The French Resistance--French Forces of the Interior--FFI (June-December 1944)


Figure 1.--Many French Maqui youth wear forced into the Resistance movement by the Germans who were conscripting the French to transport to the Reich for war work. This youth wears his FFI partisan patch proudly. Note the Cross of Lorraine on the French flag patch clearly visible on his sleeve. This photo was taken just outside of Cherbourg, after the D-Day invasion. The press photo dated July 17, 1944. Cherbourg was of course aprimary Allied objective because it was an important port.

Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur (French Forces of the Interior--FFI) were the Resistance military forces united under the command of Général Koenig. The FFI was formed after the Allied landings in Normandy (June 6, 1944). With the German forced to focus on the Allied build up, the French partisans to began operating more openly and in larger units. The FFI made contact with the Allied military command in Normandy as well as the Free French (Gaullist) Provisional Government. The FFI operated, however, under a separate command structure, in part because the Communists constituted an impoprtant part of the FFI's effective strength. The FFI did not have uniforms, but they did wear arm bands or other insignia identifying themselves. The FFI claimed that because of their insignia as well as open military operations and command structure that they qualified as legal combatants based on the definitions included in the 1929 Geneva Convention. The Germans, however, refused to recognize the FFI as a legally constituted combatant force. The German position was that as a result of the 1940 armistice that France had laid down its arms and that French citizens attacking German forces were illegal combatants and criminals. The FFI contended that the 1940 Armistice was no longer valid. Here I am not sure if the legal argument was that the Germans had breeched the terms od the Armistace with actions such as the occupation of the unoccupied zone or if they did not see the Vichy Government as the legal French Govdernment. Probably both. The FFI maintained that their men captured by the Germans should be treated as POWS. The Germans often killed captured FFI members in summary executions. The FFI assisted the Allied forced in Normandy. I do not yet have details on the extent of the assistance provided. There most notab;le action was rising against the Germans in Paris (August 1944). We believe the FFI operated almost exclusively behind German lines. Once the Allies liberated an area, the Free French forces which became the new French Army took over combatant activities.

D-Day (June 1944)

D-Day changed eveything. It was the riskiest Allied operation of the War. The fact that it was such a stunning success operation obscures the risks involved. The Germans had several years to prepare. The beach defenses were daunting. The ports were so well defended that they were virtually impossible to seize. The Panzer divisions wih the superior German tank might well have defeated the Allies on the beaches if they had been properly deployed and committed to the battle. Only Hitler's incompetence and a massive intelligence failure on the part of OKW prevented this. Failure would have been disaterous for theallies. Not only would it had been impossible to launch antother cross-Channel invasion until 1945, but the huge Allied forces built up in England and mountains of supplies would have had no way to engage the Germans. They would have essentially been out of the War. The French Resistance played an important role in the success of D-Day. They added vital information on the disposition of German forces as well as complicating German logistics. There are few examples in history in which one force knew so much about enemy dipositions and the other force knew so little. The French Resistance was most the only source of informstion available to the Allied SHAPE invasion planners, but it certainly was a vital source. The rentry of the Allies on the European coninent radically changed the capabilities and role of the French Resistance. Until D-Day, the German forces could mobilize and defeat any Resistance attacks. So the primary role was to obtain inteligence about German deployment and erode the French transport system used by the Germans. After D-Day, the German occupation forces were fully engaged to contain the growig Allied strength to tghe Normandy breakout. This meant that there was much less force available to engage the Resistnce forces. Although terror reprisals were still available. With the Allies ashore, the Resistance also began to get more and better weapons

Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur (French Forces of the Interior--FFI)

Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur (French Forces of the Interior--FFI) were the Resistance military forces united to fight the Germans now that the Allies had landed. The fotmation of the FFI was announced after the Allied landings in Normandy (June 6, 1944). Gen. de Gaulle used it as the formal name for a unified resistance structure while a new French field army was being organized. The FFI made contact with the Allied military command in Normandy as well as the Free French (Gaullist) Provisional Government. The FFI operatedunder a separate command structure. This was partly due to the fact that the Communists constituted an important part of the FFI's effective strength. The commabd of the FFI's 200,000 fghters was given to General Marie Pierre Koenig--a French military hero who among other achievement held off the Aftika Koerps at Bir Hacheim with amall lightly armed Free French force (1942).

Operational Shift

With the Germans on the defensive and forced to focus on the Allied build up, the French partisans to began operating more openly and in larger units. With D-Day, France's status changed from that of an occupied nation to one of a nation being liberated and erforming its own field army. As regions of France were liberated, the FFI were more formally organized into light infantry units. They served as a valuable manpower addition to regular French forces. In this role, the FFI units manned less active areas of the front lines, often in rugged territory where the Germany deployed few heavy weapons. This allowed the French to achieve economy of force while their army was still be organized. The French could then mass their small, but growing force in the most importnt areas of the front.

Combatant Status

The FFI did not have uniforms, but they did wear arm bands or other insignia identifying themselves. The FFI claimed that because of their insignia as well as open military operations and command structure that they qualified as legal combatants based on the definitions included in the 1929 Geneva Convention. The Germans, however, refused to recognize the FFI as a legally constituted combatant force. The German position was that as a result of the 1940 armistice, France had laid down its arms and that French citizens attacking German forces were illegal combatants and criminals. The FFI contended that the 1940 Armistice was no longer valid. Here we are not sure if the legal argument was that the Germans had breeched the terms of the Armistace with actions such as the occupation of the unoccupied zone or if they did not see the Vichy Government as the legal French Govdernment. Probably both. The FFI maintained that their men captured by the Germans should be treated as POWS. The Germans often killed captured FFI members in summary executions.

Military Role (June-December 1944)

The FFI assisted the Allied forces in Normandy during fighting in the deadly bocage country. They helped with idetifying German dispositions. They also struck at the German logistics train. The most important military action was impeding the movement of the 2nd SS Panzer Division trying to reenforce the German forces in Normandy. This was important because the Allies were most vulnerable on the first few days of the landings. A powerful force like 2ndPanzer was critically needed by the Germans. 2nd Panzer Division was stationed in Toulouse and it was one of the units after D-Day that was ordered to Normandy. Because of the Resistance attacks, it took the Division 11 days to entrain its Panzers. And of course by that time the Normandy bridgehead was firmly established. The frustrated SS Panzer men retaliated with terrible attriities. FFI fighters assasinated Minister of Information and local Milice leader Phillipe Henriot (June 28). The FFI target Vichy officials, especially security forces, because they were so hated and the Germans did not retaliate with mass executions of French civilians as they did when Germans were targetted. Lyon Milice leader, Paul Touvier was responsible for reprisal killings (June 30, 1944). He selected seven Jewish prisoners who were executed by firing squad. As the Allies prepared fpr the Operation Cobra breakout from the Normandy beached, they increased arms deliveries to the FFI. The United States 8th Air Force dispatched five B-17 bombers to drop propaganda leaflets in France and Belgium while five B-24 bombers paradropped supplies to the FFI (July 19). Six United States B-17 bombers dropped propaganda leaflets over France and twelve B-24 bombers dropped supplies to resistance fighters (July 20). The Cobra breakout from Normandy mean that the librtation of large areas of France began. French resistance fighters captured three German posts along the Swiss border (August 16). The most notable FFI action was rising against the Germans in Paris (August 18-25 1944). And the liberation of southern France began with the Allied Dragoon landings (August 15). The Germans already reeling from the Cobra breakout and afraid of being cut off did not attempt to defend southern France in Force. The FFI liberasted Toulouse (August 20).

Importance

The achiebements of the FFI are largly focused on the liberation of Faris. Actually they wre far more importnt. The loiberation of Paris was more of a French nationl event demanded by DeFualle. If the Allie had avoided Paris, the Hermns woukd have had to Evacuate or surrender. More important was the aid goiven to the Allies armie as they negan the breakout from Normandy. General Patton insisted that the rapid advance of his army through France would have been much slower without the aid of the FFI. General Patch who commanded the lndings in southern France estimated that from the time his mnen landed in southern Frnce to the arrival t Dijon, the FFI provided what amoubted to four full fighting divisions. FFI units were able to seized bridges that the Germans might otherwise had blown, slowing the llied advance. They began the liberation of villages and towns as Allied units neared, allowing them to rapidly move through. And they gathered intelligence on the dispolsition of German forces as the Allies advanced. Without tgis asistance, the rapid Alloed advance through Frnce would have been much slower and more costly.

Reconstituted French Army

We believe the FFI operated almost exclusively behind German lines. Once the Allies liberated an area, the Free French forces which became the new French Army took over combatant activities. The Germans were hard pressed before D-Day, primarily by the Sovier Red Army in the East, but also by growing Allied armies in the West (American, British and Cananadian as well as a range of other Allied forces including the Free French). But now as France was liberated another strong force joined the Allied cause--the reconstituted French Army. We do not yet have details as to how the FFI was integrated into the reconstituted French Army which took up a position on the Allied right as they drove toward the Rhine. The French Army by the end of 1944 was a fully constituted field army, operating with American supplies and equipment.

Amalgamation (October 1944).

Funally as the Allie armies liberated Belgium and began moving toward the Rhine (Octiber 1944), the ned for the FFI wasovr, Remining units were amalgamated into the French regular forces. Here they continuing the fight on the Western Front, forming the right or southern flank of the Allied Western Front.







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Created: 5:48 AM 9/10/2005
Last updated: 3:25 AM 4/18/2015