French Resistance

nothing compared to yugoslav and soviet partisans

Their military effectiveness was largely inflated post-war by de Gaulle's government, and because everybody wanted to say they resisted the Germans even if it was just a chef who spit in the eggs he cooked for Germans.

On the other hand they provided valuable intelligence (ie, information on V-1 launching sites, and famously a French painter stole some Atlantic Wall plans by going to show some German officers wallpaper samples and then hiding the blueprints in with the wallpaper), tied up German soldiers guarding factories/ammo dumps/whatever from Jaques Shmo sneaking up to throw a fire bomb into a train, and were able to smuggle thousands of Allied airmen back to the UK after they were shot down.

The Communist movements on the other hand openly collaborated with the Germans until Barbarossa. The French communist party claims that 75,000 communists were murdered by occupational/Vichy forces, but post war research indicates it was more like 30,000 Frenchmen and the majority of them weren't communists. Another 25,000-30,000 were deported and died in prison/concentration camps.

>>1560606
Almost none, they were just overstated so France could clear it's image. In truth there were much more collaborators than resistance fighters.

>>1560606
They done thing, then has been use as political tools to rebuild an independant french state, then french historien destroy the myth, the rest of the world doesn't get the memo about it and meme it to death.

>>1560859
You may add that Communists only started to resist after the Germano-Sovietic pact was broken, and their side of resistance mainly was formed by foreigners.

The first to resist were probably royalists, even if they "officialy" (through Maurras) were attached to Pétain, it was only because they wanted to avoid what was done in WW1, and to get the country back as soon as possible (they were extremely anti-germanic).

>>1560615
soviet partisans are a meme

>>1560859
Is pretty much right.
Also the little battles to try to prevent reinforcements from going to Normandy.

>>1560615
>no mention of polish partisians

>>1560606
Yugoslavs partisans were the only successful partisans in World War Two because they were the only ones to actually liberate their country.

Polish partisans are arguably the most badass because they all died fighting for their country despite Soviet betrayal (and they fought so hard Nazis were saluting them when they finally captured one).

>>1561680
And French partisans did fuck all. It was mostly inflated post ww2 by the French who wanted to believe they resisted and by the Americans because the French are cool and sophisticated. Also because they needed successful Western European resistance movement to show in films during the Cold War to hide how successful the commies were at beating the nazis back on their own and how successful the commies in Yugoslavia were at resisting the nazis.

>>1560615
>>1561356
Neither of those had any relevance on the outcome of the war
At least the French resistance (even though overrated) helped for the Normandy landings
I think there's a quote from some US general about them being worth X number of divisions

>>1560606
They played a minor but extant role. By far their biggest contribution was to provide intelligence, but they also helped a lot of downed pilots make it back to Britain.

>>1561680

>Yugoslavs partisans were the only successful partisans in World War Two because they were the only ones to actually liberate their country.

Ahem

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade_Offensive

It was the Albanians, not the Yugoslavs, who liberated their own country.

>>1561762
>there are albos on /his/

So that's why this board is so shit.

>>1560606
>How important of a role did they play in the liberation of France?


none. LA RESISTANCE! is the biggest meme in history. The Belorussian and Yugoslavian resistance was much better and actually did shit

>>1560606
They were just overrated terrorists.

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>>1561890
>The Belorussian

I knew the Polish and Yugo resistance meme but that's the 1st time I see this one
Pls, gib more obscure resistance maymay!

Yugo resistance had 800 k men by 1944 and several german divisions were kept busy

>>1560606
No they are totaly irrelevant my random balticum country did so much more damage and we are better and every aspect the germans were defeated because of us and are full of fear till today we are so great wooow

>>1560606

Basically irrelevant. It is just way for Frogsfags to feel better about losing badly very fast, surrendering too fast, and then bending over and taking it from Germany until US and UK saved them.

>>1560606

>>1560606

Basically irrelevant. It is just way for Frogsfags to feel better about losing badly very fast, surrendering too fast, and then bending over and taking it from Germany until US and UK saved them.

>everyone keeps going on about how shit they supposedly were
>overrated
Do you even know what "overrated" means?

Anyway to answer your question, the French Resistance played a key role in making the invasion of Normandy a success by carrying out massive sabotage on D-day, delaying German reinforcements by several days and allowing the Allies to establish a strong position. It also made the reconquest of France go faster by rising up across the country after D-day. Several cities, including Paris, were essentially already in Resistance hands by the time the Allies arrived.

Before D-day, it didn't go into open combat against the Nazis, which is why it's always compared unfavourably to East European resistance movements. But that was a conscious decision, it was considered pointless and self-destructive to go into an unwinnable guerrilla war without any Allied support, especially considering the French population wasn't under any immediate existential threat. Until then, the Resistance focused on gathering intel, arming itself and preparing for D-day, providing logistical support to Allies, and carrying out targeted sabotage and assassinations.

>>1560606

I always bought into them being hugely important like most people, but they were meme tier compared to partisan/resistance groups in literally every other country in Europe in WW2

>French humiliation at having to be saved by Allies AGAIN less than 30 years after the last time, from the same enemy
>literally invent this mythology of the resistance being a meaningful contributor, pretend they had anything to with liberation of France
>the meme is too dank, we all buy into it for decades

not even most non retarded French people think they even did anything of importance, it was literally butthurt French and Marxist historians and a humiliated French state that propagandized the resistance meme so heavily to try and make it not look so much like the US/UK saved them from the eternal Teuton (again)

>>1560859
>The Communist movements on the other hand openly collaborated with the Germans until Barbarossa

keke muh Stalin likes Hitler, better slobber on Nazi cock until he says stop.

fucking communists, fucking europeams

>>1562678
>the French Resistance played a key role in making the invasion of Normandy a success by carrying out massive sabotage on D-day, delaying German reinforcements by several days

did they though?

>>1562736
Yes, a few days delay makes a huge difference in getting a foothold after a naval invasion.

>>1562757

what "massive sabotage" though, in every book on D-Day or documentary or historical account nobody ever mentions it

>>1562766
Nobody talk about the canadian too. A lot of people are never remembered by history.

>>1560606

Cut communication lines, blew up railroad tracks, blanda up and get into shootouts with Germans.

Also spy for a couple years. Basic bitch stuff like that is still important.

>>1560606
They were both overrated and underrated.
Overrated by the french who tried to make everyone believe that they kept fighting even after their gigantic surrender.
Underrated by the allies who often forget how the french interior resistance was a pain in the ass for Germany, helped a lot of crashed pilots and managed to slow down a lot of german armored divisions who planned on attacking Normandy.

Basically France had no essential part in the victory against Germany. But even now, they probably saved a lot of lives and proved to be really useful.
It is exactly the same thing with the French Free Forces who fought in North Africa. They did no essential work that couldn't have been done by the americans/english, but they were still great troops who could do show some impressive combat spirit (See the battle of Bir Hakeim) and proved really useful to the allies.

>>1562777
>Nobody talk about the canadian

they really do actually

>>1562802
>managed to slow down a lot of german armored divisions who planned on attacking Normandy

fucking bollocks m80

>>1562837
In june 1944, when the Normandy landings took place, the french resistance in south-western France attacked the 2nd SS armored division "Das Reich". The division was ordered to make way toward Normandy to push back the allies. The french resistance kept harrasing the SS, blowing their trucks and killing their soldiers randomly in guerilla fashion. This led to a real psychosis of the germans, who commited two huge massacres (Tulle and Oradour-sur-Glane) in retaliation. Eventually the 2nd Division was exhausted and slown down, and when they finally reached nothern France, they were annihilated by the allied aviation.

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>>1562864
>when they finally reached nothern France, they were annihilated by the allied aviation.

some of it is true at least kek

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>>1562864

do you mean this great success?

>9 resistance fighters
>7 killed

>>1562892
No. Operation Bullbasket happened in the Vienne, which is futher north from Tulle and where the SS Das Reich division was initially deployed.
During early June, before the Normandy landing, the SS division was tasked with suppresing a local maquis used by french "terrorists".
The 7 June, a resistant fighter (Codename Kléber) led a 700-strong force of maquisards to attack the 95th Security Regiment of the Werhmacht in Tulles. It wasn't a great epic battle, more like local french attacking german low-tier forces. They did manage to do some damages that angered the germans and scared them ; They also took many prisonners, some of them being executed right away.

Tulle is just one exemple of the many actions carried out by the numerous maquis forces. You would find other actions carried out by the maquis, like the one in the Vercors. Most of those battles weren't decisive, as I said, but managed to demoralize the germans, slow them, wound them, make them unprepared.

Of course, the maquis actions were the armed actions. Apart from that, the french carried out acts of sabotage, spying, and assassination. Acts that can't be quantified to how useful they were, and are prone to either overrating (For the french) or underrating (For the non-french)

>>1562718
>but they were meme tier compared to partisan/resistance groups in literally every other country in Europe in WW2

Not really no
Only Slavic countries where the general poverty combined with the inhumane way the invaders treated the population gave people nothing to lose had stronger movements

French resistance was actually unusually high for a rich country where the occupiers behaved well

>>1561680
Even if the partisans aren't able to accomplish their strategic objectives, every enemy unit that is used to quell partisan activity is one that's not on the front.

>>1562718
>French humiliation at having to be saved by Allies AGAIN less than 30 years after the last time, from the same enemy

Also you're going full retard there
Needing allies to win against a bigger, more powerful country isnt the same as having to be liberated like in WW2
Keep in mind that neither France nor Britain (or anyone) could have defeated Germany alone in WW1
Mocking France for that war while they were the main contributor to victory is retarded

If you're gonna call every victory achieved with help of other countries a defeat, then Britain has literally never won a war against another European power in its entire history (unlike France, Germany or Spain who all won some european wars all by themselves)

>>1562718
>Complains about the French resistance meme while believing in the French surrender meme

>>1561912
Yugo resistance also liberated the entirety of Yugoslavia without needing Allies or the Soviets help. When Russians came around Tito had 800,000 soldiers under his command and the entire country secured. For comparisons sake even the USSR had "only" 2,500,000 men for the final offensive.

>>1562777
>Nobody talk about the canadian too
Except the Canadians who will never fail to mention that they are Canadians and that Canada totes mattered guys! in ww2.

What was the deal with the French Communists? How much fighting did they actually do?