''Résistance-Fer'' (
French; Railway-Resistance, or "Iron-Resistance") was a French
Resistance group against the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
occupation of France during the
Second World War
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 opposi ...
.
This specific movement was essentially composed of French railway workers from the
SNCF and played an active role in the French Resistance.
The Résistance-Fer concentrated its activities on:
* reporting the movement of German troops to the Allied forces
* the
sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
of railway infrastructure and rolling stock
Personnel
Jean-Guy Bernard,
Louis Armand
Louis François Armand (17 January 1905 – 30 August 1971) was a French engineer and senior civil servant who managed several public companies, as well as had a significant role in World War II as an officer in the Resistance. He became the f ...
and
Jean Marthelot established the group in 1943 with the help of the director of the SNCF
Albert Guerville and of the
Cohors-Asturies and
Emilie Plouviez groups. Résistance-Fer is considered part of the network of
Forces Françaises Combattantes which was part of the Délégation Générale. After the arrest of Jean-Guy Bernard in January 1944, Armand took charge of the group under the control of
Jacques Chaban-Delmas.
Philippe Leroy was named head of the movement in northern France while
Louis Lavignon, part of
Combat, led the group in the southeastern Rhone-Alpes region in 1944. He was arrested on May 17, 1944, and died in the deportation camp of Neuengamme.
Activity
The actions of Résistance-Fer were especially effective during 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, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance.
Nazi Germany inv ...
. Immediately before and after the Allied invasions during
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
and
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
in 1944, the sabotage of rail transportation became more frequent and proved highly effective first in preventing German troop deployments to the front and later in hindering their retreat.
[
]
For participating in the Resistance, 150 Résistance-Fer agents were shot and approximately 500 deported, with approximately half dying in deportation.
Recognition
On 17 May 1945, General
Charles de Gaulle praised the group: "The railway men and women of the Résistance-Fer have fought, regardless of the risks, during the entire occupation with persistence, courage and discipline for France and freedom".
Their activities featured in René Clément's film
La Bataille du Rail
''The Battle of the Rails'' (French: ''La Bataille du rail'') is a 1946 French war film directed by René Clément. It depicts the efforts by railway workers in the French Resistance to sabotage German military transport trains during the Secon ...
(1946), which opened the first post-war Cannes film festival, a film which is credited as being produced by them, with permission of the Centre Nationale de la Resistance, (CNR).
[
]
SNCF named locomotive BB 6572 ''Résistance-Fer'' in their honour.
External links
Website of resistants from Polytechnique
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Resistance-Fer
French Resistance networks and movements