Search results
It joined the Allied nations in fighting Axis forces with the Free French Forces (Forces françaises libres), supported the resistance in Nazi-occupied France, known as the French Forces of the Interior, and gained strategic footholds in several French colonies in Africa.
The 1st Free French Division (French: 1re Division Française Libre, 1re DFL) was one of the principal units of the Free French Forces (FFL) during World War II, renowned for having fought the Battle of Bir Hakeim.
Free French, in World War II (1939–45), members of a movement for the continuation of warfare against Germany after the military collapse of Metropolitan France in the summer of 1940. Led by General Charles de Gaulle, the Free French were eventually able to unify most French resistance forces in.
The Free French Air Forces (French: Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL) were the air arm of the Free French Forces in the Second World War, created by Charles de Gaulle in 1940. The designation ceased to exist in 1943 when the Free French Forces merged with General Giraud's forces.
Led by Charles de Gaulle in exile in London, the Free French Forces gained power in 1942 with the growing underground Resistance movement in France and the defection of many Vichy France troops stationed in North Africa.
General de Lattre de Tassigny gave the 1st DFL, which landed on the beach of Cavalaire on 16 August 1944, the mission to attack the external defences of Toulon, Mont Redon and the city of Hyères. The fight began on 18 August and lasted 5 days and 5 nights.
Between 2 and 11 June, the Free French General Koenig, with about 4,000 troops under his command, repelled the forces of Rommel, which were massively superior in number. This was a battle with real strategic importance, winning a respite for British forces retreating eastward.
