Groupe mobile de réserve
The Groupes mobiles de réserve (transl. mobile reserve groups), often referred to as GMR, were
History
The GMR were conceived at the time as a prefiguration of the renewal of the
The numbers of the Garde mobile had been reduced along with the army by the exigencies of the armistice. 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 forces 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 force 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
In contrast to the
After the
Ranks
GMR was a branch of the Vichy National Police and wore its uniforms and rank insignia.[3]
Rank | Rank insignia 1941-1944[4] | |
---|---|---|
Commandant des Gardiens de la Paix principal de 1re classe | ||
Commandant des Gardiens de la Paix principal de 2e classe | ||
Commandant des Gardiens de la Paix de 1re classe | ||
Commandant des Gardiens de la Paix de 2e classe | ||
Commandant des Gardiens de la Paix de 3e classe | ||
Commandant des Gardiens de la Paix de 4e classe | ||
Officier de Paix principal | ||
Officier de Paix hors classe | ||
Officier de Paix de 1re classe | ||
Brigadier-chef de 1re classe | ||
Brigadier-chef de 2e classe | ||
Brigadier de 1re classe | ||
Brigadier de 2e classe | ||
Gardien de la Paix | ||
Source: | [5] |
References
- ISBN 978-2-7475-3349-2.
- ^ Les CRS, polices.mobiles.free.fr website, consulted 27 January 2009.
- ^ Littlehjon, David (1994). Foreign Legions of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing, vol. 1, pp. 186.
- ^ "Insignes de grades des GMR." Retrieved 2019-07-21.
- ^ Littlehjon, David (1994). Foreign Legions of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing, vol. 1, pp. 185-192.
Bibliography
- Alain Pinel, Une police de Vichy – Les Groupes Mobiles de Réserve, (1941-1944), Préface by Philippe Braud, L'Harmattan, coll. Sécurité et société, Paris, 2004.
- Alain Pinel, Histoire de la Police, du Moyen Âge à nos jours, Robert Laffont, coll. Bouquins, 2005, pp. 703–707.
- Stephen M. Cullen, Mark Stacey, World War II Vichy French Security Troops, Osprey Publishing, 2018.
- Yves Mathieu, Policiers perdus - Les GMR dans la Seconde Guerre mondiale, Messages SAS, Toulouse, 2009.
External links
- (in French) Website on the Polices Mobiles (GMR, FRS, CRS)
- (in French) Histoire de l'institution, GMR document from the Government Archives