French Forces

Bir Hakeim 1942

After the fall of France in 1940, from exile in Britain, Charles de Gaulle rallied remaining French forces from around the world to form the Free French Forces. The first significant campaign for the Free French came in North Africa, where they fought first against their own Vichy countrymen, then against the Germans and Italians. In May 1942, the Free French came up against the might of Rommel’s Afrika Corp at Bir Hakeim, an oasis in the Libyan desert. Defending an old Turkish fort, the 1st Free French Division under General Marie Pierre Koenig held off the much larger German and Italian force for 14 days, before successfully evacuating under cover of darkness on 11 June. The action was significant because it delayed Rommel long enough for the British to re-group their forces. Although Rommel succeeded in capturing Tobruk 10 days later, Bit Hakeim and other delaying actions were successful in giving the British the vital time needed to pull together the forces which eventually defeated Rommel at El Alamein in July. The Bir Hakeim action was trumpeted by De Gaulle as an indication that France was not out of the war and was still a force to be reckoned with by the Germans. Hitler was infuriated by the French actions and ordered Rommel to execute all Free French prisoners. Rommel ignored the order and the Afrika Corps continued to treat Free French prisoners as legitimate POWs, which reinforced the Free French assertion that they were a genuine army and not simply a group of partisans.