1st Army (France 1944-1945)
The 1st French Army is the name given to the military units placed under the orders of General de Lattre de Tassigny and assigned to the liberation of French territory.
It was first known as the 2nd Army (December 26, 1943) then Army B from January 23, 1944.
It is the main component of the French Army of Liberation.
Formation of the 1st Army
Creation
Before bearing its final name, the 1st Army was formed in North Africa by amalgamation on July 31, 1943:
elements from the Free French Forces (FFL), engaged alongside General de Gaulle since 1940,
units of the Army of Africa, which remained loyal to the Vichy regime until the Allied landing in North Africa in November 1942 (Admiral Darlan, General Juin).
General Leclerc's 2nd DB, the result of a mixture of one-third FFL and two-thirds soldiers from the African Army, sent to England in April 1944 and landed in Normandy in August, remained mostly outside of the chain of command of the French First Army, landed in Provence. Similarly, the 1st DFL, although fighting with the African Army from Italy, will keep its specificities and will be excluded from the German campaign. As a result, the respective loyalties to Generals Leclerc and de Lattre (and then to their widows) would form the structuring cultural lines of the French army in the second half of the 20th century.
Provence August 1944
Advance of American and French forces after the landing in the South of France, August-September 1944.
The Belfort Gap Breakthrough, and the Formation of the Pocket de Colmar, November-December 1944.
The Battle of Colmar Pocket, June 20 - February 9, 1945.
In August 1944, the 1st Army, also called Army B, landed in Provence (Operation Dragoon). About 260,000 men, including 5,000 female auxiliaries, will disembark in the months following this landing. 82% of this army is made up of soldiers from units of the Army of Africa (50% North Africans and 32% Blackfoot who had a mobilization rate of 18%), 10% Black Africans and 8% French from mainland France. In the divisions, the percentage of North African soldiers varied between 27% in the 1st DB and 56% in the 2nd DIM. By type of weapon, this percentage was approximately 70% in the regiments of skirmishers, 40% in the Engineers and 30% in the artillery1. In September 1944, Army B officially became the 1st Army.
The amalgam
The 1st Army will then be reinforced by the merger with the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) officially decided by decree of September 23, 1944.
There were 75,000 FFIs at the end of November 1944 and a total of 114,000 FFIs (including 20,000 for the Alps front) were added to the strength of the 1st Army.
The FFI integrated during the amalgamation with the 1st Army made it possible to replace the black African contingents of the 9th DIC (9,200 Africans) and the 1st DMI (6,000 Africans) during the autumn of 1944 during a money laundering operation. Concerning the "rejuvenation of the North African divisions", hard-hit since the Italian campaign within the CEF, it was only in February 1945 that the amalgamation of the 1st Army-FFI began to take place by replacing a regiment of skirmishers in each of the three main North African divisions. Thus the 8th RTM of the 2nd DIM, the 7th RTA of the 3rd DIA and the 1st RTA of the 4th DMM were replaced by FFI regiments between March and April 1945 "The common soul of the Rhine and Danube army was born of the intimate and fraternal amalgamation of the 250,000 soldiers from the Empire and the 137,000 FFI. .
In Germany
Rhine and Danube:March 31 - April 19, 1945
Rhine and Danube:April 20 - May 7, 1945
In Germany, the effective army will number up to 260,000 men. The 18,000 men of the 1st DFL and the 27th Alpine Division were sent to the Alps and northern Italy in 1945, bringing the number of French soldiers in the Alps and northern Italy to around 50,000.
De facto, the 1st Army then included all of the French armed forces engaged in Germany under French command, while the 2nd Armored Division remained under American command, commandos, the 3rd and 4th SAS regiments were under British command, and the regiment of Normandie-Niemen fighter is placed under Soviet command.
However, despite the disparities between units, it is an excellent formation, which will accomplish exploits in Provence and especially in the Vosges, in Alsace and in Bade-Württemberg, taking more than 250,000 prisoners (then handed over to the American military authorities then returned to France) and neutralizing a significant number of enemies.
Timeline of operations
July 1944:creation from the divisions of the French expeditionary force in Italy
August 15, 1944:landing in Provence
August 28, 1944:capture of Toulon
August 29, 1944:capture of Marseille
September 3, 1944:liberation of Lyon and Villefranche
September 8, 1944:capture of Autun
September 12, 1944:junction at Nod-sur-Seine with the 2nd Armored Division coming from Normandy9
October 4, 1944:start of the Battle of the Vosges
18-21 November 1944:Battle of Alsace
20 January-9 February 1945:Battle of Colmar
29-31 March 1945:crossing of the Rhine and the Siegfried Line and entering Germany
April 4, 1945:Karlsruhe on the Rhine
April 24, 1945:Ulm on the Danube
May 8, 1945:ca pitulation of Nazi Germany in Berlin, de Lattre represents France
Effectives of the 1st Army August 1944-May 1945
Period Effective Days
Provence (August 15 to 28, 1944) 50,000 14
Pursuit (September 1944) 77,000 27
Vosges (October-November 1944) 123,000 49
Belfort-Mulhouse (November 1944) 237,000 15
Stabilization (November-January 1945) 248,000 52
Colmar (January-February 1945) 265,000 20
Guard at the Rhine (February- March 1945) 262,000 33
Siegfried Line (March 1945) 250,000 15
Germany (April-May 1945) 252,000 40
Losses
The losses of the 1st Army from the landing in Provence in August 1944 until May 1945 are estimated by Marshal de Lattre de Tassigny at 13,874 killed and 42,256 wounded, i.e. a rate of killed of 5.33% compared to the effectives means (260,000) of the 1st Army. The most tested units being the skirmishers regiments. For comparison, the kill rate, over the duration of the war, for the British armies is 5.2% and that of the American armies is 2.5%.
Detailed figures from the Defense Historical Service show 9,237 killed (including 3,620 North Africans) and 34,714 wounded (including 18,531 North Africans) to which must be added the losses of the 2nd Armored Division amounting to 1,224 killed ( including 96 North Africans) and 5,257 wounded (including 584 North Africans). This gives a total of 50,432 killed and wounded (including 22,831 North Africans).
Note that these figures do not include the 13,679 FFIs killed, including 3,000 victims of summary executions.
Composition of the 1st Army
In the fall of 1944, it had around 250,000 combatants (half made up of indigenous, North African and African elements and half of Europeans from North Africa (Les Pied-Noirs), plus 'free French' (General De Gaulle) to which 114,000 FFI will gradually be added.
The 1st Army consists of two army corps:
1st Army Corps commanded by General Martin then by General Bethouart;
2nd Army Corps commanded by General de Larminat then by General de Monsabert.
5 infantry divisions;
1re DMI, (ex-1re DFL),
2e DIM,
3e DIA,
4th DMM,
9th DIC,
3 armored divisions (DB);
1st DB, commanded by General Jean Touzet du Vigier, then by General Aimé Sudre.
2nd DB (ex-2nd DFL) (occasionally),
5th DB. (ex 2nd DB before August 1943)
Non-divided elements:
4 Groupings of Moroccan Tabors (GTM) of General Guillaume;
1st GTM, Colonel Leblanc;
2nd GTM, Colonel de Latour;
3rd GTM, Colonel Massiet-Dubiest;
4th GTM (reconstituted in December 1944), Colonel Parlange;
Shock Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Gambiez;
African Commando Group (GCA), Lieutenant Colonel Bouvet;
French Commando Group;
16 artillery groups;
6 tank destroyer regiments;
2 armored reconnaissance regiments;
4 engineer regiments and 3 pioneer regiments;
12 anti-aircraft artillery groups;
transport companies missions, transport, stewardship, material, gasoline, health…
Other divisions formed late, mainly from FFI, very little or not engaged in combat and which served mainly for security, garrison and an occupation role in the last days of the war:
1st DI
10th DI
14th DI
27th DI
Uniforms and armament
The uniforms are quite heterogeneous:British or American battle dress modified (French insignia and flags as well as certain elements of the uniform) with chechias, Adrian 1926 helmets, US helmets of 1917 or US M1 helmets, Lee- Enfield, MAS 36 or even M1 Garand, PM Thompson, Sten or MAS 38…
Large units that were part of the 1st Army
Army Corps
1st Army Corps
2nd Army Corps
21st CAUS
Armoured Divisions
1st DB
2nd DB
5th DB
Infantry Divisions
1st DMI or DFL
1st DI
2nd DIM
3rd DIA
4th DMM,
9th DIC
10th DI
14th DI
27th DIA
3rd DIUS
28th DIUS
36th DIUS
75th DIUS
Building an armored division
This is a typical theoretical composition. Each DB can be broken down into 3 tactical groups, the CC (Combat command).
3 medium tank regiments
1 reconnaissance regiment
1 infantry regiment increased to 3 battalions
1 tank destroyer regiment (TD)
1 divisional artillery (3 groups of 105 self-propelled)
1 anti-aircraft artillery group
1 engineer battalion
Services
Building a Combat command
Subdivision of an armored division, it comprises 4,000 to 4,500 men and 1,000 to 1,200 vehicles.
1 medium tank regiment
1 reconnaissance squadron
1 mounted infantry battalion
1 tank destroyer (TD) squadron
1 self-propelled artillery group of 105
Service elements, train, engineers, signals, FTA…
Building an infantry division
This is a typical theoretical composition. Each DI can be broken down into 3 battle groups, the RCT (Regimental Combat Team).
3 infantry regiments
1 armored reconnaissance regiment
1 tank destroyer regiment (TD)
1 divisional artillery:
3 groups of 105,
1 group of 155.
Group of 155 HM1 Howitzer 2 Colonial Artillery Regiment of Africa Western
1 Engineer Battalion
1 Anti-Aircraft Artillery Group
Services
Building a Regimental Combat Team
1 infantry regiment with 3 battalions
1 artillery group
Reconnaissance, engineering, service elements…
Main battles
Provence
Landing in Provence
The landing in the south of France, codenamed Anvil then Dragoon, began on August 15, 1944. Entrusted to General Patch of the 7th US Army, it has three main phases.
D-1 to D:preliminary operations
The African commando group and the naval assault group, associated with the American special forces, are responsible for neutralizing the coastal batteries (Cap Nègre, Plage du Canadel and Pointe de l'Esquillon).
At the same time, a Rugby Force airborne division parachuted in around Le Muy to block the national road 98.
Day J:landing
The Kodak Force, 3rd, 45th and 36th Divisions supported by the CC1 of the 1st DB, land on the beaches of Saint-Tropez, Sainte-Maxime, Saint-Raphaël and Cavalaire .
Day D+1 and following:landing of the 1st French army
1st echelon:37,000 men and:5,860 vehicles - 1st DFL, 3rd DIA, CC2/ 1st DB, 2nd RSAR, 7th RCA, 8th RCA, 2 artillery groups, Signals, Train.
2nd echelon:28,000 men and 3,500 vehicles - 9th DIC, the 3 GTM, shock battalion, RCCC, artillery, FTA, pioneers.
Toulon
Given the success of this Allied landing, de Lattre decided to hasten the liberation of Toulon and did not wait for the landing of his second echelon. The mission was entrusted to the 3rd DIA (in the north) and the 1st DFL (in the south) with support from the 2nd CC of the 1st Armored Division and the 2nd RSAR. The center of the device is given to the 9th DIC.
For this operation we can distinguish three distinct phases:
investment in the sector:from August 19, the 3rd RSAR, the 2nd RSAR then the 7th RCA departed from Puget and bypassed Toulon from the north to place themselves in the west (Bandol) and north-west of the city (Quatre paths). The 3rd RTA meanwhile progressed towards the north of the city and was joined on the 21st by the shock battalion and the tank detachment (3rd RSAR). For its part, the 1st DFL has progressed to the east of Toulon but is stuck at several points (Les Pousselons, Mont Redon, Golf Hotel). For the 6th RTS of the 9th DIC with the tanks of the 2nd RCA, the clashes took place on Solliès. Still to the east, the African commandos take Fort Coudon; , La Garde, Le Pradet and La Valette). To the north, the shock battalion and the 3rd RTA, aided by FFI, invaded the town and Fort de la Croix du Faron. The most serious clash being that of the Poudrière. Nevertheless, the French forces manage to invest the city and to cut the connections towards the west;
the final reduction:the cleaning of the city is entrusted to the 9th DIC (4th, 6th and 13th RTS). The surrender of the city took place on August 26, 1944.
The balance sheet on the French side is 2,700 killed or wounded, including 100 officers.
Marseille
The capture of Marseilles is anticipated due to the rapidity of the operations in Toulon. These two battles are very similar in their unfolding in three phases (investment, tightening and final assault).
The operation began on the morning of August 20, 1944 with the capture of the crossroads of Camp by the 2nd cuirassiers (CC1 of the 1st DB) which thus opens the way to the 7th RTA and the three GTMs. After hard fighting on August 21 and 22, the 2nd Cuirassiers and the 3rd Battalion of Zouaves, reinforced by the 2nd GTM, seized Aubagne.
On August 22, the town of Peypin was invested by the CC1 (partial), CC2 and the 1st GTM.
That same day, overriding orders, Colonel Chappuis with the 1st battalion of the 7th RTA and a squadron of the 2nd cuirassiers s introduced into Marseilles. The 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 7th RTA were seriously stuck to the north and northeast of the city respectively.
Despite the FFI uprising and the penetration of the 7th RTA and the 2nd cuirassiers until 'in the center of the city, the Germans are resisting and their defenses remain intact, especially on the outskirts.
After an unsuccessful attempt at an amicable settlement on August 23, fighting resumed on the 24th. Lattre then engaged the 3rd RTA from Toulon.
The clashes of the following days were violent and deadly, in particular for the capture of the hill of Notre-Dame-de-La-Garde (25 and 26 August – FFI, 82nd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Cuirassiers, II/3rd RTA and I/7th RTA) and Saint-Charle Station (III/7th RTA). But it is to the north, at the Gavotte crossroads, that the defenses are the most serious with the concrete structure of the "Feste" Fouresta (1st GTM and II/7th RTA).
In the south, despite some clashes (6th tabor at Saint-Loup), progress is easier for the 2nd and 3rd GTM. The latter, after a last battle at Fort Napoleon on Cape Croisette, controlled the entire southern coast on August 28. The 2nd GTM meanwhile goes back to the city center and comes to reinforce the Algerian skirmishers.
On August 27 most of the city is liberated, the enemy only holds the installations ports and a few points north of the city. He finally surrendered on August 28 to the 1st GTM which had just been reinforced by armored elements from CC1 of the 1st DB.
The Var prefecture was liberated on August 16, 1944.
Draguignan
Aix-en-Provence
The city of Aix was liberated on August 22, 1944 by the forces, united on August 19, 1944, of the Provençal Resistance, the 3rd American Division and the 1st Free French Army commanded by General de Lattre de Tassigny.
Review
In two weeks Provence will have been liberated. Grenoble was taken on August 22 (83 days before the scheduled date), Toulon on August 23, Montélimar on August 28 and Marseille on August 29. The allied forces, going up the Rhône valley, will join on September 12, at Nod-sur-Seine, in the north of Burgundy, those of the western front20 (coming from Normandy). Lyon is liberated on September 3.
From August 15 to 29 (taking of Marseilles), the losses of this Army B amounted to 933 killed, 19 missing and 3,732 wounded, the most terrible days being August 23 and 24. About 35,000 German and Axis soldiers (Italians, Hungarians, etc.) were captured.
Mulhouse
On November 20, 1944, the 2nd battalion of the 6th regiment of Moroccan riflemen, acting as reinforcements for the 1st DB, arrived at the gates of Mulhouse. The first shots are heard around 4 p.m. They are joined in the evening by the tanks of General Caldairou, arriving from Pfetterhouse and Kembs. At 8 p.m., the Gardy group had set foot on the canal located west of the station, but the night interrupted the progress. The German troops take advantage of this to fortify their positions in the barracks of the city.
On November 21, from 8 o'clock, the skirmishers, leaving Rebberg, take the station at 8 o'clock. Their objective is to reach the Coehorn barracks via the “Hermann Goering Platz“ (Place de la République), the “Wildemannstraße“ (Rue du Sauvage), which they reach at 10 am, and the Avenue de Colmar.
The advance of the troops is delayed by the Mulhousiens, more and more numerous to take to the streets. At noon, the barracks were in sight, but it was only around 8:30 p.m., after several attempts and with the help of armored vehicles, that the central building was taken. And the barracks will not be completely cleaned until the next day at noon. The Germans regroup in the Lefèbvre barracks.
On November 23, it was the 7th company of Moroccan riflemen, supported by tanks, which was responsible for seizing it. A section succeeded in reaching a nearby building, but the Germans counter-attacked and, to free them, Lieutenant Jean Carrelet de Loisy entered the courtyard of the barracks with his “Austerlitz” tank. A panzerfaust shot hits the top of the tank's turret, the lieutenant is killed instantly. But thanks to this intervention, the skirmishers can get free.
The capture of the Lefèbvre barracks will mark the end of the fighting in Mulhouse, but the Germans will hold Lutterbach and Bourtzwiller until the beginning of February 1945.
Tributes
“To the Soldiers of the First French Army who, before History, paid the Price of Freedom.
Could France forget this Army that came from Africa which brought together the Free French of the 1st DFL, the black feet, the goumiers and the Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Senegalese skirmishers, the soldiers from the overseas territories, the escaped from France via Spain, former members of the Armistice Army and Chantiers de Jeunesse.
Could France forget these 250,000 men to whom, by the will of General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, came to amalgamate 150,000 volunteers of the French Forces of the Interior.
Could France forget that this army liberated a third of its territory and that, without it, its leader would not have been in Berlin on May 8, 1945 to sign Germany's act of surrender.
Could we accept that our cemeteries, where thousands of Christian crosses, Jewish stars and Islamic crescents mingle, are buried under oblivion and ingratitude.
Memory ! It is not only a pious homage paid to the dead, but a ferment always at work in the actions of the living. »
— Speech by Charles de Gaulle on April 23, 1968, commemorative plaque of the 1st army - Esplanade des Villes-Compagnons-de-la-Libération (quai Henri IV, Paris)
Abbreviations
CC:Combat command
DB:armored division
GCA:African commando group
GTM:Moroccan tabor group
DFL:Free French Division
DI:Infantry Division
DIA:Algerian Infantry Division
DIC:Colonial Infantry Division
DIM:Moroccan Infantry Division
DMI:Infantry Marching Division
DMM:Moroccan mountain division
FTA:anti-aircraft land forces
RCA:African hunter regiment
RCCC:colonial tank destroyer regiment
RCT:Regimental Combat Team
RICM:colonial infantry regiment of Morocco
RSAR:regiment of Algerian reconnaissance spahis
RSM:regiment of Moroccan spahis
RTA:regiment of Algerian skirmishers
RTM:regiment of Moroccan skirmishers
RTS:regiment of Senegalese skirmishers
RTT:regiment of Tunisian skirmishers