France
By: Randy Freeman
France played a huge role in the success of the allies in Western Europe. They supplied the other allies with information regarding the Nazis. They disrupted supply and communication between the Nazis within France. They destroyed railroad tracks leading to death camps to slow down the killing process of the Jews.
The surrender of France in 1940 angered many French citizens, because they expected their government to be stronger. Immediately after the surrender, France was in shock. The citizens had been assured that the army would be able to fight a German invasion. They had been let down.
Vichy France was the unoccupied portion of France. Germany operated it, so they had a base in France. It was governed by Marshall Petain. He still had a high reputation then.
On June 18th, 1940, Charle de Gaulle addressed the French people while in London. He told them to not stop fighting against the Germans, and to not lose hope. Many people in Vichy France didn't get the message. Even though Germany had overtaken Viche, it was still operated by French citizens.
The many anti-German movements within France took direct orders from the: Special Operations Executive, communist resistance, groups that were loyal to de Gaule, people who wanted independence, etc. In the northern part of France, just the Germans were a target. But, for the southern part of France, the Viche government was as well a target. The first movements began in the north. There was a group called OCM, which stood for Organisation Civile et Militaire. Six underground newspapers were being regularly printed in the north by the end of 1940.
Since the French government was so complex, it took a while for the resistance movement to get on its feet. However, by June 1941, everything had become more organized and work against the Germans increased accordingly. There are two main events of importance in explaining the work of the resistance:
The German attack on Russia, "Operation Barbarossa", caused many French communists joining the French Resistence. The French Resistence gained reputation for being aggressive and successful resistence fighters. Many people joined the resistence because they were angered by the way that the Jews were treated.
The French and Great Britain worked together. Great Britain supplied the French with equipment and trained agents. In return, the French supplied Great Britain with intelligence reports.
de Gaule set up a Central Intelligience and Operations Agency, with the help of the British in 1941. The resistence became a more effective in 1943 because of the more organization. They attacked the railways, therefore keeping a few people out of the death camps and stopping the transfer of equipment for the Germans. There were 130 attacks per month, which increased to 530 by September, 1943.
In 1943, there were 40,000 people involved in the resistance movement. A year later, there were 100,000 people. The intelligence they gathered was vital in the buildup to D-Day. They sent 3,000 written reports and 700 wireless reports to allies in May of 1944. They destroy 1,800 railway engines in April and May of that year as well. In the end, the 150 most successful resistance movements in 1943 and 1944 used only 3,000 pounds of explosives.
Resources:
"The French Resistence." History Learning Site. 3 Mar. 2008 <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/french_resistance.htm>.
The French Resistance Research Page
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