The Corps of French Female Volunteers (french: Corps des Volontaires françaises, or CVF) was a military auxiliary service established by the

Free French forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

during

World War II 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was founded on 7 November 1940 as the Female Corps (french: Corps féminin, CF) and was inspired by the precedent of the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 Februa ...

(ATS) and was the first female unit in the

military history of France The military history of France encompasses an immense panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2,000 years across areas including modern France, Europe, and a variety of regions throughout the world. According to historian ...

. It was initially commanded by Simonne Mathieu and later by Hélène Terré. Initially only 26-strong, the CF was intended to provide personnel to serve in clerical and secretarial functions that would enable male personnel to be dispatched to front-line units. The CF was renamed on 16 November 1941 and formally integrated into the Free French Forces. It numbered 430 women by July 1943. It was disbanded in May 1944 at the start of 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 of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...

and was superseded by the Arme féminine the following month.

Notable personnel

* Simonne Mathieu (1908-1980), tennis player and first commanding officer * Hélène Terré (1903-1993), second commanding officer *

Tereska Torrès Tereska Torrès (born Tereska Szwarc; 3 September 192020 September 2012) was a French writer known for the 1950 book ''Women's Barracks'', the first "original paperback bestseller." In 2008 historians credited the republished book as the first pu ...

(1920-2012), author of the fictionalised memoir ''

Women's Barracks ''Women's Barracks: The Frank Autobiography of a French Girl Soldier'' is a classic work of lesbian pulp fiction by French writer Tereska Torrès published in 1950. Historians credit it as the first US paperback-original bestseller, as the firs ...

'' (1950). * Éliane Brault (1895-1982), politician and freemason.

References

;Bibliography *

Notable personnel

References

Further reading