Full text of 'German Military Abbreviations' See other formats.German military administration in occupied France during World War IIThe Military Administration in France (German: Milit. This so- called zone occup. For instance, France agreed that its soldiers would remain prisoners of war until the cessation of all hostilities. FRIEDRICH Wilhelm KRAUSE. 24/11/1914 - 30/11/1914: 1. Bernard et Turenne, Establissement Barbier. Artillerie-Ausbildungs- und Ersatz-Abteilung. Bahnhofs-Kommandantur B-Kdtr. Staff-Sergeant Bernard Black. With some difficulty I explained that they had been cut off with a razor blade in the Kommandantur. Foreign Legions of the Third Reich: User Name: Remember Me? Weekdays 9:00-11:00am ET. Replacing the French Third Republic that had dissolved during France's defeat was the . As Paris was located in the occupied zone, its government was seated in the spa town of Vichy in Auvergne, and therefore it was more commonly known as Vichy France. While the Vichy government was nominally in charge of all of France, the military administration in the occupied zone was a de facto. Nazi dictatorship. Its rule was extended to the free zone when it was invaded by Germany and Italy during Case Anton on 1. November 1. 94. 2 in response to Operation Torch, the Allied landings in French North Africa on 8 November 1.
The Vichy government remained in existence, even though its authority was now severely curtailed. The military administration in France ended with the Liberation of France after the Normandy and Provence landings. It formally existed from May 1. December 1. 94. 4, though most of its territory had been liberated by the Allies by the end of summer 1. Occupation zones. War refugees were prohibited from returning to their homes, and it was intended for German settlers and annexation. It constituted a land area of 2. France, and included approximately 3. French labor force. It was expanded to all territory. As it was done at the same place and in the same railroad carriage where the armistice ending the First World War when Germany surrendered, it is known as the Second Compi. French sovereignty was to be exercised over the whole of French territory, including the occupied zone, Alsace and Moselle, but the third article of the armistice stipulated that French authorities in the occupied zone would have to obey the military administration and that Germany would exercise rights of an occupying power within it: In the occupied region of France, the German Reich exercises all of the rights of an occupying power. The French government undertakes to facilitate in every way possible the implementation of these rights, and to provide the assistance of the French administrative services to that end. The French government will immediately direct all officials and administrators of the occupied territory to comply with the regulations of, and to collaborate fully with, the German military authorities. It was divided into Kommandanturen (singular Kommandantur), in decreasing hierarchical order Oberfeldkommandanturen, Feldkommandanturen, Kreiskommandanturen, and Ortskommandanturen. Collaboration. It also had at its disposal the support of the French authorities and police forces, who had to cooperate per the conditions set in the armistice, to round up Jews, anti- fascists and other dissidents, and vanish them into Nacht und Nebel, . It also had the help of collaborationists auxiliaries like the Milice, the Franc- Gardes and the Legionary Order Service. The two main collaborationist political parties were the French Popular Party (PPF) and the National Popular Rally (RNP), each with 2. The Milice participated with Lyon Gestapo head Klaus Barbie in seizing members of the resistance and minorities including Jews for shipment to detention centres, such as the Drancy deportation camp, en route to Auschwitz, and other German concentration camps, including Dachau and Buchenwald. Some Frenchmen also volunteered directly in German forces to fight for Germany and/or against Bolsheviks, such as the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism. Volunteers from this and other outfits later constituted the cadre of the 3. Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French). Stanley Hoffmann in 1. Examples of these are PPF leader Jacques Doriot, writer Robert Brasillach or Marcel D. A principal motivation and ideological foundation among collaborationnistes was anti- communism. Germans were in the whole of the German- zone in France in December 1. The number of troops increased when the threat of Allied invasion began looming large, with the Dieppe raid marking its real beginning. The actions of British Commandos against German troops brought Hitler to condemn them as irregular warfare. In his Commando Order he denied them lawful combatant status, and ordered them to be handed over to the SS security service when captured and liable to be summarily executed. As the war went on, garrisoning the Atlantic Wall and suppressing the resistance became heavier and heavier duties. Some notable units and formations stationed in France during the occupation: 1. Luftflotte 2, Luftflotte 3 operated from airfields in northern France during the Battle of England. Luftflotte 3 stayed there to defend against the allied strategic bombings until it had to retreat in 1. Battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. The battleship Bismarck was sunk while trying to reach French Atlantic harbors after its commissioning. SS Panzer Division Das Reich, 4th SS Police Regiment. At the height of the battle of the Atlantic, between 6. German U- boats were stationed in submarine pens in French Atlantic ports such as La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Saint- Nazaire, Brest, and Lorient. Mountain (Reserve) Division, Panzer Lehr, XIXth Army, 7. Static Infantry Division, 1. SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend. Anti- partisan actions. After the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1. French communist party, hitherto under orders from the Comintern to remain passive against the German occupiers, began to mount actions against them. De Gaulle sent Jean Moulin back to France as his formal link to the irregulars throughout the occupied country to coordinate the eight major R. Moulin got their agreement to form the . The resistance intensified after it became clear the tide of war had shifted after the Reich's defeat at Stalingrad in early 1. German military's control and free zones for the maquisards, so- called after the maquis shrubland that provided ideal terrain for guerrilla warfare. The most important anti- partisan action was the Battle of Vercors. The most infamous one Oradour- sur- Glane. Other notable atrocities committed were the Tulle massacre, the Le Paradis massacre, the Maill. Large maquis where significant military operations were conducted included the maquis du Vercors, the maquis du Limousin, the maquis des Gli. Major round- up operations included the battle of Marseille and the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup. Although the majority of the French population did not take part in active resistance, many resisted passively through acts such as listening to the banned BBC's Radio Londres, or giving collateral or material aid to Resistance members. Others assisted in the escape of downed US or British airmen who eventually found their way back to Britain, often through Spain. By the eve of the liberation, numerous factions of nationalists, anarchists, communists, socialists and others, counting between 1. Supported by the Special Operations Executive and the Office of Strategic Services that air- dropped weapons and supplies, as well as infiltrating agents like Nancy Wake who provided tactical advice and specialist skills like radio operation and demolition, they systematically sabotaged railway lines, destroyed bridges, cut German supply lines, and provided general intelligence to the allied forces. German anti- partisan operations claimed around 1. French victims, including 4,0. Military deaths were 9. Some 5. 8,0. 00 were killed in action from 1. Free French forces. Civilian casualties amounted to around 1. German occupation forces). Prisoners of war and deportee totals were around 1. Of this, around 2. An estimated 4. 0,0. This does not include the 1. Germany or the departments of Alsace- Lorraine. They are explained by several factors: One of the conditions of the armistice was to pay the costs of the 3. German army, which amounted to 2. Reichsmark per day. The artificial exchange rate of the German currency against the French franc was consequently established as 1 RM to 2. FF. France had no indigenous oil production and all imports had stopped. Labour shortages, particularly in the countryside, due to the large number of French prisoners of war held in Germany. Soap was rare and made in some households from fats and caustic soda. Coffee was replaced by toasted barley mixed with chicory, and sugar with saccharin. The Germans seized about 8. French food production, which caused severe disruption to the household economy of the French people. The rationing system was stringent but badly mismanaged, leading to malnourishment, black markets, and hostility to state management of the food supply. The official ration provided starvation level diets of 1. The queues lengthened in front of shops. In the absence of meat and other foods including potatoes, people ate unusual vegetables, such as Swedish turnip and Jerusalem artichoke. Food shortages were most acute in the large cities. In the more remote country villages, however, clandestine slaughtering, vegetable gardens and the availability of milk products permitted better survival. Some people benefited from the black market, where food was sold without tickets at very high prices. Farmers diverted especially meat to the black market, which meant that much less for the open market. Counterfeit food tickets were also in circulation. Direct buying from farmers in the countryside and barter against cigarettes were also frequent practices during this period. These activities were strictly forbidden, however, and thus carried out at the risk of confiscation and fines. During the day, numerous regulations, censorship and propaganda made the occupation increasingly unbearable. At night, inhabitants had to abide a curfew and it was forbidden to go out during the night without an Ausweis. They had to close their shutters or windows and turn off any light, to prevent Allied aircraft using city lights for navigation.
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