{{Expand French|ArmÃ©e franÃ§aise de la LibÃ©ration|date=April 2020|topic=mil}}{{short description|Reunified French Armed Forces during WWII}}{{Use British English|date=April 2020}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}__NOTOC__

factoids

unit_name

French Liberation Army| native_name = ArmÃ©e franÃ§aise de la LibÃ©ration| image = Flag of France.svg| image_size = 150px| dates = 1943â€“1945

FranceFrench colonial empire#Second French colonial empire (post-1830)>Second French Colonial Empire| type = Army| role =| size =

The French Liberation Army ( or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the ArmÃ©e d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces ( or FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated in the Italian and Tunisian campaigns before joining in the Liberation of France with other Western Allies of World War II. It went on to join the Western Allied invasion of Germany.

History

The French Liberation Army was created in January 1943 when the Army of Africa () led by General Giraud was combined with the Free French Forces of General de Gaulle.{{sfn|Gerd-Rainer Horn|2020|p=16}}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 ( 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.{{sfn|Gerd-Rainer Horn|2020|p=16}} The troops that landed 2 months after D-Day were the 2nd Armored Division under Philippe Leclerc and the 1st Battalion Marine Commando Fusiliers () better known as Commando Kieffer.{{sfn|Jean-Charles Stasi|2015|p=16}}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.{{sfn|Paul Gaujac|2004|p=160}} 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 1944â€“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.

References

Citations

Sources

BOOK, Gerd-Rainer Horn, The Moment of Liberation in Western Europe: Power Struggles and Rebellions, 1943â€“1948,weblink 2020, OUP Oxford, 978-0-19-258286-7,
BOOK, Jean de Lattre, The History of the French First Army,weblink registration, 1952, Allen and Unwin,
BOOK, Paul Gaujac,weblink Provence, August 15, 1944: Dragoon, the Other Invasion of France, Histoire & Collections, 2004, 978-2-915239-50-8,
BOOK, Jean-Charles Stasi, Commando Kieffer,weblink 2015, Heimdal, 978-2-84048-387-8,

External links

Â« Free French Divisions Â» on Stone & Stone website

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