Text by Charitos Anastasios

Cover photo: Pétain shaking hands with Hitler at Montoire. Between the two leaders, the interpreter Paul-Otto Schmidt, and behind Hitler, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Reich Minister of Foreign Affairs. Source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H25217

Based on the Armistice of June 22, 1940, the Germans allowed the Vichy regime to maintain a limited army, air force, and navy. Notably, while the navy was to be disarmed, it was not to be surrendered, as the Germans wanted Vichy to maintain control over the loyal French Empire. Although Vichy had political authority not only in the Free Zone but also, with restrictions, in the occupied territories (excluding Alsace-Lorraine), its army existed exclusively in the Free Zone and, of course, in its loyal colonies.

The Metropolitan Army, was purely volunteer-based, initially consisting of 3,768 officers, 15,072 non-commissioned officers, and 75,360 soldiers. However, due to a lack of volunteers, Vichy retained 30,000 conscripts from 1939, who were eventually discharged in 1942. The shortage of volunteers in the Metropole was a significant issue, which couldn’t be easily mitigated by colonial troops. Vichy pressured the Germans to allow the reinstatement of compulsory military service.

In contrast to Vichy’s colonial troops, the Metropolitan Army suffered from a severe lack of mechanized equipment, remaining a small and technologically outdated force. The only significant change was the replacement of traditional French uniforms and kepis with berets and simpler, modern uniforms. For obvious reasons, cavalry remained strong within the metropolitan army, with recruitment posters advertising the army as an opportunity for athletic life and horseback riding training.

Expansion and Organization
By 1942, the total army strength reached 550,000 men, including 21,000 officers. This number includes strong colonial forces, which also saw a significant reduction initially due to the terms of the Armistice. However, the Germans soon realized that the French were far more reliable in maintaining Axis power in Africa, especially in the Maghreb and West Africa, compared to the Italians or the less trustworthy Spanish. Thus, they agreed with Vichy for the Armée d’Afrique to have a force of 100-120,000 men in North Africa. Meanwhile, General Maxime Weygand organized another 60,000 men as “auxiliary police,” “temporary reserves,” or simply as “unarmed workers,” who were practically trained for the Vichy Army.

As the African Front gained increasing importance, the Germans permitted the Armée d’Afrique to reach 127,000 men in North Africa, along with 30,000 elite Moroccan irregulars, known as Goumiers, who were nominally under the Sultan of Morocco but practically under Marshal Pétain. Another 33,000 men composed the military force in French West Africa, primarily elite indigenous Tirailleurs, supported by artillery, cavalry, and some armored units. Like in French West Africa, the North African forces were predominantly staffed by indigenous Arab-Berber soldiers.

Another 40,000 men constituted the Armée du Levant in French Syria and Lebanon. As in Africa, these forces were better equipped than those in Metropolitan France, even retaining some World War I-era armored vehicles. Beyond the army and air force, three destroyers and two submarines of the Vichy-loyal Marine Nationale were stationed in the Levant. The French forces in Indochina also remained loyal to Vichy, administering the region under Japanese occupation and maintaining allegiance to Pétain.

With the collapse of France, the Germans planned the complete dissolution of the French Air Force (Armée de l’air). Following the British naval attack on the French fleet at Oran and Mers-el-Kébir, the Vichy state severed all diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom. The Germans allowed Vichy to maintain an armistice air force (Armée de l’Air de l’armistice). The British attack on the French fleet at Mers-el-Kébir—a logical move by Churchill to prevent the fleet from joining the Kriegsmarine—significantly worsened Franco-British relations, especially in colonies with strong anti-British sentiments. The Germans used the attack at Mers-el-Kébir for anti-British propaganda in France. In retaliation for the British attack, Vichy aircraft bombed Gibraltar, causing casualties but not significant damage.

Despite the constraints, the French State under Pétain retained its air force in both the Metropole and colonies. Vichy aircraft participated in operations against the Allies, including the British and Free French forces. Notably, during the Battle of Dakar, Vichy forces secured a victory, keeping French West Africa on the Axis side. Concurrently, Gibraltar suffered substantial damage from French bombing, and from their bases in Syria, Vichy aircraft attacked British positions during the Anglo-Iraqi War.

The Regia Aeronautica and Luftwaffe utilized crucial bases in Syria-Lebanon for their Middle Eastern operations, making their retention under Vichy control vital. Pétain significantly bolstered the French air forces in Syria-Lebanon, sending reinforcements from Algeria and Metropolitan France, ultimately amassing 289 aircraft in Syria, including new Glenn Martin 167 bombers purchased from the USA. Despite their numerical advantage, the French suffered heavy losses in Syria, with Australian RAAF pilots destroying several aircraft in their bases, leading to Syria and Lebanon coming under Allied control and soon gaining independence against the wishes of the Free French.

The Vichy Air Force fought its last battle during Operation Torch in the French Maghreb, against the American Air Force. Despite fighting fiercely, they suffered enormous losses, and Torch led to the definitive loss of French North and West Africa for the Axis.

The destruction in North Africa and the massive defection of French forces there to the Free French—initially tolerated by the Allies despite Admiral Darlan’s anti-Semitic policies and concentration camps still existing in Allied-controlled French North Africa—prompted the Nazis to impose the complete dissolution of the French collaborative forces. On November 26, 1942, Hitler ordered the dissolution of the Armée de l’Armistice, clarifying that a French army would not be reestablished. The Germans no longer trusted the French and, along with the Italians, occupied the Free Zone from November 10-27, 1942, with the remaining French fleet in Toulon coming under full Allied control.

The Vichy government retained nominal control of occupied France but without significant power, while the Italians briefly gained the coveted Corsica. Vichy Defense Minister General Bridoux continued efforts to reconstitute the French army, but the Germans remained firm in their decision. Over 10,000 personnel, mainly officers, from the Vichy army then fled the Metropole to Allied North Africa via Andorra and Spain, where they joined the Free French Forces.

Nevertheless, French forces continued to exist within the Axis, not only the famous SS Charlemagne Division but also the African Phalange, which continued to fight alongside the Germans in Tunisia until the end, the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (Légion des volontaires français contre le bolchévisme, LVF), fighting on the Eastern Front since 1941, and the Milice française, established in 1943 but now controlled by the Germans. Additionally, in 1944, the Germans established the Légion nord-africaine (North African Legion) composed of Arab and Berber Muslims from Paris, under Gestapo direction.

Eventually, Hitler allowed Pierre Laval, Vichy’s last prime minister, to form a small French military force under Vichy government control. Bridoux formed the 1st Regiment of France, a small force of three infantry battalions and mounted or bicycle cavalry. It primarily fought against French resistance fighters, eventually joining the Resistance Forces.