Organisation De Résistance De L'armée
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The ''Organisation de résistance de l'armée'', ''O.R.A.'' (Fr: resistance organisation of the army) was a French paramilitary resistance organisation during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It was created on 31 January 1943, following the November 1942 German invasion of the ''
zone libre The ''zone libre'' (, ''free zone'') was a partition of the French metropolitan territory during World War II, established at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June 1940. It lay to the south of the demarcation line and was administered b ...
'' as a self-styled apolitical organisation bringing together former French military personnel in pursuit of active resistance against the German occupiers, but rejecting
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
. The ORA was founded by General Aubert Frère, president of the tribunal which had condemned de Gaulle to death in August 1940. Frère was arrested in 1943 and deported. He died in Struthof on 13 June 1944. The ORA's next leader was Major General Jean-Edouard Verneau, who was arrested on 23 October 1943 and died while being deported to
Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...
on 14 September 1944. The leadership was then assumed by Major General Georges Revers, whose second was Brigadier General Pierre Brisac. The ORA grew quickly in the southern zone, which was not handed over to the Germans, thanks to its officers and armaments acquired from the Vichy army. In 1944, it amalgamated with the Armée secrète (AS) and the
Francs-tireurs et partisans The ''Francs-tireurs et partisans français'' (, FTPF), or commonly the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP), was an armed resistance organization created by leaders of the French Communist Party during World War II (1939–45). The communist ...
to form the
French Forces of the Interior The French Forces of the Interior (FFI; ) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation of these groups to FFI occurred as F ...
, although it retained its autonomy.


The initial stages of resistance in the army

On the day after the defeat and the signature of the armistice in 1940, a certain number of French army officers, reduced to a body of 100,000 men, considered that all was not lost. The forces across the French empire were still intact, and the reconquest of France with the help of the allies remained possible. From July, certain services considered preparing the counterstrike. Colonel Rivet, chief of the ''2 Bureau'' gathered his allies and said to them that the mission against Germany and Italy would continue.


Notable members

* Jacques Boutet * Marcel Descour * Aubert Frère (1881- 13.6.1944 / place of death: KZ Natzweiler-Struthof) *
Jacques Lécuyer Jacques Lécuyer (14 July 1912 – 3 April 1999) was a French general who after 1940 became a senior résistance leader. 1912 births 1999 deaths French Resistance members French generals {{France-mil-bio-stub ...
* Joachim Murat, 7th Prince Murat (1920 – 20.7.1944 / place of death: Lingé) * Louis, Prince Napoléon * Georges Revers * Jean-Edouard Verneau (1890 - 14.9.1944 / place of death: KZ Buchenwald)


See also

*
Maquis (World War II) The Maquis () were rural guerrilla bands of French and Belgian Resistance fighters, called ''maquisards'', during World War II. Initially, they were composed of young, mostly working-class men who had escaped into the mountains and woods to a ...
* Military history of France during World War II *
Free France Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...


References


External links

*
X-Résistance
at Buchenwald 14 September 1944) {{DEFAULTSORT:Organisation de resistance de l'armee French Resistance networks and movements