Maquis du Limousin
Encyclopedia
The Maquis du Limousin was one of the largest Maquis
groups of French resistance
fighters.
The region of Limousin
was an active area of resistance since 1940. Edmond Michelet
distributed tracts calling to continue the war in all Brive-la-Gaillarde
's mailboxes on June 17, 1940. It is considered to be the first act of resistance of World War II in France
. But the Limousin was South to the line of demarcation and the resistance was mainly a passive one against Vichy France
. The Maquis du Limousin, the first one in France, was formed through the year 1942. The first act of sabotage was the dynamiting of a power plant near Ussel
in June 1942. Marshal Philippe Pétain
's visit in Corrèze
in July was seen as a provocation by the population and strengthened popular support for the maquis.
The maquis increased fast with the reinforcement of many young men trying to escape the invasion by German troops in November 1942 and the STO
in early 1943. Maquis operations changed from sabotages in 1943 to massive attacks against occupation troops in 1944. At its peak, the Limousine maquis is estimated to have reached between 8,000 and 12,000 fighters. However, it was troubled by continuing antagonisms between the Armée secrète
and the Francs-tireurs et partisans
concerning operational methods (particularly at Tulle
and Guéret
), how local powers should be distributed after the liberation, as well as the degree to which "cleansing" of collaborators
from the political system should take place.
The Limousine population paid a heavy tribute to its resistance. Numerous maquisards were killed, executed, tortured or deported. Following the Normandy landings, the 2nd SS Division Das Reich
, stationed in Montauban
, was ordered to make its way across the country to stop the Allied advance. Along their way into Corrèze
and Haute-Vienne
, the Germans came under continuous attacks from the maquisards. In reprisal, they slaughtered hundreds of civilians in Tulle
on June 9 and at Oradour-sur-Glane
on June 10, 1944. Limousin and France
were profoundly affected by these massacres.
The maquis du Limousin had become so powerful that the region was entirely freed by the Résistance
by the end of Summer 1944. German troops, mostly made up with veterans from the Eastern Front
, underwent so many attacks and sabotages that they called the Limousin "Little Russia". Brive-la-Gaillarde
was the first city in France to be freed by maquisards on August 15, 1944, ten days before Paris
.
Led by Georges Guingouin
for the military operations and Gontran Royer for the Mouvements unis de la Résistance
, the best known figures in the Maquis du Limousin were Edmond Michelet
and André Malraux
—who later both became ministers of Charles de Gaulle
—, Roger Lescure, Louis Lemoigne, René Vaujour and Marius Guedin. Jacques Renouvin
, André Delon, Martial Brigouleix, Raymond Farro and Florentin Gourmelen, also prominent maquisards in Limousin, were killed during the war.
The Maquis du Limousin was led from Brive-la-Gaillarde
and Limoges
. The maquis was split into several main sectors:
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...
groups of 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...
fighters.
The region of Limousin
Limousin (province)
Limousin is one of the traditional provinces of France around the city of Limoges. Limousin lies in the foothills of the western edge of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter...
was an active area of resistance since 1940. Edmond Michelet
Edmond Michelet
Edmond Michelet was a French politician.On 17 June 1940, he distributed tracts calling to continue the war in all Brive-la-Gaillarde's mailboxes...
distributed tracts calling to continue the war in all Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. The population of the urban area was 89,260 as of 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle.-History:...
's mailboxes on June 17, 1940. It is considered to be the first act of resistance of World War II in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. But the Limousin was South to the line of demarcation and the resistance was mainly a passive one against Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
. The Maquis du Limousin, the first one in France, was formed through the year 1942. The first act of sabotage was the dynamiting of a power plant near Ussel
Ussel, Corrèze
Ussel is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France. Its inhabitants are named Ussellois. The town is best known for its charming old streetscapes and for its pastoral and natural landscapes offering a perfect setting for green alternative vacations.-Location:The community of Ussel is...
in June 1942. Marshal Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
's visit in Corrèze
Corrèze
Corrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.The inhabitants of the department are called Corréziens or Corréziennes according to gender.-History:...
in July was seen as a provocation by the population and strengthened popular support for the maquis.
The maquis increased fast with the reinforcement of many young men trying to escape the invasion by German troops in November 1942 and the STO
Service du travail obligatoire
The Service du travail obligatoire was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany in order to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II....
in early 1943. Maquis operations changed from sabotages in 1943 to massive attacks against occupation troops in 1944. At its peak, the Limousine maquis is estimated to have reached between 8,000 and 12,000 fighters. However, it was troubled by continuing antagonisms between the Armée secrète
Armée secrète
The Armée secrète, created in 1943, was an organisation of French resistance fighters during World War II set up by Jean Moulin. It resulted from an amalgamation of three smaller resistance groups:*Combat*Libération-Sud*Franc-Tireur...
and the Francs-tireurs et partisans
Francs-tireurs
Francs-tireurs – literally "free shooters" – was used to describe irregular military formations deployed by France during the early stages of the Franco-Prussian War...
concerning operational methods (particularly at Tulle
Tulle
Tulle is a commune and capital of the Corrèze department in the Limousin region in central France. It is also the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulle...
and Guéret
Guéret
Guéret is a commune and the prefecture of the Creuse department in the Limousin region in central France.-Geography:A light industrial town, the largest in the department, with a big woodland and a little farming not far from the town centre...
), how local powers should be distributed after the liberation, as well as the degree to which "cleansing" of collaborators
Collaborationism
Collaborationism is cooperation with enemy forces against one's country. Legally, it may be considered as a form of treason. Collaborationism may be associated with criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, which may include complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions,...
from the political system should take place.
The Limousine population paid a heavy tribute to its resistance. Numerous maquisards were killed, executed, tortured or deported. Following the Normandy landings, the 2nd SS Division Das Reich
2nd SS Division Das Reich
The 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich was a Waffen-SS division during World War II. It is considered to be an elite formation amongst the thirty-eight divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS....
, stationed in Montauban
Montauban
Montauban is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse....
, was ordered to make its way across the country to stop the Allied advance. Along their way into Corrèze
Corrèze
Corrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.The inhabitants of the department are called Corréziens or Corréziennes according to gender.-History:...
and Haute-Vienne
Haute-Vienne
Haute-Vienne is a French department named after the Vienne River. It is one of three departments that together constitute the French region of Limousin.The chief and largest city is Limoges...
, the Germans came under continuous attacks from the maquisards. In reprisal, they slaughtered hundreds of civilians in Tulle
Tulle murders
The Tulle Murders refer to the actions committed by the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich in June 1944, at the end of World War II. After a successful FTP offensive on 7 and 8 June 1944, the arrival of Das Reich forces forced the guerillas to evacuate the city...
on June 9 and at Oradour-sur-Glane
Oradour-sur-Glane
Oradour-sur-Glane is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.The original village was destroyed on 10 June 1944, when 642 of its inhabitants, including women and children, were massacred by a German Waffen-SS company...
on June 10, 1944. Limousin and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
were profoundly affected by these massacres.
The maquis du Limousin had become so powerful that the region was entirely freed by the Résistance
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...
by the end of Summer 1944. German troops, mostly made up with veterans from the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
, underwent so many attacks and sabotages that they called the Limousin "Little Russia". Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. The population of the urban area was 89,260 as of 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle.-History:...
was the first city in France to be freed by maquisards on August 15, 1944, ten days before Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Led by Georges Guingouin
Georges Guingouin
Georges Guingouin was a French Communist Party militant who played a leading role in the French resistance as head of the Maquis du Limousin...
for the military operations and Gontran Royer for the Mouvements unis de la Résistance
Mouvements Unis de la Résistance
Mouvements Unis de la Résistance was a French Resistance organisation, resulting from the regrouping of three major Resistance movements in January 1943 and also the merger of the military arms of these movements within the Armée secrète . Its committee was headed by Jean Moulin...
, the best known figures in the Maquis du Limousin were Edmond Michelet
Edmond Michelet
Edmond Michelet was a French politician.On 17 June 1940, he distributed tracts calling to continue the war in all Brive-la-Gaillarde's mailboxes...
and André Malraux
André Malraux
André Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
—who later both became ministers of Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
—, Roger Lescure, Louis Lemoigne, René Vaujour and Marius Guedin. Jacques Renouvin
Jacques Renouvin
Jacques Renouvin was a royalist militant in France during the Second World War and hero of the French resistance....
, André Delon, Martial Brigouleix, Raymond Farro and Florentin Gourmelen, also prominent maquisards in Limousin, were killed during the war.
The Maquis du Limousin was led from Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde
Brive-la-Gaillarde is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Corrèze department. The population of the urban area was 89,260 as of 1999. Although it is by far the biggest commune in Corrèze, the capital is Tulle.-History:...
and Limoges
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
. The maquis was split into several main sectors:
- Maquis Armée secrète de Basse-Corrèze (at Brive-la-Gaillarde), Moyenne-Corrèze (at TulleTulleTulle is a commune and capital of the Corrèze department in the Limousin region in central France. It is also the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulle...
) and Haute-Corrèze (at NeuvicNeuvic, CorrèzeNeuvic is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France.-Geography:The Triouzoune forms the commune's eastern border, then flows into the Dordogne, which forms part of the commune's southern border.-Population:...
-UsselUssel, CorrèzeUssel is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France. Its inhabitants are named Ussellois. The town is best known for its charming old streetscapes and for its pastoral and natural landscapes offering a perfect setting for green alternative vacations.-Location:The community of Ussel is...
) - Maquis Francs-tireurs et partisans between CorrèzeCorrèzeCorrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.The inhabitants of the department are called Corréziens or Corréziennes according to gender.-History:...
and DordogneDordogneDordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it... - Maquis Armée secrète CreusoisCreuseCreuse is a department in central France named after the Creuse River.-History:Creuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the former province of La Marche....
(at Guéret) - Maquis Francs-tireurs et partisans Limousin (at Saint-Gilles-les-ForêtsSaint-Gilles-les-ForêtsSaint-Gilles-les-Forêts is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.-References:*...
)
Sources (French)
- Beau (Georges), Gaubusseau (Léopold), Les SS en LimousinLimousin (province)Limousin is one of the traditional provinces of France around the city of Limoges. Limousin lies in the foothills of the western edge of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter...
, QuercyQuercyQuercy is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Auvergne....
et PérigordPérigordThe Périgord is a former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne département, now forming the northern part of the Aquitaine région. It is divided into four regions, the Périgord Noir , the Périgord Blanc , the Périgord Vert and the Périgord Pourpre...
, Paris, Presses de la Cité, 1966. - Maquis de Corrèze, ouvrage collectif, 5e édition, Naves, Imprimerie du Corrézien, 1995, 797 p.
- Plas (Pascal, dir.), Genèse et développement de la Résistance en R5, 1940-1943, Actes des colloques de Brive-la-Gaillarde (September 1998) et de Soudaine-Lavinadière (September 2001), Treignac, éditions Les Monédières; Brive-la-Gaillarde, Centre Edmond Michelet, 2003, 339 p.
Museum
- Centre national d'études de la Résistance et de la Déportation Edmond Michelet, 4 rue Champanatier 19100 Brive-la-Gaillarde