''Résistance-Fer'' (
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
; Railway-Resistance, or "Iron-Resistance") was a French
Resistance
Resistance may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Comics
* Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm:
** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title
** ''T ...
group against the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
occupation of France during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
This specific movement was essentially composed of French railway workers from the
SNCF and played an active role in the French Resistance.
The Résistance-Fer concentrated its activities on:
* reporting the movement of German troops to the Allied forces
* the
sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identiti ...
of railway infrastructure and rolling stock
Personnel
Jean-Guy Bernard
Jean-Guy is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
In politics
*Jean-Guy Allard (born 1948), Canadian journalist for ''Le Journal de Montréal'' and ''Le Journal de Québec''
*Jean-Guy Cardinal (1925–1979), nationalist politician in ...
,
Louis Armand
Louis François Armand (17 January 1905 – 30 August 1971) was a French engineer and senior civil servant who managed several public companies, as well as had a significant role in World War II as an officer in the Resistance. He became the fi ...
and
Jean Marthelot established the group in 1943 with the help of the director of the SNCF
Albert Guerville
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Albe ...
and of the
Cohors-Asturies and
Emilie Plouviez groups. Résistance-Fer is considered part of the network of
Forces Françaises Combattantes which was part of the Délégation Générale. After the arrest of Jean-Guy Bernard in January 1944, Armand took charge of the group under the control of
Jacques Chaban-Delmas
Jacques Chaban-Delmas (; 7 March 1915 – 10 November 2000) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. He was the Mayor of Bordeaux from 1947 to 1995 and a deputy for the Gironde ''d� ...
.
Philippe Leroy was named head of the movement in northern France while
Louis Lavignon Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis (d ...
, part of
Combat
Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, o ...
, led the group in the southeastern Rhone-Alpes region in 1944. He was arrested on May 17, 1944, and died in the deportation camp of Neuengamme.
Activity
The actions of Résistance-Fer were especially effective during 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 inv ...
. Immediately before and after the Allied invasions during
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
and
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border ...
in 1944, the sabotage of rail transportation became more frequent and proved highly effective first in preventing German troop deployments to the front and later in hindering their retreat.
[
]
For participating in the Resistance, 150 Résistance-Fer agents were shot and approximately 500 deported, with approximately half dying in deportation.
Recognition
On 17 May 1945, General
Charles de Gaulle praised the group: "The railway men and women of the Résistance-Fer have fought, regardless of the risks, during the entire occupation with persistence, courage and discipline for France and freedom".
Their activities featured in René Clément's film
La Bataille du Rail
''The Battle of the Rails'' (French: ''La Bataille du rail'') is a 1946 French war film directed by René Clément. It depicts the efforts by railway workers in the French Resistance to sabotage German military transport trains during the Secon ...
(1946), which opened the first post-war Cannes film festival, a film which is credited as being produced by them, with permission of the Centre Nationale de la Resistance, (CNR).
[
]
SNCF named locomotive BB 6572 ''Résistance-Fer'' in their honour.
External links
Website of resistants from Polytechnique
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Resistance-Fer
French Resistance networks and movements