Groupe mobile de réserve
Encyclopedia
The Groupes mobiles de réserve (French: mobile reserve groups), often referred to as GMR, were paramilitary units created by the Vichy regime during the Second World War. Their development was the special task of René Bousquet
, Vichy director-general of the French national police.
, limited to 100,000 men by the armistice with Germany, and as a force to maintain order along the lines of the Gendarmerie mobile. Since they were affiliated to the national police, they did not have military status, thereby formally respecting the terms of the armistice.
The numbers of the Garde mobile had been reduced along with the army by the exigencies of the armstice. Accordingly a law was passed on 23 April 1941 to tackle the maintenance of order, mandating the creation of the GMR. According to a subsequent decree of 7 July they would be attached to the regional public security service and answerable to the police intendent (a position established by the law of 19 April 1941) under the authority of the regional prefect.These police units were assembled in the zone libre
from autumn 1941 onwards, and deployed throughout occupied France by the end of 1942. The law of 17 April established centrally a leadership of the GMT, and, regionally, area instructions. This civil paramilitary fource was original envisaged to maintain order in an urban setting. However, from autumn 1943, it was involved in operations against the French Resistance
, in which it often proved much more zealous than the Garde mobile.
A GMR, led by a commandant (from a guardian of the peace), comprised at most 220 officers, and was divided into four sections commanded mainly by officers of the peace and themselves divided into four brigades.
From autumn 1943 onwards, the GMR took part in offensives launched by the Vichy government against maquis
formations, with the consent of the Germans. They fought in the Massif Central
and took part as an auxiliary force in the fighting against the Glières Maquis
. During operations against the Maquis du Vercors
, the GMR stationed themselves at the foot of the massif to prevent access. The main responsibility for larger-scale military actions fell on the German army
with secondary participation by the Milice
.
In contrast to the deparmental police, the GMR were not recruited from the heart of the local population. They thus had no reason to seek the same type of modus vivendi which often existed between the maquis fighters and local law enforcement. Insofar as can be judged from witnesses and historians, they did not show particular scruples during these campaigns of repression, even taking into account defection
s among them in the summer of 1944.
After the liberation on 8 December 1944, the GMR were dissolved, and a part of them were merged, after épuration
(purging of collaborators), with elements from the French Forces of the Interior
to create the Compagnies républicaines de sécurité (CRS).
René Bousquet
René Bousquet was a high-ranking French civil servant, who served as secretary general to the Vichy regime police from May 1942 to 31 December 1943.-Biography:...
, Vichy director-general of the French national police.
History
The GMR were conceived at the time as a prefiguration of the renewal of the French ArmyFrench Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
, limited to 100,000 men by the armistice with Germany, and as a force to maintain order along the lines of the Gendarmerie mobile. Since they were affiliated to the national police, they did not have military status, thereby formally respecting the terms of the armistice.
The numbers of the Garde mobile had been reduced along with the army by the exigencies of the armstice. Accordingly a law was passed on 23 April 1941 to tackle the maintenance of order, mandating the creation of the GMR. According to a subsequent decree of 7 July they would be attached to the regional public security service and answerable to the police intendent (a position established by the law of 19 April 1941) under the authority of the regional prefect.These police units were assembled in the zone libre
Zone libre
The zone libre was a partition of the French metropolitan territory during the Second World War, established at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on June 22, 1940. It lay to the south of the demarcation line and was administered by the French government of Marshal Philippe Pétain based in Vichy,...
from autumn 1941 onwards, and deployed throughout occupied France by the end of 1942. The law of 17 April established centrally a leadership of the GMT, and, regionally, area instructions. This civil paramilitary fource was original envisaged to maintain order in an urban setting. However, from autumn 1943, it was involved in operations against the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
, in which it often proved much more zealous than the Garde mobile.
A GMR, led by a commandant (from a guardian of the peace), comprised at most 220 officers, and was divided into four sections commanded mainly by officers of the peace and themselves divided into four brigades.
From autumn 1943 onwards, the GMR took part in offensives launched by the Vichy government against maquis
Maquis (World War II)
The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...
formations, with the consent of the Germans. They fought in the Massif Central
Massif Central
The Massif Central is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaux....
and took part as an auxiliary force in the fighting against the Glières Maquis
Maquis des Glières
The Maquis des Glières was a Free French Resistance group, which fought against the 1940-1944 German occupation of France in World War II. The name is also given to the military conflict that opposed Resistance fighters to German, Vichy and Milice forces....
. During operations against the Maquis du Vercors
Maquis du Vercors
-In fiction:The maquis du Vercors is depicted and veterans act in Pierre Schoendoerffer's Above the Clouds 2002 feature film, and in the third season of the British TV programme Wish Me Luck, which first aired in 1990.-See also:...
, the GMR stationed themselves at the foot of the massif to prevent access. The main responsibility for larger-scale military actions fell on the German army
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
with secondary participation by the Milice
Milice
The Milice française , generally called simply Milice, was a paramilitary force created on January 30, 1943 by the Vichy Regime, with German aid, to help fight the French Resistance. The Milice's formal leader was Prime Minister Pierre Laval, though its chief of operations, and actual leader, was...
.
In contrast to the deparmental police, the GMR were not recruited from the heart of the local population. They thus had no reason to seek the same type of modus vivendi which often existed between the maquis fighters and local law enforcement. Insofar as can be judged from witnesses and historians, they did not show particular scruples during these campaigns of repression, even taking into account defection
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
s among them in the summer of 1944.
After the liberation on 8 December 1944, the GMR were dissolved, and a part of them were merged, after épuration
Épuration légale
The Épuration légale was the wave of official trials that followed the Liberation of France and the fall of the Vichy Regime...
(purging of collaborators), with elements from the French Forces of the Interior
French Forces of the Interior
The French Forces of the Interior refers to 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 France's status changed from that of an occupied nation...
to create the Compagnies républicaines de sécurité (CRS).