The 4th Moroccan Mountain Division () was an infantry division of the Army of Africa () which participated in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Created in Morocco following the liberation of French North Africa, the division fought in Corsica, Italy, metropolitan France, and Germany. It particularly distinguished itself in Italy in 1944 as part of the French Expeditionary Corps led by General

Alphonse Juin Alphonse Pierre Juin (16 December 1888 – 27 January 1967) was a senior French Army general who became Marshal of France. A graduate of the École Spéciale Militaire class of 1912, he served in Morocco in 1914 in command of native troops. Upon ...

, and later in the

liberation of France The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany in ...

as part of the

French 1st Army The First Army () was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War. World War I On mobilization in August 1914, General Auguste Dubail was put in the charge of the First Army, ...

under General

Jean de Lattre de Tassigny Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French ''général d'armée'' during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952. ...

World War II

Italian campaign

Formed at

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

, Morocco as the 3rd Moroccan Division in March 1943, it was renamed 4th Moroccan Mountain Division on 1 June 1943. In Spring 1943 the 4th DMM went to Algeria and trained in the mountainous area near Tlemcen and Oran. On 15 September 1943, it formed a combat group, the ''Louchet group'', which participated alongside the shock battalion and the Moroccan Goumiers in reconquering the island of Corsica from 22 September to 4 October 1943. On 18 February 1944, the 4th DMM landed in Naples, where it joined the 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division and

3rd Algerian Infantry Division The 3rd Algerian Infantry Division () was an infantry division of the Army of Africa which participated in World War II. Following the liberation of French North Africa, the division fought in Tunisia, Italy, metropolitan France and in Germany. ...

as part of the French Expeditionary Corps, fighting in the Italian Campaign. It was engaged in the Monte-Cassino in the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

, and crossed the

Aurunci Mountains The Monti Aurunci (or Aurunci Mountains) is a mountain range of southern Lazio, in central Italy. It is part of the Antiappennini, a group running from the Apennines chain to the Tyrrhenian Sea, where it forms the promontory of Gaeta. It is boun ...

in May, opening up the road to Rome. Pursuing the Germans, it captured

San Gimignano San Gimignano (; named after St. Geminianus) is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Five Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the pr ...

on 13 July,

Certaldo Certaldo () is a town and (municipality) of Tuscany, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Florence, located in the middle of Valdelsa. It is about southwest of the Florence Cathedral (50 minutes by rail and 35 minutes by car from the city), and 40 m ...

on 19 July and

Castelfiorentino Castelfiorentino is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, central-northern Italy, located between Florence (distance 30 km), Pisa (45 km) and Siena (55 km). The population numbers approxi ...

on 22 July, before regrouping around

Sessa Aurunca Sessa Aurunca is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy. It is located on the south west slope of the extinct volcano of Roccamonfina, by rail west north west of Caserta and east of Formia. It is situated on ...

. The division had lost 74 officers and 1,538 soldiers killed during this campaign.

French & German campaign (1944-1945)

The division didn't participate in the Invasion of Southern France, but landed there at on 8 September 1944. One part of the Division headed towards the Thann valley in Alsace, while the rest of the Division relieved the 2nd DIM in the Alps against the ''Gebirgsjäger''. By the end of November, the 4th DMM had moved to

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

in Alsace, where it was engaged in fierce combat to liberate the city. At the height of winter, it then participated in the reduction of the

Colmar Pocket The Colmar Pocket (; ) was the area held in central Alsace, France, by the German Nineteenth Army from November 1944 to February 1945, against the U.S. 6th Army Group (6th AG) during World War II. It was formed when 6th AG liberated southern a ...

by advancing on the Thann-Cernay-Soultz-Rouffach axis from 20 January to 5 February 1945. Once Alsace was completely liberated, the division was entrusted with the defense of the Rhine between Basel and Sélestat. After some weeks of rest, the Division was directed towards Strasbourg, and crossed the Rhine, entering Germany on 16 April 1945. Its mission was to bypass the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

by its eastern edge, and reach the northern border of Switzerland as quickly as possible. Jostling the last resistances of the Wehrmacht, it reached

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

after passing through

Freudenstadt Freudenstadt (, Swabian: ''Fraidestadt'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is the capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west (approx. 36 km away) and Tübingen to ...

, Schwenningen and

Donaueschingen Donaueschingen (; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Eschinge'') is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the States of Germany, federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar ''Districts of Germany, Kreis''. It ...

. 4 DMM then entered Austria on 2 May 1945 and ended the war in

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

. Since the landing in Provence, its losses amounted to 28 officers and 565 soldiers. After a few months of occupation of Austria, the division returned to France, where it was dissolved on 15 January 1946 in the Lyon region.

Composition

*1st Regiment of Moroccan Tirailleurs *2nd Regiment of Moroccan Tirailleurs, replaced by 1st Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs in August 1944 *6th Regiment of Moroccan Tirailleurs *27th Infantry Regiment : replaced the 1st Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs in February 1945 *4e régiment de spahis marocains

Division Commanders

* June - September 1943: Général Henry Martin. * September 1943 - December 1944: Général

François Sevez François Sevez (22 October 1891 – 29 February 1948) was a French general during World War II. Sevez was present at the German surrender in Reims, and signed the German Instrument of Surrender as the official witness. Military career At the end ...

* December 1944 - 1945: Général André Navereau * 1945 - January 1946 : Général René de Hesdin

Sources

*Avec la 4e division marocaine de montagne, Braun & Cie, 1945. *De Lattre de Tassigny, Histoire de la première armée française - Plon - 1949. *Paul Gaujac, Le Corps expéditionnaire français en Italie, Histoire et collections, 2003

References

{{Liberation of France Infantry divisions of France Moroccan Mountain Division, 4th