World War II Vichy: The Milice

maquis
Figure 1.--

Prime-minister Pierre Laval's response to the Maquis and the growing capabilities of the Resistance was the Milice. Laval obtained permission to create the Milice. The Milice francaise was created (January 30, 1943). The initial purpose was to a political movement overseen by Laval. While Laval was the nominal commander, Joseph Darnand was the General Secretary and actual commander. While the Milice was only organized in 1943, it orgins came soon after the German occupation. Vichy which under the terms of the Armisice was not allowed to have an army, created the Legion Francaise des Combattants (LFC--French Combatants Legion) (August 29, 1940). It was only allowed in the Vichy unoccupied zone. veterans supporting Marshal Petain's Vichy regime joined. The LFC had 1.5 millions members (1942). This included some members in North Africa and other colonies. As a veterans group, the LFC was not a vigorous group, includin many middle-aged men. Joseph Darnand who commnded a unit in the Alpes Maritimes wanted a more capable foirce. He created the Service d’ordre Legionnaire (SOL–-Legionnaire Security Section) (1941)> He sought to recruit younger members which were idelogically committed to Petain “National Revolution”, meaning a right-wing orientation. Darnand Milice evolved into a para-military French Fascist force. The Milice proved vital to the Wehrmacht in confronting the increasingly effective Resistance. The struggkle against the Maquis and Milice in some regards had an appearance of a civil war. Joseph Darnard, a French Fascist leader and fervant anti-Communist, was appointed in December, 1943 as chief of the Vichy secret police--the Milice. The 35,000 members Milice, mostly Fascists, played a prominent role in hunting down Resistance members. The Miliciens like the Gerkan Gestapo used the most brutal torture methods to extract information from the unformunate Resistance members they arrested.

Petain's National Revolution


Prime-Minister Laval


Legion Francaise des Combattants (1940)

While the Milice was only organized in 1943, it orgins came soon after the German occupation. Vichy which under the terms of the Armisice was not allowed to have an army, created the Legion Francaise des Combattants (LFC--French Combatants Legion) (August 29, 1940). It was only allowed in the Vichy unoccupied zone. veterans supporting Marshal Petain's Vichy regime joined. The LFC had 1.5 millions members (1942). This included some members in North Africa and other colonies. As a veterans group, the LFC was not a vigorous group. The membership included many middle-aged men.

Service d’ordre Legionnaire (1942)

Joseph Darnand who commnded a unit in the Alpes Maritimes wanted a more capable force. He pushed for the creation of a more robust force. He sought to recruit younger members who were idelogically committed to Petain “National Revolution”, meaning a right-wing orientation. The creation of such a force received support from important Vichy officials including Admiral Francois Darlan and Interior Minister Pierre Pucheu. The Service d’ordre Legionnaire (SOL–-Legionnaire Security Section) was established (January 12, 1942). Darnand was appointed as General Inspector. The SOL was based in Vichy and like the LFC, not permitted by the Germans in the occupied zone. The SOL as initially established had about 20,000 members. Most were anti-Germans, but strong supporters of Petain's “National Revolution”. As such they opposed the Free French and General de Gaulle. Even more so, they were fervent anti-Communists. The SOL grew in stature when Laval became prine-minister again (April 1942). And even more so with the Allied Torch landings in North Africa (November 1942). Some SOL units had been some of the staunches unit resiszting the Allies, fighting as part of the Phalange Africaine.

The Maquis

The Gestapo in the occupied zone began arresting members of the Communist Party and Socialist Party. The Gestapo also demanded that Vichy authorities make similar arrests as authorized by the Franco-German Armistice (June 1940). As a result, many Communists and Socialists went into hiding. The safest place was the rugged forests of the unoccupied zones. Some soldiers who refused to surrender to the Germans also hid in the forests. Numbers were at first limited, primarily composed of individuals hiding from the Germans. This began to change only when the Germans began to experience military reverses and also began conscripting workers for war work in the Reich. Operation Torch in which the Allies seized Vichy North Africa also had a major impact on France with the NAZIs occupying the unoccupied Vichy zone. The men and women hiding from the NAZIs amnd Milice in the country gradually formed into small units. Often the units were based on common political beliefs such as Communists or Free French. The groups also formed on geographic lines as the Germans made communications difficult. These groups, despite their political differences joined together to organize the Maquis. This was a French world for scrubby terraine where bandits or partisans once hid in Corsica. The men who worked in the cities for the Resistance were called " Résistants ". Those who were hiden in the country or mountain were called " Maquisards ". This in effect was the armed resistance, although actual atrmed assaults was at first very rare. France did not have huge areas in which substantial forces coul hise (as was the case of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia). The limited numbers and the brutal NAZI reprisals also limited attacks. This did not begin to change until the Allies landed in Normandy (June 1944). Many Maquis wore berets. They were common enough not to not arouse suspicion among the Germans, but sufficientklyn distinctive to effective identify each other.

Creation (January 1943)

Prime-minister Pierre Laval's response to the Maquis and the growing capabilities of the Resistance was the Milice. Laval obtained permission to create the new Milice. Marshal Petain speaking at Vichy in front of SOL men announced the transformation of the organization into the Milice Francaise (January 5, 1943). The Milicie was subsequently confirmed by a decree (January 31). The Milice was tasked with three assignments: Vigilance, propaganda and security. Darnand as General Secretary was initially assisted by Pierre Cance. Cance joined the Waffen-SS (October 1943) as was replaced by Francis Bout de l’An. The initial purpose was to a political movement overseen by Laval. This essentially gave Laval a personal police force that would act without regards to law. While Laval was the nominal commander, Joseph Darnand was the General Secretary and actual commander. Darnand Milice evolved into a para-military French Fascist force.

Civil War

While the Resistance had been relatively limited, by 1942 in began to grow in strength. There were a number of reason for this,. chief among them the SOT labor conscriptions foer work in thec Reich. This mean that by 1943, a civil wr was developing in France. Vuchy's need for a capable police force was obvious. The Milice proved vital to the Wehrmacht in confronting the increasingly effective Resistance. The struggle against the Maquis and Milice in some regards had an appearance of a civil war. Joseph Darnard, a French Fascist leader and fervant anti-Communist, was appointed in December, 1943 as chief of the Vichy secret police--the Milice. The 35,000 members Milice, mostly Fascists, played a prominent role in opposing and hunting down Resistance members.

Franc Garde (June 1943)

The Milice created the Franc Garde (FC) as a special force (June 2, 1943). This unit was more of a permanent force, unlike the Milice as a whole which was a part-time undertaking. The FC was given security and police assignments. It was commanded by Jean de Vaugelas. The Germans were reluctant to arm a French force, includsing the FC. As an unarmed force, the quickly became targets of the resistance. A mumber were assasinated.

Weapons

Darnand met with the SS several times. Finally an agreement was reached (November 1943). The Milice agreed to promote recruitment of Frenchmen for the Waffen-SS to serve on the Eastern front. Thos of course was a tough sell. Not only were the Germans despised by most French people, but fighting on the deteriorating Eastern Front was hardly an attractive proposition. In the end, about 200 Miliciens joined the Waffen SS. The group included Pierre Cance, Noel de Tissot, Leon Gauthier and Henri Fenet. The SS in exchange agreed to provide light weapons to theMilice.

Methods

The Miliciens like the German Gestapo used the most brutal torture methods to extract information from the unformunate Resistance members they arrested.







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Created: 2:25 AM 6/18/2008
Last updated: 2:25 AM 6/18/2008