Franc-guard

The Franc-Guard represented the armed wing of the French Milice and was engaged, at the sides of the German forces, in the principal combat which opposed them to the Maquis end 1943 at the end 1944.

History

The Franc-Guard was the armed wing of the French Milice and was made up as of creation of this one, the January 30th 1943, initially limited to be able to act only in old the free Zone, before to see itself, officially as from the January 27th 1944, to authorize to intervene in ex- occupied Zone. Composed only of volunteers, his role was defined in the support for the National Révolution and thus for the Vichy government like in the maintenance of law and order and the assistance for clearings of the bombarded cities.

It was placed under the responsibility of Joseph Darnand, his badge is Gamma silver plated on black bottom and its review, the Attack.

From June 1943 it was divided into two units, the permanent , encasernée and remunerated Franc-Guard and the not-permanent and voluntary Franc-Guard, whose members could be mobilized within the framework of precise and specific actions on simple convocation.

From the point of view of manpower, the permanent Franc-Guard will pass from a little more than 900 members in January 1944, with more than 5.000, the day before the unloading combined in Normandy, in June of the same year; manpower for which it is necessary, in addition, to add the 7 to 8.000 members of the nonpermanent Franc-Guard, who will join the various units milicians in the opinion of general mobilization launched by Joseph Darnand. On the whole they are approximately 13.000 men who will take part in the summer 1944 with the combat carried out by the Germans against the Maquis.

In October - November 1944, vis-a-vis in advance of the allied troops, most of the militiamans will leave the national ground:

  • 2.000 will form 2 Bataillons Infanterie, under the direct command of Darnand, and which will fight the Italian partisans at the sides of the facists of RSI. in Italy of north;
  • 6.000 others will be directed on the camp of Wildflecken, meadows of the city of Ulm, in Germany, where 1.800 (2.500 according to other sources) of them will form the 58e regiment of infantry S within the framework of the 33e division of pomegranate S Charlemagne.

organization and equipment

The permanent Franc-Guard was composed of volunteers, old from 18 to 45 years, encasernés and remunerated on the basis of official treatment of a Brigadier of the national police force.

  • organization:

    • They are formed in Mains , unit basic gathering 5 militiamans;
    • 2 Hands form a Dizaine ;
    • 3 Tens form a About thirty ;
    • 3 About thirty plus a group command form a Hundred ;
    • 3 to 4 Hundreds plus About thirty command forms a Cohorte ;
    • and several Troops form a Center .

  • Uniform

    • jacket and pants navy blue, black beret struck of a metal badge gamma, khaki shirt and black tie; in situation of combat, generally in the fight against the maquis, they carried a Adrian helmet and gaiters.

  • Armament

    • In spite of the strong reserves of autoriés German vis-a-vis an important rearmament of an important French paramilitary force, the permanent Franc-Guard been able nevertheless to be equipped while drawing from stocks with the ex-Army with armistice and from the catches carried out at the time of British parachutings intended for Resistance.
    • the essential armament was composed of Mas.36 rifles, Sten machine pistols and light machine guns F.M.24-29. It went from oneself that the Milice could not equip its units " combattantes" of a heavy armament, piece of artillery or armored vehicle, following the refusal of the command of the troops of occupation German.

Sources and bibliography

  • Jacques Delperrie de Bayac, History of the Militia 1918-1945 , editions Beech, 1969; begun again in collection of pocket Marabout.

  • David Littlejohn, Foreign Legions off the Third Reich (volume 1) , James Bender Publishing, the USA 1987.
  • Pascal Ory, collaborators 1940-1945 , editions of the Threshold, 1976

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