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39-731: At the beginning of 1942, the numbers of the Armistice Army reached 550,000 men, including 21,000 officers. Article IV of the Armistice of 22 June 1940 allowed for a small French army — the Army of the Armistice ( Armée de l'Armistice ) — stationed in the Zone libre (Unoccupied France), and the French colonial empire overseas. It was headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain , hero of World War I. The function of these forces

78-504: A German Eagle impaled by a sword) was also destroyed and all evidence of the site was obliterated, except notably the statue of Ferdinand Foch ; Hitler ordered it to be left intact, so that it would be honoring only a wasteland. The railway carriage was later exhibited in Berlin, and then taken to Crawinkel in Thuringia in 1945, where it was destroyed by SS troops and the remains buried. After

117-502: A French government in place would relieve Germany of the considerable burden of administering French territory, particularly as he turned his attentions towards Britain. Finally, as Germany lacked a navy sufficient to occupy France's overseas territories, Hitler's only practical recourse to deny the British use of them was to maintain a formally independent and neutral French rump state. According to William Shirer 's book Rise and Fall of

156-663: A German occupation zone in Northern and Western France that encompassed about three-fifths of France's European territory , including all English Channel and Atlantic Ocean ports. The remainder of the country was to be left unoccupied, although the new regime that replaced the Third Republic was mutually recognised as the legitimate government of all of Metropolitan France except Alsace–Lorraine . The French were also permitted to retain control of all of their non-European territories. Adolf Hitler deliberately chose Compiègne Forest as

195-638: A day. A minimal French Army would be permitted. As one of Hitler's few concessions, the French Navy was to be disarmed but not surrendered, for Hitler realised that pushing France too far could result in France fighting on from the French colonial empire . An unoccupied region in the south, the Zone libre , was left relatively free to be governed by a rump French administration based in Vichy . The Vichy regime also administered

234-599: A particular problem for cavalry units. Surviving recruiting posters stress the opportunities for athletic activities, including horsemanship, reflecting both the general emphasis placed by the Vichy government on rural virtues and outdoor activities and the realities of service in a small and technologically backward military force. Traditional features characteristic of the pre-1940 French Army, such as kepis and heavy capotes (buttoned-back greatcoats) were replaced by berets and simplified uniforms. The Vichy authorities did not deploy

273-475: A result, 30,000 men of the class of 1939 were retained to fill the quota. At the beginning of 1942, these conscripts were released, but there were still not enough men. This shortage remained until the dissolution, despite Vichy appeals to the Germans for a regular form of conscription. The Vichy French Metropolitan Army was deprived of tanks and other armoured vehicles and was desperately short of motorised transport,

312-786: A strength of 100,000, plus 20,000 military workers for North Africa. The permitted totals were increased in February and April 1941, after which the force reached 127,000 plus 16,000 goumiers . In French West Africa the initial total was 33,000, made up of Tirailleurs , an artillery group, a cavalry regiment, and logistics units. Forces elsewhere included almost 40,000 in the Army of the Levant ( Armée du Levant ), in Lebanon and Syria . Colonial forces were allowed to keep some armoured vehicles, though these were mostly obsolescent World War I Renault FT tanks. After

351-600: The Free French Forces led by Charles de Gaulle , the surrender of Metropolitan France ended any further attempts by the British to unite the two countries. By 22 June, the German Armed Forces ( Wehrmacht ) had losses of 27,000 dead, more than 111,000 wounded and 18,000 missing. French losses were 92,000 dead and more than 200,000 wounded. The British Expeditionary Force suffered 68,000 casualties, with around 10,000 killed. When Adolf Hitler received word from

390-686: The French Third Republic . It became effective at midnight on 25 June. Signatories for Germany included Wilhelm Keitel , a senior military officer of the Wehrmacht (the German armed forces), while those on the French side held lower ranks, including general Charles Huntziger . Following the decisive German victory in the Battle of France (10 May – 25 June 1940) during World War II , this armistice established

429-692: The German Army ). Although the corps itself never saw full combat units part of it saw action in both Operation Torch in North Africa and The Syria–Lebanon Campaign . The organization of the corps in 1941 included: The division controlled units in East France, notably on the Swiss border. The 7th Military Division was organized in September 1940 under Major General Pierre Robert de Saint-Vincent. In November 1942

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468-514: The Allied invasion of French North Africa ( Operation Torch ) began, Adolf Hitler ordered the dissolution of the Armistice Army in mainland France on 26 November 1942. Some staff officers clung to the possibility suggested by Hitler to form an army of a new form. On December 23, Hitler finally put an end to this hope by declaring that "the creation of a new French Army [...] is out of the question." The discovery of illegal arms stores had greatly undermined

507-524: The Armistice, then, full metropolitan territory as a consequence of the Allied invasion of French North Africa ( Operation Torch ) and the Allied allegiance of the colonial French Army of Africa. Besides its limited regular army, the French State created irregular forces to fight the French Resistance and the communists; both considered enemies by Vichy and the German authorities. The exact strength of

546-632: The Army of the Armistice against resistance groups active in the south of France, reserving this role to the Vichy Milice (militia), a paramilitary force created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy government to combat the Resistance; thus, members of the regular army could defect to the Maquis after the German occupation of southern France and the disbandment of the Army of the Armistice in November 1942. By contrast,

585-464: The French government that it wished to negotiate an armistice , he selected Compiègne Forest as the place for the negotiations. Compiègne had been the site of the 1918 Armistice , which ended World War I with Germany's surrender. As an act of revenge Hitler held the signing in the Compiègne Wagon , the same rail carriage where the Germans had signed the 1918 Armistice. In the last sentence of

624-566: The Milice continued to collaborate and its members were subject to reprisals after the Liberation . Vichy French colonial forces were reduced following the terms of the Armistice. Yet Clayton writes that German aims in Africa were in 1940 best served by continued French administration rather than intrusions by Spain or Italy. Thus the French secured an agreement for the continuation of the Army of Africa at

663-705: The Third Reich , French General Charles Huntziger complained that the armistice terms imposed on France were harsher than those imposed on Germany in 1918. They provided for German occupation of three-fifths of metropolitan France north and west of a line through Geneva and Tours and extending to the Spanish border, so as to give Nazi Germany 's Kriegsmarine access to all French Channel and Atlantic ports. All people who had been granted political asylum had to be surrendered and high occupation costs were demanded of France by Germany, approximately 400 million French francs

702-588: The Vichy French Metropolitan Army was set at 3,768 officers, 15,072 non-commissioned officers, and 75,360 men. All members had to be volunteers. In addition to the army, the size of the Gendarmerie was fixed at 60,000 men plus an anti-aircraft force of 10,000 men. Despite the influx of trained soldiers from the colonial forces (reduced in size under the Armistice), there was a shortage of volunteers. As

741-504: The colonial empire and the fleet, and, by avoiding full occupation and disarmament, the remaining French rump state in the unoccupied zone could enforce a certain de facto independence and neutrality vis-à-vis the Axis. The Armistice site was demolished by the Germans on Hitler's orders three days later. The carriage itself was taken to Berlin as a trophy of war, along with pieces of a large stone tablet. The Alsace-Lorraine Monument (depicting

780-559: The confidence of the Germans in the French authorities. A deadline of 23 January 1943 was imposed on the French Government: after this date, the commanders of the military regions involved were to be held personally liable. Throughout 1943, a continual stream of active officers passed through Spain to North Africa; Some 12,000 civil or military personnel headed for North Africa. Despite the German Army's loss of confidence, resulting from

819-518: The discovery of the camouflaged weapons depots, General Eugène Bridoux , who retained the title of Secretary of State for War, continued his efforts to reconstitute dependent armed units. But Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt refused, and the African Phalange was never to have any connections with a French military organization. Pierre Laval did obtain from Hitler in Berchtesgaden, on April 30, 1943,

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858-473: The division dispersed. In addition to the division controlling field units it also supervised military districts in addition to a security squadron and training grounds. Armistice of 22 June 1940 The Armistice of 22 June 1940 , sometimes referred to as the Second Armistice at Compiègne , was an agreement signed at 18:36 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne , France by officials of Nazi Germany and

897-486: The division was de-mobilised. In addition to the division controlling military units, it also supervised the areas of the 1st Military District and 2nd Military District in addition to a security squadron and training grounds. The structure of the division in 1941 included (names in English and French): The division was organized in September 1940 under Lieutenant General Alfred-Marie-Joseph-Louis Montagne . In November 1942

936-458: The military situation that France was in, Huntziger had "no choice" but to accede to the armistice terms. The cease-fire went into effect at 00:35 on 25 June 1940, more than two days later, only after another armistice was signed between France and Italy , the main German ally in Europe. The armistice did have some relative advantages for the French, compared to worse possible outcomes, such as keeping

975-423: The occupied zones (other than Alsace-Lorraine ) to some extent, albeit under severe restrictions. This was envisaged as a temporary treaty until a final peace treaty was negotiated. At the time, both French and Germans thought the occupation would be a provisional state of affairs and last only until Britain came to terms, which they both thought was imminent. For instance, none of the French delegation objected to

1014-655: The permission to create a small military force. The law was promulgated on 15 July 1943 and, on 23 July, Bridoux still managed to form the First Regiment of France composed of three battalions of infantry and cavalry on horseback and bicycle. Designed to maintain traditions, the First Regiment took part in engagements against the Resistance; it eventually became part of the French Forces of the Interior . The Vichy French Army

1053-413: The preamble, the drafters inserted: "However, Germany does not have the intention to use the armistice conditions and armistice negotiations as a form of humiliation against such a valiant opponent", referring to the French forces. In Article 3, Clause 2, the drafters said that Germany did not intend to heavily occupy north-west France after the cessation of hostilities with Britain . William Shirer , who

1092-561: The representatives of the defeated German Empire . After listening to the reading of the preamble, Hitler—in a calculated gesture of disdain for the French delegates—exited the carriage, as Foch had done in 1918, leaving the negotiations to the chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (High Command of the Armed Forces), General Wilhelm Keitel . The negotiations lasted one day, until the evening of 22 June 1940: General Huntziger had to discuss

1131-482: The site to sign the armistice because of its symbolic role as the site of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that signaled the end of World War I with Germany's surrender. The best, most modernised 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. Between May and June, French forces were in general retreat and Germany threatened to occupy Paris . The French government

1170-471: The stipulation that French soldiers would remain prisoners of war until the cessation of all hostilities. Nearly 1,000,000 Frenchmen were thus forced to spend the next five years in German POW camps. About a third of the initial 1,500,000 prisoners taken were released or exchanged as part of the Germans' Service du Travail Obligatoire forced labour programme by the time the war ended. A final peace treaty

1209-467: The terms by phone with the French government representatives, who had fled to Bordeaux, mainly with the newly nominated defence minister, General Maxime Weygand . Adolf Hitler had a number of reasons for agreeing to an armistice. He wanted to ensure that France did not continue to fight from French North Africa , and he wanted to ensure that the French Navy was taken out of the war. In addition, leaving

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1248-406: The war", a euphemism for Jews, and especially German Jews who until then had enjoyed asylum in France. Keitel also made one other concession, that French aircraft need not be handed over to the Germans. The French delegation—led by General Charles Huntziger —tried to soften the harsher terms of the armistice, but Keitel replied that they would have to accept or reject the armistice as it was. Given

1287-471: The war, the site and memorials were restored by German POW labour . 49°25′39″N 02°54′22″E  /  49.42750°N 2.90611°E  / 49.42750; 2.90611 Eug%C3%A8ne Bridoux Eugène Bridoux ( French pronunciation: [øʒɛn bʁidu] ; June 24 1888 – 6 June 1955) was a French general. He served as Secretary of State for War, later Secretary of State for Defence, under Vichy France during World War II . Eugène Bridoux

1326-586: Was born on 24 June 1888 in Doulon, now a suburb of Nantes , France. He graduated from the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr . Bridoux served as Secretary of State for War from 1942 to 1943, and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1943 to 1944, under Prime Minister Pierre Laval during Vichy France . He fled to the Sigmaringen enclave in 1944, and he was arrested by the United States Army in 1945. He

1365-670: Was forced to relocate to Bordeaux on 10 June to avoid capture and declared Paris to be an open city the same day. The proposal of a Franco-British Union to shore up support for Paul Reynaud 's government following the fall of Paris split support. With many pro-Armistice ministers in the cabinet, such as the Deputy Prime Minister Philippe Pétain , and the commander-in-chief of the French Army General Weygand, Reynaud resigned on 16 June. Pétain became prime minister. While French resistance continued with

1404-608: Was made up of 1 GMD, 2 GMD, North African and Indochina forces, and separately administered direct-controlled units: The 1st Group of Military Divisions was formed in September 1940. Its headquarters was at Avignon . The corps was disbanded in 1942 when Operation Anton was launched and Vichy France was diminished. The 1st Military Corps had overall control of the divisions that were in South France and Southeast France . It notably participated in Operation Dragoon (alongside

1443-695: Was never negotiated, and the free zone ( zone libre ) was invaded by Germany and its ally Italy in Case Anton following the invasion of French North Africa by the Allies in November 1942. Article 19 of the Franco-German armistice required the French state to turn over to German authorities any German national on French territory, who would then frequently face deportation to a concentration camp (the "Surrender on Demand" clause). Keitel gave verbal assurances that this would apply mainly to those refugees who had "fomented

1482-462: Was present on that day, reported, "I am but fifty yards from him. [...] I have seen that face many times at the great moments of his life. But today! It is afire with scorn, anger, hate, revenge, triumph." Then, on 21 June 1940, in the same railway carriage in which the 1918 Armistice had been signed (removed from a museum building and placed exactly where it was in 1918), Hitler sat in the same chair in which Marshal Ferdinand Foch had sat when he faced

1521-455: Was to keep internal order and to defend French territories from Allied assault. The French forces were to remain under the overall direction of the German armed forces. The Armistice Army was a limited force, created in July 1940, following the occupation of metropolitan France by Germany. The northern part of the metropolitan territory was occupied from June 1940 to November 1942 as a consequence of

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