1672
January 29th, 1941
Alger, Ministry of Defense - General de Gaulle brings together the highest officials of the the Army.
- Mr. Minister," begins Huntziger, "at your request, we have again reviewed the deployment of our forces to see if it is adapted to the present situation, while the current enemy air offensive is probably a prelude to an attack."
Doumenc takes over: "As you know, our forces remain limited by the lack of specialists and modern equipment. The situation has largely improved since last summer since we have completed the sorting and gathering of men evacuated from Metropolitan France; we have raised many French and native contingents - the natives are now also French as well, and all of them are now being trained; we have received and distributed the first materials from the United States. Nevertheless, under these conditions, we can only field sixteen large units. All of them, with the exception of the 86th DIA, which is fighting successfully in Ethiopia, are deployed across the Mediterranean. Most of these divisions do not yet have their normal equipment, in particular artillery, collective arms, and especially motorized vehicles, and they sometimes still lack cadres and specialists.
In the Eastern Mediterranean, we maintain two divisions (and a Polish brigade) in the Dodecanese and in the Levant, to anticipate a possible Balkan front if Turkey, Greece or Yugoslavia finally enter the war."
- In the Western Mediterranean," continues General Noguès, "our deployment is constrained by the threats posed by our declared or potential enemies. In order to maintain Spain in its prudent neutrality (Franco seems to have been converted to better feelings, but he would quickly revert to his old ways if we let our guard down), we must keep sufficiently dissuasive forces in Morocco: the three divisions of the Moroccan Front are hardly enough... The possession of the islands of Corsica and Sardinia is indispensable as a springboard for a future return to the European continent. Moreover, the defense of Corsica, a historic national territory, is a strong political issue. Two large units in each of these islands are hardly enough to ensure their defense*, especially for Sardinia, an enemy territory that had to be squared off to control it... But there again, necessity is the law. Finally, in Tunisia, the threat of an Italian landing in Tunis or in the Gulf of Hammamet is even more topical with the air attacks in progress: we only had two divisions to defend the coast, and I propose to put the 180th DIA** at Poupinel's disposal so that he can integrate it into his system.
- In this context," General Héring continues, "the Grand Quartier Général kept three large units in general reserve: an Alpine division, a Moroccan mountain division and a Polish division, also based on the mountain model. We also have four Foreign Legion half-brigades and a marine brigade. All these units are garrisoned in North Africa, near railway terminals and ports of embarkation, and both the 3rd Bureau and the Navy made a point of deploying them quickly to where the enemy would strike. In a few weeks, we will be able to count on our first two new divisions within this general reserve on our first two new armored divisions."
After an in-depth discussion of various points, the meeting ends with a tribute paid by De Gaulle to the action of General Huntziger "who knew, in the worst circumstances to accept immense sacrifices to safeguard the very soul of the Nation." Everyone understands that the French Armed Forces will soon have a new commander-in-chief - starting with the main person concerned, who seems more relieved than saddened.
* The Corsican Defence Sector with its ten battalions (General Mollard) is considered here as a division.
** Kept until then in reserve for the Western Mediterranean theater of operations.
Alger, Ministry of Defense - General de Gaulle brings together the highest officials of the the Army.
- Mr. Minister," begins Huntziger, "at your request, we have again reviewed the deployment of our forces to see if it is adapted to the present situation, while the current enemy air offensive is probably a prelude to an attack."
Doumenc takes over: "As you know, our forces remain limited by the lack of specialists and modern equipment. The situation has largely improved since last summer since we have completed the sorting and gathering of men evacuated from Metropolitan France; we have raised many French and native contingents - the natives are now also French as well, and all of them are now being trained; we have received and distributed the first materials from the United States. Nevertheless, under these conditions, we can only field sixteen large units. All of them, with the exception of the 86th DIA, which is fighting successfully in Ethiopia, are deployed across the Mediterranean. Most of these divisions do not yet have their normal equipment, in particular artillery, collective arms, and especially motorized vehicles, and they sometimes still lack cadres and specialists.
In the Eastern Mediterranean, we maintain two divisions (and a Polish brigade) in the Dodecanese and in the Levant, to anticipate a possible Balkan front if Turkey, Greece or Yugoslavia finally enter the war."
- In the Western Mediterranean," continues General Noguès, "our deployment is constrained by the threats posed by our declared or potential enemies. In order to maintain Spain in its prudent neutrality (Franco seems to have been converted to better feelings, but he would quickly revert to his old ways if we let our guard down), we must keep sufficiently dissuasive forces in Morocco: the three divisions of the Moroccan Front are hardly enough... The possession of the islands of Corsica and Sardinia is indispensable as a springboard for a future return to the European continent. Moreover, the defense of Corsica, a historic national territory, is a strong political issue. Two large units in each of these islands are hardly enough to ensure their defense*, especially for Sardinia, an enemy territory that had to be squared off to control it... But there again, necessity is the law. Finally, in Tunisia, the threat of an Italian landing in Tunis or in the Gulf of Hammamet is even more topical with the air attacks in progress: we only had two divisions to defend the coast, and I propose to put the 180th DIA** at Poupinel's disposal so that he can integrate it into his system.
- In this context," General Héring continues, "the Grand Quartier Général kept three large units in general reserve: an Alpine division, a Moroccan mountain division and a Polish division, also based on the mountain model. We also have four Foreign Legion half-brigades and a marine brigade. All these units are garrisoned in North Africa, near railway terminals and ports of embarkation, and both the 3rd Bureau and the Navy made a point of deploying them quickly to where the enemy would strike. In a few weeks, we will be able to count on our first two new divisions within this general reserve on our first two new armored divisions."
After an in-depth discussion of various points, the meeting ends with a tribute paid by De Gaulle to the action of General Huntziger "who knew, in the worst circumstances to accept immense sacrifices to safeguard the very soul of the Nation." Everyone understands that the French Armed Forces will soon have a new commander-in-chief - starting with the main person concerned, who seems more relieved than saddened.
* The Corsican Defence Sector with its ten battalions (General Mollard) is considered here as a division.
** Kept until then in reserve for the Western Mediterranean theater of operations.