the french resistance world war ii
the surrender of france to germany in
1940 damaged the pride of the nation
french citizens felt let down by the
government and were further angered by
the nazi collaborating vichy government
that emerged
resistance soon took place in different
ways after charles de gaulle encouraged
the fight to continue after the
impending german occupation
groups such as the maquis were men and
women who avoided vichy francis forced
labor by hiding in the mountains
they used violent means and guerrilla
warfare tactics
attacking the middle east and the german
occupiers and sabotaging their
communication
lines and vehicles other resistance
groups
used non-violent tactics publishing
anti-german and anti-vichy underground
newspapers
and broadcasting radio programs
at first it was hard to get the
resistance groups to merge together
because of all the differences in
politics
some supported charles de gaulle while
others wanted a communist post-war
france
the men and women of the french
resistance came from all parts of french
society
they included people from different
classes professors
students catholics jews foreigners
liberals anarchists and communists
for the resistance to become effective
it needed to maintain the hope that
liberation for occupation would
eventually happen
when it seemed impossible to most people
in 1940
the french population would continue as
normal so the resistance could blend in
as it was important to never attract
attention of the enemy
but there was still a danger that
fascist sympathizers could infiltrate
the resistance
and betray them to the enemy to continue
the fight
and unite all the loose collections of
political groups the french resistance
would need outside help
which it found in the british special
operations executive
and later on the american office of
strategic services
these allies provided weapons equipment
and training to the resistance movement
and in exchange the resistance sabotaged
access industry and transportation and
provided intelligence reports
the weapons and equipment used by the
french resistance were british or
american supplied
or were captured from german troops
british then guns were air-dropped in
large quantities
suitable for resistance fighters because
they could be disassembled and assembled
quickly making them easy to conceal
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one trick the maquis found was to wrap
the barrel in wet rags
which would not only delay overheating
but also convey an effect of heavier
firepower
making the enemy more cautious in an
ambush
well-rod silenced pistols explosives and
wireless radios were also provided by
the soe
the most common captured weapons
included the car 98k rifle
and mp40 submachine gun the maquis
sometimes wore
armbands with the cross of lorraine or
the initials ffi
on top of the french tri-color as a form
of insignia
after operation barbarossa on june 22
1941
french communists enthusiastically
joined the resistance movement
and political differences were
temporarily set aside
the introduction of compulsory labor
service by the vichy government
and their actions against jews also
helped the resistance movement grow as
the war continued
in 1944 the french resistance would play
a vital role in d-day
sending thousands of intelligence
reports to the allies while also
preventing german movement of
reinforcements into normandy by
sabotaging enemy transportation
after the landings a large amount of
resistance fighters were organized as
the french forces of the interior
becoming light infantry units alongside
regular french forces
and the british and american allies that
had landed alongside their allies the
resistance would fight against the
german forces
rounding up collaborators and liberating
towns villages and eventually
paris on august 25 1944
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