"Division Leclerc" Topic
6 Posts
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Tango01  | 02 Nov 2018 2:41 p.m. PST |
"THE LECLERC COLUMN AND FREE FRENCH 2ND ARMORED DIVISION, 1940–1946…" Of possible interest? link
Amicalement
Armand
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| robert piepenbrink | 02 Nov 2018 3:26 p.m. PST |
It was a fine division, but typical uncooperative French--nothing but the division symbol on the AFVs to distinguish them from Americans. Had they ANY respect for historical miniature gaming, they'd at least have painted everything in a different camouflage scheme. |
| Tango01 | 03 Nov 2018 11:07 a.m. PST |
(smile)
Well… at least they paint the cross of Lorraine…. (smile)
Amicalement
Armand
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 Patrick R | 04 Nov 2018 1:01 a.m. PST |
The French had several major issues. The first was one of logistics, French divisions had trouble enough filling in the "head" of their units, let alone the "tail" so their logistics and capabilities were somewhat curtailed when being forced to fight protracted battles. Another issue was the need for the Free French to make every possible symbolic effort not only to show France was being liberated by its own people, but also as a free independent force and not the puppet of Churchill as Vichy was desperately trying to keep all vestiges of control and even hoped to remain in power as the legitimate government of France. The result was that the Free French often had to do things that were contrary to Allied practical needs. More controversially was the push to "whiten" the Free French forces and show as many metropolitan French, rather than people from the various colonies. This put a greater burden on various veteran units because their hardened soldiers were now being replaced by raw green recruits. |
| Tango01 | 04 Nov 2018 2:50 p.m. PST |
Good points my friend. Amicalement
Armand |
| Mark 1 | 05 Nov 2018 8:47 p.m. PST |
I worked for a fellow who was French-Algerian about 12 years ago. He was a "pied noir" (black foot), a French term referring to people of European descent who were born in the North African French colonies. I have another friend, a German who I had worked with some 25 years ago, who also knew this fellow. He (the German) told me he never liked the fellow, because he was French Algerian and this German fellow didn't like French North Africans. He recounted for me that when he was growing up in Germany, it was in the French-occupied region. He had no hard feelings for Americans or Brits, but he did NOT like the French North African soldiers. Seems they were pretty harsh and unpredictable to the European civilians. I didn't share with him the irony I saw in a German complaining to a Ukrainian Jew about how harsh the occupying troops were… -Mark
(aka: Mk 1) |
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