revised throughout 1944, however, with conflict developing between British military staff &mdash; who were opposed to the landings, arguing that the troops and equipment should be either retained in Italy or sent there &mdash; and American military staff, who were in favour of the assault. This was part of a larger Anglo-American strategic disagreement.

The balance was tipped in favour of ''Dragoon'' by two events: the eventual fall of [[Rome]] in early June, plus the success of [[Operation Cobra]], the breakout from the [[Battle of Normandy|Normandy]] pocket, at the end of the month. Operation ''Dragoon's'' [[D-day]] was set for [[15 August]], [[1944]]. The final go-ahead was given at short notice.

The [[U.S. 6th Army Group]], also known as the Southern Group of Armies, commanded by Lieutenant General [[Jacob L. Devers]] was created in [[Corsica]] and activated on [[August 1]], [[1944]] to consolidate the combined French and American forces that were planning to invade southern France in Operation ''Dragoon''. At first it was subordinate to [[AFHQ]] (Allied Forces Headquarters) under the command of Field Marshal Sir [[Henry Maitland Wilson]] who was the supreme commander of the [[Mediterranean Theatre of World War II|Mediterranean Theater]]. One month after the invasion, command was handed over to [[SHAEF]] (Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces) under U.S. General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], the supreme commander of Allied forces on the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]].

The assault troops were formed of three American divisions of the [[VI Corps (United States)|VI Corps]], reinforced with a French armoured division. The [[3rd Infantry Division (United States)|3rd Infantry Division]] landed on the left at Alpha Beach ([[Cavalaire-sur-Mer]]), the [[US 45th Infantry Division|45th Infantry Division]] landed in the centre at Delta Beach ([[Saint-Tropez]]), and the [[US 36th Infantry Division|36th Infantry Division]] landed on the right at Camel Beach ([[Saint-Raphaël, Var|Saint-Raphaël]]). These were supported by French commando groups landing on both flanks, and by Rugby Force, a parachute assault in the LeMuy-Le Luc area by the 1st Airborne Task Force: [[British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade]], the U.S. [[517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team]], and a composite U.S. airborne glider regimental combat team formed from the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion, the 550th Glider Infantry Battalion, and the 1st Battalion, 551st Parachute Infantry regiment. The [[1st Special Service Force]] took two offshore islands to protect the beachhead.

Naval gunfire from Allied ships, including battleships ''[[French battleship Lorraine|Lorraine]]'', HMS ''[[HMS Ramillies (07)|Ramillies]]'', USS ''[[USS Texas (BB-35)|Texas]]'', ''[[USS Nevada (BB-36)|Nevada]]'' and ''[[USS Arkansas (BB-33)|Arkansas]]'' and a fleet of over 50 cruisers and destroyers supported the landings. Seven Allied [[escort carriers]] provided air cover.

Over ninety-four thousand troops and eleven thousand vehicles were landed on the first day. A number of German troops had been diverted to fight the Allied forces in Northern France after [[Operation Overlord]] and a major attack by [[French resistance]] fighters, coordinated by Captain [[Aaron Bank]] of the [[Office of Strategic Services|OSS]], helped drive the remaining German forces back from the beachhead in advance of the landing. As a result, the Allied forces met little resistance as they moved inland. The quick success of this invasion, with a twenty-mile penetration in twenty-four hours, sparked a major uprising by resistance fighters in [[Paris]].

Follow-up formations included US VI Corps HQ, [[US Seventh Army|US Seventh Army HQ]], [[French First Army|French Army B]] (later redesignated the ''French First Army'') and French I and II Corps.

The rapid retreat of the German Nineteenth Army resulted in swift gains for the Allied forces. The plans had envisaged greater resistance near the landing areas and under-estimated transport needs. The consequent need for vehicle fuel outstripped supply and this shortage proved to be a greater impediment to the advance than German resistance. As a result, several German formations escaped into the Vosges and Germany.

The ''Dragoon'' force met up with southern thrusts from Overlord in mid-September, near [[Dijon]].

Operation ''Dragoon'' included a glider landing ([[Operation Dove]]) and a deception ([[Operation Span]]).

A planned benefit of ''Dragoon'' was the usefulness of the port of [[Marseilles]]. The rapid Allied advance after [[Operation Cobra]] and ''Dragoon'' slowed almost to a halt in September 1944 due to a critical lack of supplies, as thousands of tons of supplies were shunted to NW France to compensate for the inadequacies of port facilities and land transport in northern Europe. Marseilles and the southern French railways were brought back into service despite heavy damage to the Port of Marseilles and its railroad trunk lines. They became a significant supply route for the Allied advance into Germany, providing about a third of the Allied needs.

====Struggle for Toulon and Marseilles====
From: [http://www.army.mil/cmh/brochures/sfrance/sfrance.htm Southern France]

The French First Army under [[Jean de Lattre de Tassigny]] performed spectacularly in the capture of [[Toulon]] and [[Marseilles]].

"The original plan intended to attack the two ports in succession. The accelerated landings of de Lattre's French forces, however, and the general situation allowed concurrent operations against both. De Lattre ordered Lt. Gen. [[Edgard de Larminat]] to move west against Toulon along the coast, with two infantry divisions supported by tanks and commandos. Simultaneously, a second force, under Maj. Gen. [[Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert|Goislard de Monsabert]] and consisting of one infantry division and similar supporting forces, would advance in a more northwesterly direction, encircling the naval port from the north and west and probing toward Marseille. De Lattre knew that the German garrisons at the ports were substantial: some 18,000 troops of all types at Toulon and another 13,000, mostly army, at Marseille. However, Resistance sources also told him that the defenders had not yet put much effort into protecting the landward approaches to the ports, and he was convinced that a quick strike by experienced combat troops might well crack their defenses before they had a chance to coalesce. Speed was essential.

On the morning of [[20 August]], with the German command in Toulon still in a state of confusion and the Nineteenth Army more concerned with Truscott's westward progress well north of the port, de Larminat attacked from the east while Monsabert circled around to the north, quickly outflanking Toulon's hasty defenses along the coast. By the 21st Monsabert had cut the Toulon-Marseille road, and several of his units had entered Toulon from the west, penetrating to within two miles of the main waterfront. Between 21 and 23 August the French slowly squeezed the Germans back into the inner city in a series of almost continuous street fights. As the German defense lost coherence, isolated groups began to surrender, with the last organized resistance ending on the 26th and the formal German surrender occurring on 28 August. The battle cost de Lattre about 2,700 casualties, but the French claimed 17,000 prisoners, indicating that few Germans had followed the Fuehrer's "stand and die" order.

Even as French forces occupied Toulon, Monsabert began the attack on Marseille, generally screening German defenses along the coast and striking from the northeastern and northern approaches. Early gains on the 22d put French troops within five to eight miles of the city's center, while a major Resistance uprising within the port encouraged French soldiers to strike deeper.

Although de Lattre urged caution, concerned over the dispersion of his forces and the shortage of fuel for his tanks and trucks, Monsabert's infantry plunged into the heart of Marseille in the early hours of 23 August. Their initiative decided the issue, and the fighting soon became a matter of battling from street to street and from house to house, as in Toulon. On the evening of the 27th the German commander parlayed with Monsabert to arrange terms and a formal surrender became effective on the 28th, the same day as the capitulation of Toulon. At Marseille the French took over 1,800 casualties and acquired roughly 11,000 more prisoners. Equally important, both ports, although badly damaged by German demolitions, were in Allied hands many weeks ahead of schedule."

===End of the war===
Moving north, the French First Army liberated [[Lyon]] on [[September 2]], [[1944]]<ref>Chronology, p. 261</ref> and moved into the southern [[Vosges Mountains]], capturing [[Belfort]] and [[I Corps (France)#France 1944|forcing the Belfort Gap]] at the close of November 1944.<ref>Riviera, pp. 431-432</ref> Following the capture of the Belfort Gap, French operations in the area of Burnhaupt destroyed the German IV Luftwaffe Korps.<ref>Riviera, p. 431</ref> In February [[1945]], with the assistance of the [[XXI Corps (United States)|U.S. XXI Corps]], the First Army collapsed the [[Colmar Pocket]] and cleared the west bank of the [[Rhine River]] of Germans in the area south of [[Strasbourg]].<ref>Chronology, p. 398</ref> In March 1945, the First Army fought through the [[Siegfried Line]] fortifications in the [[Bienwald]] Forest near [[Lauterbourg]].<ref>Chronology, pp. 448-452</ref> Subsequently, the First Army crossed the Rhine near [[Speyer]] and captured [[Karlsruhe]] and [[Stuttgart]].<ref>Chronology, p. 509</ref> [[I Corps (France)#Germany 1945|Operations by the First Army in April 1945]] encircled and captured the German XVIII. S.S.-Armeekorps in the [[Black Forest]]<ref>Last Offensive, p. 433</ref> and cleared southwestern Germany. On [[May 7]], [[1945]], the Germans signed the [[German Instrument of Surrender, 1945|Instrument of Surrender]] at [[Rheims]], France, officially ending the war in Europe.

===Manpower in the last year of the war===
By September 1944 the Free French forces stood at 560,000 (and the FFI at 300000), which rose to 1 million by the end of 1944, and were fighting in [[Alsace]], the [[Alps]] and [[Brittany]]. By the end of the war in Europe (May 1945), the Free French forces comprised 1,250,000, including 7 infantry and 3 armoured divisions fighting in Germany.

==See also==
* [[Military history of France]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==Article sources==
* '''Chronology 1941 - 1945''', U.S. Army in World War II, Mary H. Williams (compiler), Washington: Government Printing Office, 1994.
* '''[[Grandes Unités Françaises|Les Grandes Unités Françaises (GUF)]]''', Volume V, Part 2, Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1975.
* '''Riviera to the Rhine''', U.S. Army in World War II, Jeffrey J. Clarke and Robert Ross Smith, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1993.
* '''The Last Offensive''', U.S. Army in World War II, Charles B. MacDonald, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1993.
* [http://www.army.mil/cmh/brochures/sfrance/sfrance.htm U.S. Army Southern France campaign brochure]

{{WWII history by nation}}

[[Category:Wars involving France]]
[[Category:Military history of France during World War II]]
[[Category:Politics of World War II]]

[[bn:দ্বিতীয় বিশ্বযুদ্ধকালীন সময়ে ফ্রান্সের সামরিক ইতিহাস]]
[[fr:France pendant la guerre de 1939-1940]]

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