French Forces

General Juin inspects the FEC, Bastille Day, 1944.

Government of France (?)

General Alphonse Juin (later Marshal of France), commander of the Free French Expeditionary Corps within the US Fifth Army, along with General (later Field Marshal) Sir Harold Alexander, Commander, 15th Army Group, and US General Mark Clark, commander, US 5th Army, inspect French Colonial troops in the course of the Bastille Day Parade, Siena, Italy, 1944. Juin's French Expeditionary Force played a huge part in the Allies' successful operations in central and northern Italy in the first half of 1944. This was in no small measure due to the skills, courage and determination of troops from French North Africa, including the (very) irregular Goumiers. It is alleged - and unfortunately well-attested - that Juin "promoted" the morale of his North African troops, both regular and irregular, by declaring to them, prior to Monte Cassino, that they would be entitled to what amounted to five days' "rapine rights" to be visited on local populations in the event of victory. This promise was not acceptable under relevant international law at least since the first decade of the 20th century, and would not have been "customary" for about a century before that. Furthermore, it could not be justified as communal punishment, something still justifiable under international law of the time - there is no evidence that local populations were positively opposing the Allies and, indeed, they were no longer even the "enemy" since Italy had changed over to the Allied side. And, apart from that, this declaration was hugely inhumane. While the evidence is conflicting, there is sufficient evidence that victorious French Colonial troops (principally the wild Goumiers) indulged in something of an orgy of rape, murder, theft and general rapine following battles in central and northern Italy, that seem to have gone well beyond the pretty standard bad behavior of less disciplined "conquering" troops on all sides in WW2. It might have happened anyway but, to the extent that it was encouraged by Juin - it was without doubt a disgrace to French arms. No doubt to their surprise, some of the direct offenders ended up being executed by their comrades, either formally or informally. For Juin, there were no adverse consequences. He went on to become a Marshal of France (1952), and to a number of top-level French and NATO appointments. After all, he won. C'est la Guerre ... Best regards, JR.