The 7th Military Division () was a regional army division of the

Armistice Army The Armistice Army or Vichy French Army (french: Armée de l'Armistice) was the common name for the armed forces of Vichy France permitted under the Armistice of 22 June 1940 after the French capitulation to Nazi Germany and Italy. It was off ...

, the

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

military permitted under the Armistice of 22 June 1940 after the

defeat of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

History

Under the terms of the Armistice of 22 June 1940, the old

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

was disestablished, and with it, its lands were divided. In Northern France and Western France, the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

took direct control of the country while the central and

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

regions were controlled by a new nation,

. The new nation was limited in the size of its armed forces, so a reorganisation of the region was ordered. The 1st Group of Military Divisions was formed in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

and covered the eastern parts of the country, while the 2nd Group covered the west. The 7th Division encompassed the unoccupied portions of the departments of Jura,

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...

, as well as all of

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

.Pettibone, p. 492 On 12 September 1940, the 7th Military Division was stood up under command of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

(former Deputy Commander, 14th Military Division). Later that year he was replaced by Major General , and in the same year replaced by Major General Marie Alphonse Théodore René Adrian Desmazes, and replaced again by Major General . In 1941, Keller was replaced by either Major General or Major General . In 1941, Major General Pierre Jules André Marie de La Font Chabert took command of the division, and following

Case Anton Case Anton (german: link=no, Fall Anton) was the military occupation of France carried out by Germany and Italy in November 1942. It marked the end of the Vichy regime as a nominally-independent state and the disbanding of its army (the severel ...

himself and the division was demobilised on 27 November 1942.

Organisation

By 15 April 1941, the 7th Military Division was under the command of one of the two corps sized regional commands, the 1st Group of Military Division based in

. The below structure is that of the division on the division mentioned beforehand. * Headquarters, 7th Military Division, in Bourg-en-Bresse ** 8th Group,The term 'group' is used for support units, though equivalent to that of battalion. 7th Signal Regiment, in Bourg-en-Bresse ** 5th Dragoon Regiment (8 x AMD Panhard 178), in

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as M� ...

– (mounted, no motor transport) ** , in Bourg-en-Bresse – HQ and 1st Battalion *** 2nd Battalion, in

Sathonay-Camp Sathonay-Camp () is a commune in the Lyon Metropolis (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region), eastern France. The commune was created in 1908, when the former commune Sathonay was split into the communes of Sathonay-Camp and Sathonay-Village. With a popula ...

*** 3rd Battalion, in Mâcon ** , in

Lons-le-Saunier Lons-le-Saunier () is a Communes of France, commune and capital of the Jura (department), Jura Department, eastern France. Geography The town is in the heart of the Revermont region, at the foot of the first plateau of the Jura massif. The Jur ...

(HQ + 3 x battalions) ** 4th '' Chasseurs à Pied'' Demi-Brigade, in Belley – HQ and 1st Chasseur Battalion *** , in

Jujurieux Jujurieux () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ain department The following is a list of the 393 communes of the Ain department of France. The communes cooperate in the following ...

*** , in

Neuville-sur-Ain Neuville-sur-Ain (, literally ''Neuville on Ain'') is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ain department The following is a list of the 393 communes of the Ain department of France. ...

and at the Camp de Thol ** , in Valbonne (Field Artillery, 36 x Canon de 75 modèle 1897) – (HQ + 3 x battalions) ** 10th Engineer Battalion, in Valbonne ** 7th Transportation Group, in Bourg-en-Bresse ** 4th Regiment,The term 'regiment' is used for the Guard Legion ''(Gendarmerie)'', though equivalent to that of a battalion. 1st Guard Legion, in

Saint-Maurice-de-Beynost Saint-Maurice-de-Beynost (, literally ''Saint-Maurice of Beynost'') is a commune in the Ain department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, located at about from Lyon. The commune is included in the canton of Miribel and in the intercommu ...

** Valbonne Training Grounds **

Departmental Command ***

Charolles Charolles (; Burgundian: ''Tsarolles'') is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004 is Charolles part of the Charolais-Brionnais Country. Geography Charolles is located ...

District Command *** Louhans District Command **

Departmental Command *** Nantua District Command ** Jura Departmental Command ***

District Command *** Saint-Claude District Command

Footnotes

Notes Citations

References

* * {{Vichy France Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1941 Military units and formations of France in World War II Divisions of Vichy France 1940 establishments in France 1942 disestablishments in France