Germany releases French POW's in exchange for French troops in Russia.

I have been reading about how the Germans offered to released one French POW for every three French workers who went to work in Germany. I also have read that the Germans did recruit Frenchmen to fight in Russia but the numbers do not look very large compared to the French population.

What if in 1942 or 43, Germany offered to release more French POW's in exchange for more French soldiers volunteering to fight in Russia. Maybe they would release one sick or injured POW for every one who volunteered. As part of the deal, the French government would encourage French POW's to volunteer to fight in Russia. I am asking about those years because on one hand, the Germans found the Russians harder to defeat than they thought. However Germany still looked like they could win the war.

If this happened, what would the effects be on the war?

Thank you

Stubear1012
 

Archibald

Banned
That was called the STO - Service du Travail Obligatoire. It was mandatory from 1942 or so. And it wasn't really welcomed or liked by French people. Many people tried to escape the shore one way or another, the bravest joining the rank of Maquis and Resistance (talk about counter-productive results !)

With what weapons ? Vichy army was a joke. France had been looted by Germany, to the bones. There are limits to what sacrifices even that old fart Pétain could ask French people. Pétain dreamed of Spain-like neutrality but France was committed to WWII on both sides - no easy way out.
 
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Thank you, I had assumed that the French volunteers would be armed with German weapons. With the growing number of German dead and wounded, there should be weapons available. It is my understanding that one of the challenges that Germany faced was a large number of different models of almost everything. I have spend my career in logistics and dealing with multiple models normally results in the parts in the warehouse are not compatible with the equipment needing repaired. While this is a major headache in business, it can be a matter of life or death in war. So bringing French weapons to Russia may be self defeating.
 
I have been reading about how the Germans offered to released one French POW for every three French workers who went to work in Germany. I also have read that the Germans did recruit Frenchmen to fight in Russia but the numbers do not look very large compared to the French population.

What if in 1942 or 43, Germany offered to release more French POW's in exchange for more French soldiers volunteering to fight in Russia. Maybe they would release one sick or injured POW for every one who volunteered. As part of the deal, the French government would encourage French POW's to volunteer to fight in Russia. I am asking about those years because on one hand, the Germans found the Russians harder to defeat than they thought. However Germany still looked like they could win the war.

If this happened, what would the effects be on the war?

Thank you

Stubear1012

I think this proposition is DOA. The French did not like the Germans, and after being trounced in 1940 had little appetite for further military adventures. "Buying" French volunteers with the release of PoWs would be far too sordid to get any positive reaction.
 
Its counterproductive. The non officer POW are available for labour - there is a pretty good argument that without them the Wehrmacht never reaches the size it does in 41/2 anyway. There was a recruiting drive for the LVF and SS which managed around 10k at any one time. Even with the releve programme Germany tended to refuse to relese the POW.

There is really no appetite in France to export young men to die in Russia for Germany, and no appetite amongst the POW to personally die in Russia for Germany.

As opposed to the 1.3m French troops recruited between D day and VE day.
 
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