{"id":30856,"title":"The Fighting French","description":"A brief look at the history of France in World War 2 and how to field a French force in Warlord Game's Bolt Action.","content":"

17\/08\/23<\/em><\/p>

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Episodes 16 and 18 of the Tabletop Tommies podcast focus on fielding the French in Bolt Action, so it seemed only appropriate to open the history books and give a brief overview of the changing faces of the French forces in World War 2. For the sake of brevity, we won\u2019t be going into too much detail but will hopefully give you an idea of the different feel of the French forces in the early, mid and late war periods: as you\u2019d expect from a nation that spent the majority of the war under occupation, the forces of France were many and varied and fought around the globe throughout the entirety of the war.<\/p>

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France was involved almost from day one, with the UK and France declaring war on Germany two days after the invasion of Poland on 1st<\/sup> September 1939. What followed became known as the Phoney War, due to the relative inactivity on the Western Front after the defeat and occupation of Poland in September 1939. France did mount a brief and limited invasion of Germany\u2019s Saar district on September 8th<\/sup> but, due to the speed at which Germany defeated Poland and was able to redeploy their forces from east to west, France\u2019s occupation of German land lasted only 5 weeks before their forces retreated back to the Maginot line \u2013 the very point from which the invasion was launched.<\/p>

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Germany\u2019s invasion and conquest of France and the low countries began in May 1940: in just 6 weeks France had fallen, the remnants of the British Expeditionary Force and the armies of France and Belgium had been evacuated at Dunkirk, and the armistice between France and Germany came into effect on 22 June 1940. From this point until the Normandy landings in June 1944, French forces would not fight on their home soil, save for those serving as members of No 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando during their raiding operations, and that of the resistance movement, known as the FFI (Forces of the French Interior).<\/p>

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Forces from both the Phoney War and the Battle of France can be well represented in Bolt Action, using either the Armies of France and Allies book, or the Campaign: Battle of France book. Typically you can expect to see artillery, cavalry, massed ranks of inexperienced or regular troops, vehicles bristling with LMGs and MMGs (the early war motorcycle and sidecar combination is a particular favourite), and all manner of armoured vehicles, including the iconic Char Bs and Char Cs! You can also field an entire FFI force, using the Partisan units and theatre selectors from the Armies of France and the Allies, or those found in the Campaign: D Day US Sector book, including the option of captured German vehicles alongside your FFI units!<\/p>

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Following the armistice, France split into two factions: Vichy France under the rule of Petain, and Free France under the rule of de Gaulle, head of the government-in-exile in London. De Gaulle had appealed to all French overseas territories to reject the legitimacy of the Vichy government and instead side with his government-in-exile: however, only those territories in the Pacific, Indian and Equatorial Africa sided with de Gaulle.<\/p>

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De Gaulle\u2019s Free French Forces saw action throughout the Levant, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, fighting against Vichy French, Italian and German forces. Perhaps the most famous of battles for the FFF in North Africa is the Battle of Bir Hakeim in June 1942, where a force of just under 4000 French and colonial men successfully held out against repeated Italian and German attacks on the Bir Hakeim fortress, before successfully breaking through the encirclement and retreating back to the British and Commonwealth lines to the east.<\/p>

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The Campaign: Western Desert book provides a range of new units and a theatre selector to allow you to field a Free French force from Bir Hakeim. Interestingly, because the Free French were supplied with a lot of British equipment, players of this force can create a striking mix of Foreign Legion, Senegalese, Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian Tirailleurs, alongside British vehicles like the Bren carrier and a range of trucks. Indeed, at the Battle of Bir Hakeim itself, the Foreign Legion lead the breakout in multiple Bren carriers, which makes for an excellent modelling opportunity on the tabletop.<\/p>

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For those wishing to represent the Vichy forces of 1940 \u2013 1942 in Bolt Action, the Armies of France and the Allies includes a relevant theatre selector and the same models used for early war French forces can also be used for Vichy forces. In addition, as befits the areas of operation, Vichy forces will often include French colonial troops from Africa, including the fearsome Senegalese Tirailleurs and Moroccan Goumiers, as well as the French Foreign Legion, alongside a limited selection of armoured cars and tanks. Should you be so inclined, you can even take Moroccan units mounted on camels using the rules from Duel in the Sun!<\/p>

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Turning to the final years of the war, after the defeat of Rommel\u2019s Deutsche Afrika Korps, the Allies opened up a new front on mainland Europe with Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily in the summer of 1943. By this time Free French forces had begun to be exclusively armed and supplied by the United States, leading to units predominantly kitted out in US uniform but still including early war French equipment and clothing, such as the iconic Adrienne helmet. A small number of Free French Forces saw action in Operation Husky, under US command, but a far larger number took part in the Italian campaign that followed the invasion of Italy, as part of the newly formed French Expeditionary Corps (FEC). Again, these units were predominantly French colonial troops and served under US command: whilst there is not a separate French entry for them in Bolt Action, the new Campaign: Tough Gut book provides a range of units and a specific FEC theatre selector as part of the US-supported options.<\/p>

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And so it was in 1944 that French troops could again return to mainland France in great numbers, initially as part of the Normandy landings with various Commando troops, and most significantly as part of Operation Dragoon, the US and French invasion of Southern France in August 1944. By this time the French forces had undergone a further reorganisation and the French Liberation Army was formed following the merging of the FFF and African Army. This became the French First Army, liberating Paris alongside FFI and US forces, before pushing through France and into southern Germany. For those wanting to represent the late war French forces in Bolt Action, the Campaign: Battle of the Bulge book includes a range of French units, US support options and a theatre list.<\/p>

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If you\u2019re interested in building your own French force for Bolt Action, or want to find out more in one of the campaign books mentioned above, why not check out Firestorm Games<\/u><\/a> and Wayland Games<\/u><\/a>? By using these links, not only will you get a fantastic discount on all Bolt Action and related products, you\u2019ll also be helping us to continue to bring you great content on a weekly basis!<\/p>","urlTitle":"the-fighting-french","url":"\/blog\/the-fighting-french\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/the-fighting-french\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/tabletoptommies.co.uk\/blog\/the-fighting-french\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1692269195,"updatedAt":1692270223,"publishedAt":1692270223,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":292213,"name":"Tabletop Tommies"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/wmmamlo2zkxoajosedc1rqgkhajg1ymgcxh7ld2pyntfubjq.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/wmmamlo2zkxoajosedc1rqgkhajg1ymgcxh7ld2pyntfubjq.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/wmmamlo2zkxoajosedc1rqgkhajg1ymgcxh7ld2pyntfubjq.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":29449,"title":"A Bunch of Tankers","url":"\/blog\/a-bunch-of-tankers\/","urlTitle":"a-bunch-of-tankers","division":292213,"description":"In support of our podcast episode on Tank War, we highlight some of our favourite AFVs that aren't often seen on the Bolt Action table top.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/x9ux2zoxpqbscy7eg39vfaf3fuulmnpuvzp7qqmltofueodl.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855&z=1.1&fx=0.45454545454545&fy=0.54545454545455","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/x9ux2zoxpqbscy7eg39vfaf3fuulmnpuvzp7qqmltofueodl.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440&z=1.1&fx=0.45454545454545&fy=0.54545454545455"},"hidden":0},{"id":41606,"title":"2024 Bolt Action UK Tournament Players Rankings Update","url":"\/blog\/2024-bolt-action-uk-tournament-players-rankings\/","urlTitle":"2024-bolt-action-uk-tournament-players-rankings","division":292213,"description":"Our own ranking system of players at the UK competitive tournaments.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/gc5cgdnw0ky0sqvqihp9nokdejw0pnervfarywaxvrx9mut7.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/gc5cgdnw0ky0sqvqihp9nokdejw0pnervfarywaxvrx9mut7.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":32129,"title":"Operation Striking Cobra","url":"\/blog\/operation-striking-cobra\/","urlTitle":"operation-striking-cobra","division":292213,"description":"Operation Striking Cobra is a new custom mission from the Tabletop Tommies. It is an attacker\/defender mission which includes two of the common victory conditions for Bolt Action missions: holding objectives and movement across the table.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/kfgyyg1giylbfvvaukbnk7d66khfsk3hkdy8jdjkceorv0j7.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/kfgyyg1giylbfvvaukbnk7d66khfsk3hkdy8jdjkceorv0j7.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}