French Liberation Army

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French.  (April 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions.

* View a machine-translated version of the French article.
* Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
* Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
* You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is `Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Armée française de la Libération]]; see its history for attribution.`
* You may also add the template `{{Translated|fr|Armée française de la Libération}}` to the talk page.
* For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

|

Reunified French Armed Forces during WWII

French Liberation Army

Armée française de la Libération
Active| 8 January 1943 (1943-01-08)–1945 (1945)
Country| Free France
Second French Colonial Empire
Type| Army
Size|

* 550,000 (1944)
* 1,300,000 (1945)

Engagements| Italian campaign
Liberation of Corsica
Battle of Marseille
Operation Overlord
Liberation of Paris
Operation Dragoon
Campaign of France
Colmar Pocket
French West Africa
Commanders
Notable
commanders| Henri Giraud
Charles de Gaulle
Insignia
Identification
symbol|

Military unit

The French Liberation Army (French: Armée française de la Libération [aʁme fʁɑ̃sɛːz də la libeʁɑsjɔ̃]; AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merger of the  giraudist Armée d'Afrique with the prior  Gaullist Free French Forces (Forces françaises libres; FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated in the Italian and Tunisian campaigns before joining in the 1944 Liberation of France with other Western Allies of World War II. It went on to join the Western Allied invasion of Germany to secure the  capitulation of Germany's remaining forces. The successor to the FLA, the modern French Armed Forces would jointly occupy Germany with the other allies  until 1955.

## History

[edit]

The French Liberation Army was created in January 1943 when the Army of Africa (Armée d'Afrique) led by General Giraud was combined with the Free French Forces of General de Gaulle.[1]

The AFL participated in the campaigns of Tunisia and Italy; during the Italian campaign the AFL was known as the French Expeditionary Corps in Italy (Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Italie or CEFI) making a quarter of the troops deployed. The AFL was key in the liberation of Corsica, the first French metropolitan department to be liberated.[1] The troops that landed 2 months after D-Day were the 2nd Armored Division under Philippe Leclerc and the 1st Battalion Marine Commando Fusiliers (1er Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos) better known as Commando Kieffer.[2]

During the Allied invasion of Provence, on 15 August 1944, the AFL made the majority of the troops landing on French shores, capturing the ports of Toulon and Marseille.[3] The French troops in Southern France were now named French First Army and would participate in the Liberation of France and the invasion of south-western Germany in 1944–45. One of the AFL's garrison and second-line formations, which later helped man the French occupation zone in Germany, was the 10th Infantry Division.

## Division of the French Armed Forces

[edit]

The appeal by Philippe Pétain, marshal of France, nicknamed the "Hero of Verdun" to "cease fighting" that was broadcast on the 17th of June, 1940 on French national radio and the response by Charles de Gaulle to keep up the resistance on the British radio network the BBC the next day divided the remnants of the French Army that had just been defeated.

On the one hand, the large majority of this force, the Armistice Army, was loyalist and obeyed the government installed in  Vichy in the Zone libre (Not occupied by the German Wehrmacht, but effectively submissive to the German government). On the other, a minority force considered Vichy "rebels" and as such considered them condemned to death, was the Free French Forces. The FFL recognized the authority of Charles de Gaulle, a colonel who had been named brigadier general on a temporary basis on the field of battle, then as under secretary of state at war and who defended the idea of Georges Mandel to continue to fight with a government based in French North Africa and to mobilize the French Colonial Empire, which, at the time, was the second largest in the world after the British colonial empire.

Having departed for London general de Gaulle was proclaimed head of Free France and recognized as such by the Brits, decided to continue the war with allied Britain. Formerly, the allied Britain had evacuated most of de Gaulle's  Metropolitan French troops from  Dunkirk On the 29th of August 1940, French Equatorial Africa, through the intervention of governor-general Félix Éboué, recognized the authority of general de Gaulle and joined, in the Free French Camp with the New Hebrides, French India, and the French domains of Saint Helena

Two French armies went on to lead their combatants from opposing camps (that is the  Axis or the  Allies) and they would go on to meet head-to-head several times on the battlefield, notably in Dakar and Syria.

The first French-on-French confrontation was the Battle of Dakar, capital of French West Africa, in September 1940, where an Anglo-French fleet under British command (while being the only FFL military operation in which de Gaulle physically participated) sent by parliamentarians of Free France to convince the governor-general of French West Africa, Pierre Boisson, to rally to the Free French cause. He did not recognize the authority of general de Gaulle and expressed his refusal by peppering the visiting delegation with bullets. An attempted landing by Free French forces was similarly repulsed and did not participate in the naval artillery duel that followed. Vichy remained in control of French West Africa and it was an agonizing defeat for Free France.

The refusal by Boisson took place following orders by admiral François Darlan, Minister of Marine, to fire on any approaching British vessel.[4] This order was a response to the British Operation Catapult that, from the 2nd to 8th of July 1940, effected the destruction of the Vichy naval forces during the Attack on Mers-el-Kebir — where 1,200 French sailors were killed by their erstwhile allies — the capture manu militari of those naval forces which had retreated to Plymouth and Gibraltar, the disarmament of those based in Alexandria, and the attack on the French battleship  Richelieu — the largest of its era — by the British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes that left Richelieu stranded (The Richelieu had earlier been escorting the British  HMS Panther).[4]

The Battle of Gabon in November 1940 precipitated the "Dakar Affair" and, this time, the Free French forces obtained by force the unity of this territory, then intervening in 1941 in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign, where, after a month of fighting, the Australians, Indians, Brits, and the Free French inflicted thousands of deaths on general Henri Dentz's Army of the Levant, Dentz finally surrendered to the British.

On the eve of the Anglo-American invasion of North Africa in November 1942, the schism between the allies and FFL was profound because de Gaulle was kept at a distance from the operation by Roosevelt and Churchill following the failure of de Gaulle to reach Dakar in 1940.[4] In fact, his participation in Operation Torch was limited to the "appeal to the French of North Africa" on the broadcast Honneur et Patrie, distributed on radio by the BBC on November 8 1942;[5] he didn't arrive in Algiers until June 1943. In response to the allied invasion, the Vichyist Légion impériale was created in November, 1942 in Tunisia, while the  French fleet was being scuttled at Toulon. Then, in 1943, French West Africa and the Alexandrian fleet of admiral René-Émile Godfroy rallied to Giraud.

## Reunification

[edit]

In the autumn of 1942, after the Battle of Bir Hakeim, in which the 1st Free French brigade under the command of Marie-Pierre Kœnig slowed the German advance, the FFL was in Libya and fought Erwin Rommel's troops alongside the British army. Two Free French brigades, the  1st division, participated in the Second Battle of El Alamein, and colonel  Leclerc conquered Fezzan.

On the 8th of November, 1942, the  Army of Africa, under orders from the Vichy regime, briefly confronted the invading allies (Operation Torch), but combat quickly came to a halt and an accord was reached. In revenge, in Tunisia, this same army allowed Axis forces entry without resistance and retreated.

The Army of Africa progressively resumed combat against the allied flanks and lead them into a difficult Tunisian campaign, with oftentimes miserable arms (issued by the French Army in 1940, since outdated). It was there that Leclerc's forces stumbled upon Edgard de Larminat's  1st Division.

However, once victory was achieved, dissent grew. In Algiers, the fight for power between  de Gaulle and  Giraud had turned to whether or not to continue all the way to Vichy. The Free French, aware of their numerical disadvantage, did everything possible to rally others to their cause, and the heads of the Army of Africa were experiencing desertions across their ranks. Finally, Giraud was granted an American command to organize the movements of two Free French divisions in Tripolitania.

However, the support of organizations affiliated with the French Resistance (later formalized as the French Forces of the Interior) and the return of Giraudist commissioners of the French Committee of National Liberation, like Jean Monnet, permitted de Gaulle to supersede Giraud, and an accord was met that resulted in the fusion of the Free French Forces on August 1, 1943.

While on this date the FFL officially ceased to exist, the expression "Free French Forces" was and is still often used, albeit incorrectly, to refer to the French Liberation Army. This confusion was not reflected in documents of the era produced by those themselves who had interest in eliminating such confusion, on the contrary, the new command tried desperately to remove the words "Free France" from the names of units with such names. The 1st Free French Division was officially renamed the "1st Motorized Infantry Division" without really accepting it, and the 2nd Free French Division became the  2nd Armored Division, which had doubled in number due to reorganization of the Free French and defection of elements of the Army of Africa [citation needed].

The expression "Combatant French Forces" (FFC) is also used to refer to the Free French Forces post-reunification, always incorrectly. In effect, after July 13, 1942, the official name of Free France became "Fighting France", even so and despite the facts, the old designation lived on, and the Fighting French Forces gathered the Free French and networks of the Interior resistance, whether they were made by the  BCRA (and approved by the Free French Forces) or not (approved by the Combatant French Forces).

## Makeup

[edit]

### Ground Army

[edit]

#### Anfa Plan

[edit]

The  Anfa Conference, in January 1943, planned for the formation of eight infantry divisions and three armored divisions, rearmed by the Americans.[6] The eleven divisions from the dissolved Army of Africa were the following:[7]

* 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division
* 3rd Algerian Infantry Division
* 4th Moroccan Mountain Division (ex-3rd Moroccan Motorized Division)
* 6th Moroccan Infantry Division
* 7th Algerian Infantry Division (ex-1st Algerian Infantry Division)
* 8th Algerian Infantry Division (ex-2nd Algerian Infantry Division)
* 9th Colonial Infantry Division
* 10th Colonial Infantry Division (ex-2nd Colonial Infantry Division)
* 1st Armored Division
* 2nd Armored Division (Renamed the  5th Armored Division)
* 3rd Armored Division (1943-46)

But the two divisions of the Free French Forces (the 1st Free French Division and the 2nd Free French Division) were given no consideration by the plan. After the fusion of the Free French Forces and the  Army of Africa on August 1, 1943, they were included in an updated version of the plan

* Military history of France during World War II replacing some divisions of the  Army of Africa. The 2nd armored division became the fifth armored division and the 2nd Free French Division became the  2nd Armored Division. The 1st Free French division became the 1st ground infantry division.

The material needs of each division were evaluated and in the end only eight divisions could be formed. The 6th, 7th, 8th, 10t, and 3rd Armored Division were dissolved between September 1943 and 1944.[8] Some, like the 6th Moroccan Infantry division were simple auxiliary units, and others were only partially formed and maintained "without plan"[9]

Other territorial defense units and guard units in North Africa were maintained "without plan". finally, the four  groups of Moroccan Gumiers were not included in the Anfa plan,[10] but were nevertheless participants in the  Italian Campaign and Operation Husky.

#### Units established in France

[edit]

After the Liberation of France, the elements of the French Forces of the Interior were mobilized to continue the fight. A party of interior forces replaced the divisions of the Anfa Plan, who were "whitened[11][12][Note 1]" at the same time. Amongst others, these new divisions formed:[13] .*The 1st division of the Far East

* The 2nd division of the Far East
* The 1st Infantry Division
* The 10th Infantry Division
* The  14th infantry division
* The  19th infantry division
* The  23rd infantry division
* The  25th infantry division
* The 27th Alpine Division
* The 36th Infantry Division (France)
* The  3rd Armored Division

The 1st and 14th infantry divisions joined the 1st French Army during the last months of the  Allied invasion of Germany. The 10th, 19th, 23rd, and 25th infantry divisions were deployed against various Atlantic pockets, with the 3rd Armored in formation towards the south-east. The 36th reified the south-east towards the 27th alpine division, positioned in the alps. The two divisions of the Far-East were destined to depart to reinforce French Indochina against Japan.[13]

Finally, numerous "light" regiments were formed, often armed by the Americans and shared with guarding communication lines and the rears of allied armies.[13]

### Aviation

[edit]

In November 1942, excluding the French Free Air Force (FFAF) equipped by and integrated with essential components of the Royal Air Force, the materiel available in French North Africa was expired and many of the techniques and concepts of aerial warfare were foreign to French pilots, who had been well isolated from the ongoing warfare [in Europe] for more than two years[citation needed].

From January to June of 1943, the American reinforcements had slowed. Many variables explained the want: primarily the training of American pilots, priority was given to materiel destined for American forces in Great Britain, which sowed some sort of doubt in the French pilots[citation needed].

The FFAF consisted of:[citation needed]

* Groupe de chasse Alsace, equipped with  Hawker Hurricanes in 1942
* Groupe de Chasse "Île-de-France operating the Supermarine Spitfire in 1942
* The Régiment de Chasse 2/30 Normandie-Niemen with the  Yak-3
* The  Groupe de Bombardement nº 1/20 "Lorraine"
* Bomber group "Brittany", composed of Martin 167, Bristol Blenheim, and Westland Lysander bombers
* The Escadron de Chasse 2/4 La Fayette, reequipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawk Fighter-bombers in 1943
* No. 326 (GC/II/7 "Nice") No. 326 Squadron outfitted with Spitfires
* Escadron de Chasse 3/11 Corse in Spitfires
* No. 328 Squadron RAF in Spitfires
* No. 329 Squadron RAF in Spitfires
* No. 345 Squadron RAF in Spitfires
* No. 346 Squadron RAF in Spitfires
* GB I/25 "Tunisia"
* Groupe de Chasse I
* Groupe de Chasse II
* Groupe de Chasse III
* Groupe de Chasse IV
* Reconnaissance Group II/33 "Savoie" in Hawkers and  P-38 Lightnings outfitted for reconnaissance
* Night Chase Units 1 and 5
* Madagascar aerial group
* Bomber group
* Aerial observation group
* Naval aviation
* The  2nd and 3rd Parachute Chasseur Regiment[14]

## References

[edit]

### Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The term for the forced repatriation of colonial troops after the allied invasion of southern France [Renault 2025]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b Gerd-Rainer Horn 2020, p. 16.
2. ^ Jean-Charles Stasi 2015, p. 16.
3. ^ Paul Gaujac 2004, p. 160.
4. ^ a b c André Béziat, Franklin Roosevelt et la France (1939-1945), Collection L'Aire Anglophone, Éditions L'Harmattan, 1997, p. 83
5. ^ Extrait de l'appel aux Français d'Afrique du Nord, Honneur et patrie, INA.fr
6. ^ Vigneras 1989, p. 58.
7. ^ Sumner & Vauvillier 1998, p. 19.
8. ^ Sumner & Vauvillier 1998, p. 18.
9. ^ Vigneras 1989, p. 245.
10. ^ Vigneras 1989, p. 131.
11. ^ Dikamona, Charlotte, The Whitening of Colonial Troops, retrieved 27 July 2025
12. ^ Renoult, Judith, Aprés le débarquement en Provence, comment le <<blanchiment>> des troupes françaises a invisibilé le rôle des tirailleurs africains, retrieved 27 July 2025
13. ^ a b c Gaujac, Paul (December 1997), "Une victoire amère, juin 1945-janvier 1946", Militaria magazine
14. ^ Henry Corta (1921-1998, lieutenant parachutiste SAS) : Les bérets rouges (1952), Amicale des anciens parachutistes SAS, Paris

### Sources

[edit]

* Gerd-Rainer Horn (2020). The Moment of Liberation in Western Europe: Power Struggles and Rebellions, 1943–1948. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-258286-7.
* Jean de Lattre (1952). The History of the French First Army. Allen and Unwin.
* Paul Gaujac (2004). Provence, August 15, 1944: Dragoon, the Other Invasion of France. Histoire & Collections. ISBN 978-2-915239-50-8.
* Jean-Charles Stasi (2015). Commando Kieffer. Heimdal. ISBN 978-2-84048-387-8.
* Sumner, Ian; Vauvillier, François (1998). The French Army 1939–45 (2): Free French, Fighting French and the Army of Liberation. Men-at-arms Series No. 318. Vol. 2\. London: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-8553-2707-8.
* Vigneras, Marcel (1989) [1957]. Rearming the French. United States Army in World War II Special Studies. St. John's Press (originally published by Department of the Army, Office of the Chief of military history). ISBN 978-1944961893.

## External links

[edit]

* « Free French Divisions » on Stone & Stone website

* v
* t
* e

French Resistance

* Albania
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Czech
* Denmark
* Netherlands
* Estonia
* Germany
* Greece
* Italy
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Macedonia
* Norway
* Poland
* Romania
* Slovakia
* Yugoslavia

Creation
and control|

* Charles de Gaulle during World War II
* Appeal of 18 June
* Departmental Committee of Liberation
* Empire Defense Council
* French National Committee
* French Committee of National Liberation
* National Council of the Resistance
* Provisional Consultative Assembly
* BCRA
* DGER

Free France|

* Free France
* Free French Forces
* Air Force
* Army of Africa
* Navy
* French Liberation Army
* Battles
* Koufra
* Bir Hakeim
* Gazala
* 1st Free French Division
* Companions of Liberation (List)
* Radio Londres
* Free French Africa

Domestic
operations|

* Movements:
* Combat
* Franc-Tireur
* Francs-Tireurs et Partisans
* FTP–Foreign Labour Force
* French Forces of the Interior
* Libération-Nord
* Libération-Sud
* Mouvements unis
* Musée de l'Homme
* National Front
* Ceux de la Libération
* Ceux de la Résistance
* Networks:
* Alibi
* Alliance
* Organisation de résistance de l'armée
* Brutus
* Comet Line
* CdL Cinéma
* CLD
* Fer
* Klan
* Mithridate
* Morhange
* Confrérie Notre-Dame
* Others:
* Armée secrète
* Organisation civile et militaire
* Jade-Amicol
* Jade-Fitzroy
* Maquis
* Vercors
* Women
* Housewives' demonstrations
* Union des femmes françaises

Underground
media|

* Bir-Hakeim [fr]
* Bulletin [fr]
* Combat
* Défense de la France
* Les Éditions de Minuit
* L'Espoir [fr]
* Franc-Tireur
* Front National
* L'Humanité
* Les Lettres Françaises
* Libération (nord) [fr]
* Libération (sud)
* Résistance [fr]
* Témoignage chrétien
* L'Union
* La Vérité française [fr]
* La Voix du Nord

Free
French
Africa|

* Brazzaville Conference
* Brazzaville manifesto
* French Chad
* Empire Defense Council
* Free French Africa
* French Cameroon
* French Congo
* French Gabon
* March battalions
* First [fr]
* Second [fr]
* Operation Marie
* Ubangi-Shari

Liberation
of France|

* Kieffer commandos
* French Liberation Army
* 1st Army
* 2nd DB
* General de Lattre
* General Leclerc
* Liberation of France
* Liberation of Paris
* Liberation of Strasbourg
* Provisional Government

Leaders|

* Charles de Gaulle
* Jean Moulin
* Emmanuel d'Astier
* Pierre Brossolette
* Charles Delestraint
* Henri Frenay
* Marie-Madeleine Fourcade
* Jean-Pierre Lévy
* Pierre Villon

Museums and
Memorials|

* Order of Liberation
* Companions
* Resistance Medal
* Medal of the Righteous
* Mémorial de la France combattante
* Museum of National Resistance [fr]
* Museums and memorials
* Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération
* Free France Foundation [fr]

* Portal
* Categories: (French Resistance
* Films
* Members
* Networks and movements
* Righteous Among the Nations)

* v
* t
* e

Liberation of France

* Belgium
* Italy
* Luxembourg
* Netherlands
* Norway

Forces|

* Army of Africa
* Commando Kieffer
* First Army
* Cavalry Corps
* 3rd Army Corps
* 4th
* 5th
* 1st Armored
* 32nd Infantry
* Francs-Tireurs et Partisans
* French Forces of the Interior
* French Liberation Army
* French Expeditionary Corps Divisions:
* 1st Free French
* 2nd Moroccan Infantry
* 3rd Algerian Infantry
* 4th Moroccan Mountain
* Second Army
* French Forces of the West

Leaders|

* Charles de Gaulle
* Jean Moulin
* Winston Churchill
* Bernard Montgomery
* Henri Giraud
* Dwight D. Eisenhower
* Raymond O. Barton
* George S. Patton
* Philippe Leclerc
* Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
* Philippe Kieffer

Administration|

* Empire Defense Council
* French Civil and Military High Command
* French National Committee
* French Committee of National Liberation
* Provisional Consultative Assembly
* Provisional Government

French
campaign|

| Nov 1940|

* Battle of Gabon

|

Jun 1941|

* Syria–Lebanon campaign

Dec 1941|

* Capture of Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Nov 1942|

* Operation Torch
* Tunisian campaign
* Battle of Réunion

Sept 1943|

* Liberation of Corsica

Jan 1944|

* Battle of Vercors
* Battle of Glières

March 1944|

* Liberation of Limousin

May 1944|

* Battle of Mont Mouchet

Jun 1944|

* Operation Overlord
* Battle of Carentan
* Battle of Cherbourg
* Battle for Caen
* Liberation of Limousin
* Tulle massacre
* Liberation of Guéret [fr]
* Oradour-sur-Glane massacre
* Maquis de Saint-Marcel
* Maquis de Saffré
* Battle of Ushant

July 1944|

* Liberation of Saint-Lô
* Battle of Mont Gargan [fr]
* Operation Cobra

Aug 1944|

* Battle for Brittany
* Rennes
* Saint-Malo
* Liberation of Brest
* Atlantic pockets:
* Lorient
* Saint-Nazaire
* Lioran [fr]
* Égletons [fr]
* Battle of Port Cros
* Battle of La Ciotat
* Provence landings
* Liberation of Toulon
* Liberation of Marseille
* Liberation of Paris
* Maillé massacre
* Liberation of Guéret [fr]
* Battle of Montélimar [fr]
* Liberation of Nice [fr]

Sept 1944|

* Battle of the Vosges
* Liberation of Nancy
* Operation Astonia
* Operation Undergo
* Atlantic pockets:
* La Rochelle
* Royan
* Dunkirk
* Battle of Arracourt
* Battle of Meximieux [fr]

Nov 1944 -
March 1945|

* Battle of the Vosges
* Battle of Alsace
* Liberation of Strasbourg
* Colmar Pocket
* Bitche [fr]
* Battle of the Vosges [fr]
* Battle of Bruyères [fr]

Apr 1945|

* Atlantic pockets:
* Royan

May 1945|

* Atlantic pockets:
* Dunkirk
* La Rochelle
* Lorient
* Saint-Nazaire

Aftermath|

* End of Vichy
* 1945 municipal elections
* Advance to the Rhine
* Invasion of Germany
* End of World War II in Europe
* Victory in Europe Day
* Victory Day
* Provisional Government
* Épuration légale
* Épuration sauvage
* Tripartisme
* 1946 legislative election
* Fourth Republic
* Trente Glorieuses
* Trial of Philippe Pétain
* Klaus Barbie trial

* WW II theatres:
* Atlantic
* Western Front
* Eastern Front
* Mediterranean and Middle East
* Pacific
* Sino Japanese

* v
* t
* e

France topics

History|

| Overviews|

* History
* Timeline
* Political history
* Military history
* Language
* Economic
* Foreign relations
* Journalism
* Liberalism and radicalism

|

Regions|

* History of Brittany
* History of Normandy

Ancient|

* Prehistory
* Greek colonies
* Celtic Gaul
* Roman Gaul

Middle Ages|

* Visigothic Kingdom
* Francia
* West Francia
* Middle Ages
* Kingdom of France
* Fundamental laws

Early Modern|

* Early modern era
* House of Bourbon
* Absolute monarchy
* Ancien Régime
* Wars of Religion
* Thirty Years' War
* Peace of Westphalia
* Second Hundred Years' War
* Louis XIV
* War of the Spanish Succession
* Diplomatic Revolution of 1756
* Seven Years' War

Revolution|

* French Revolution
* Napoleonic era
* First Republic
* First Empire

Late Modern|

* Long nineteenth century
* Restoration
* July Monarchy

* Revolution of 1848
* Second Republic
* Coup of 2 December 1851
* Second Empire
* Government of National Defense
* Third Republic
* Belle Époque
* World War I
* Interwar
* Années folles
* World War II
* Vichy France
* Free France
* Liberation
* Provisional Government

Contemporary|

* 1900 to present
* Fourth Republic
* Algerian War
* Fifth Republic
* May 68
* 2005 riots
* Great Recession
* 2015 Paris attacks
* 2017 presidential election
* Coronavirus pandemic
* 2021 labor protests
* 2022 presidential election

Geography|

* Administrative divisions
* Cities
* Climate change
* Borders
* Islands
* Lakes
* Mountains
* National parks
* Rivers
* World Heritage Sites

Politics|

* Constitutions
* Elections
* presidential
* Foreign relations
* Politics
* Political scandals
* Human rights
* Intersex
* LGBT
* Judiciary
* Law
* history
* enforcement
* criminal law
* Military
* Parliament
* Political parties

Economy|

* Agriculture
* Automotive industry
* Banking
* Central bank
* Economic history
* Energy
* Euro
* Exports
* Franc (former currency)
* French subdivisions by GDP
* Mining
* Stock exchange
* Science and technology
* Taxation
* Telecommunications
* Tourism
* Trade unions
* Transport
* Rail

Society|

* Abortion
* Birth control
* Censorship
* Corruption
* Crime
* Demographics
* Education
* Health care
* Homelessness
* Immigration
* Life expectancy
* People
* Poverty
* Religion
* secularism
* Racism
* Social class
* Welfare

Culture|

* Anthem
* Architecture
* Art
* Coat of arms
* Cinema
* Cuisine
* Cultural icons
* Fashion
* Flag
* Gardens
* Language
* Literature
* Media
* Music
* Philosophy
* Public holidays
* Sport
* History
* Symbols
* Theatre

* Outline

* Category
* Portal
* WikiProject

* v
* t
* e

World War II

* Outline
* Battles
* Operations
* Leaders
* Allied
* Axis
* Commanders
* Casualties
* Conferences

General|

| Topics|

* Air warfare of World War II
* In Europe
* Blitzkrieg
* Comparative military ranks
* Cryptography
* Declarations of war
* Diplomacy
* Governments in exile
* Home front
* Australian
* United Kingdom
* United States
* Lend-Lease
* Manhattan Project
* British contribution
* Military awards
* Military equipment
* Military production
* Naval history
* Nazi plunder
* Opposition
* Technology
* Allied cooperation
* Mulberry harbour
* Total war
* Strategic bombing
* Puppet states
* Women
* Art and World War II
* Music in World War II
* Weather events during World War II

|

Theaters|

* Asia and Pacific
* China
* South-East Asia
* Pacific
* North and Central Pacific
* South-West Pacific
* Indian Ocean
* Europe
* Western Front
* Eastern Front
* Mediterranean and Middle East
* North Africa
* East Africa
* Italy
* West Africa
* Atlantic
* timeline
* Americas

Aftermath|

* Chinese Civil War
* Cold War
* Decolonization
* Division of Korea
* First Indochina War
* Expulsion of Germans
* Greek Civil War
* Indonesian National Revolution
* Keelhaul
* Marshall Plan
* Occupation of Germany
* Occupation of Japan
* Osoaviakhim
* Paperclip
* Soviet occupations
* Baltic
* Hungary
* Poland
* Romania
* Territorial changes of Germany
* Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany
* United Nations

War crimes|

* Allied war crimes
* Soviet war crimes
* Atrocities against prisoners of war
* British war crimes
* United States war crimes
* German war crimes
* forced labour
* Wehrmacht war crimes
* The Holocaust
* Aftermath
* Response
* Nuremberg trials
* Italian war crimes
* Japanese war crimes
* Nanjing Massacre
* Unit 731
* Prosecution
* Croatian war crimes
* Genocide of Serbs
* Persecution of Jews
* Romanian war crimes
* Sexual violence
* German military brothels
* Camp brothels
* Rape during the occupation of Germany / Japan / Poland / Manchuria
* Rape during the liberation of France / Serbia
* Sook Ching
* Comfort women
* Rape of Manila
* Marocchinate

Participants|

| Allies|

* Algeria
* Australia
* Belgium
* Brazil
* Bulgaria (from September 1944)
* Canada
* China
* Cuba
* Czechoslovakia
* Denmark
* Ethiopia
* Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
* Finland (from September 1944)
* France
* Free France
* Greece
* India
* Italy (from September 1943)
* Liberia
* Luxembourg
* Mexico
* Netherlands
* Newfoundland
* New Zealand
* Norway
* Philippines
* Poland
* Romania (from August 1944)
* Sierra Leone
* South Africa
* Southern Rhodesia
* Soviet Union
* Tuva
* United Kingdom
* British Empire
* United States
* Puerto Rico
* Yugoslavia

|

Axis|

* Albania protectorate
* Bulgaria (until September 1944)
* State of Burma
* Republic of China (Wang Jingwei)
* Independent State of Croatia
* Finland (until September 1944)
* German Reich
* Hungary
* Azad Hind
* Iraq
* Italy (until September 1943)
* Italian Social Republic
* Empire of Japan
* Manchukuo
* Mengjiang
* Philippines
* Romania (until August 1944)
* Slovak Republic
* Thailand
* Vichy France
* Guangzhouwan
* French Indochina
* French Madagascar
* Syria–Lebanon
* French North Africa
* French West Africa
* Collaboration

Neutral|

* Afghanistan
* Andorra
* Bhutan
* Ireland
* Liechtenstein
* Monaco
* Portugal
* San Marino
* Saudi Arabia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Tibet
* Turkey
* Vatican City
* Yemen

Resistance|

* Albania
* Austria
* Belgium
* Bulgaria
* Czech lands
* Denmark
* Dutch East Indies
* Estonia
* Ethiopia
* France
* Germany
* Greece
* Hong Kong
* Italy
* Japan
* Jews
* Korea
* Korean Liberation Army
* Korean Volunteer Army
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Malaya
* Netherlands
* Northeast China
* Norway
* Philippines
* Poland
* Romania
* Thailand
* Soviet Union
* Slovakia
* Western Ukraine
* Vietnam
* Quốc dân Đảng
* Viet Minh
* Yugoslavia

POWs|

* Finnish prisoners in the Soviet Union
* German prisoners
* Soviet Union
* Azerbaijan
* United States
* United Kingdom
* Italian prisoners in the Soviet Union
* Japanese prisoners
* Soviet Union
* German atrocities against Polish POWs
* Soviet prisoners
* Finland
* atrocities by Germans
* Polish prisoners in the Soviet Union
* Romanian prisoners in the Soviet Union

Timeline|

| Prelude|

* Africa
* Second Italo-Ethiopian War
* Asia
* Second Sino-Japanese War
* Battles of Khalkhin Gol
* Europe
* Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
* Anschluss
* Munich Agreement
* Occupation of Czechoslovakia
* Operation Himmler
* Italian invasion of Albania

|

1939|

* Invasion of Poland
* Battle of the Atlantic
* Phoney War
* First Battle of Changsha
* Battle of South Guangxi
* Winter War
* 1939–1940 Winter Offensive

1940|

* Norwegian campaign
* German invasion of Denmark
* Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang
* German invasion of Luxembourg
* German invasion of the Netherlands
* German invasion of Belgium
* Battle of France
* Dunkirk evacuation
* Battle of Britain
* Battle of the Mediterranean
* North Africa
* West Africa
* British Somaliland
* Hundred Regiments Offensive
* Baltic states
* Eastern Romania
* Japanese invasion of French Indochina
* Italian invasion of Greece
* Compass

1941|

* Battle of South Henan
* Battle of Shanggao
* Invasion of Yugoslavia
* German invasion of Greece
* Battle of Crete
* Anglo-Iraqi War
* Battle of South Shanxi
* Syria–Lebanon campaign
* East African campaign
* Invasion of the Soviet Union
* Summer War
* Finland (Silver Fox)
* Lithuania
* Battle of Kiev
* Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
* Second Battle of Changsha
* Siege of Leningrad
* Battle of Moscow
* Bombing of Gorky
* Siege of Sevastopol
* Attack on Pearl Harbor
* Japanese invasion of Thailand
* Fall of Hong Kong
* Fall of the Philippines
* Battle of Guam
* Battle of Wake Island
* Malayan campaign
* Battle of Borneo
* Japanese invasion of Burma
* Third Battle of Changsha
* Greek famine of 1941–1944

1942|

* Fall of Singapore
* Battle of the Java Sea
* St Nazaire Raid
* Battle of Christmas Island
* Battle of the Coral Sea
* Battle of Madagascar
* Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign
* Battle of Gazala
* Battle of Dutch Harbor
* Battle of Midway
* Aleutian Islands campaign
* Kiska
* Attu
* Blue
* First Battle of El Alamein
* Battle of Stalingrad
* Kokoda Track campaign
* Rzhev
* Jubilee
* Second Battle of El Alamein
* Guadalcanal campaign
* Torch
* Chinese famine of 1942–1943

1943|

* Black May
* Tunisian campaign
* Battle of West Hubei
* Battle of Attu
* Bombing of Gorky
* Battle of Kursk
* Allied invasion of Sicily
* Smolensk
* Solomon Islands campaign
* Cottage
* Battle of the Dnieper
* Allied invasion of Italy
* Armistice of Cassibile
* Burma
* Northern Burma and Western Yunnan
* Changde
* Second Battle of Kiev
* Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign
* Tarawa
* Makin
* Bengal famine of 1943

1944|

* Tempest
* Monte Cassino / Anzio
* Korsun–Cherkassy
* Narva
* U-Go
* Imphal
* Ichi-Go
* Kohima
* Overlord
* Neptune
* Mariana and Palau
* Bagration
* Western Ukraine
* Second Battle of Guam
* Tannenberg Line
* Warsaw Uprising
* Eastern Romania
* Liberation of Paris
* Dragoon
* Gothic Line
* Belgrade offensive
* Battle of San Marino
* Lapland
* Market Garden
* Estonia
* Crossbow
* Pointblank
* Vietnamese famine of 1944–1945
* Philippines (1944–1945)
* Leyte
* Syrmian Front
* Hungary
* Budapest
* Burma (1944–1945)
* Ardennes
* Bodenplatte
* Dutch famine of 1944–1945

1945|

* Vistula–Oder
* Battle of Manila
* Battle of Iwo Jima
* Indochina
* Vienna offensive
* Project Hula
* Western invasion of Germany
* Bratislava–Brno offensive
* Battle of Okinawa
* Second Guangxi campaign
* West Hunan
* Italy (Spring 1945)
* Battle of Berlin
* Prague offensive
* Surrender of Germany
* document
* Borneo
* Taipei
* Naval bombardment of Japan
* Manchuria
* Atomic bombings
* Debate
* South Sakhalin
* Kuril Islands
* Shumshu
* Surrender of Japan
* Potsdam Declaration
* document
* End of World War II in Asia

* World portal
* Bibliography
* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template