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French Travailleurs Militaires

Discussion in 'Information Requests' started by GJPBoston, Dec 30, 2017.

  1. GJPBoston

    GJPBoston Member

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    Does anyone have information on the number of French men inducted into Travailleurs Militaires companies in 1939- June 1940 and what classes or ages? I know that there were also Worker Military Companies of foreigners and of "undesirables" (communists), but I am not asking about those, rather about the raising of a larger number of labor companies from French reservists in the 2nd Reserve.

    These were labor companies assigned assigned for work in the arms factories or in agriculture (Lee Sharp, The French Srmy 1939-1940, volume IV, p. 168). They were originally called Unites de Renforcement. They were mobilized by the artillery depots or artillery organization battalions (BOA) from men of the military district in which they were based, and did not leave the military district of origin.

    Lee Sharp says "the classes of 1914 and 1915 were mobilized on 01.02.40" to serve in these companies. I assume classes of 1914 and 1915 were men born 1894-1895, who were 45-46 in 1940. I'd estimate there were only about 340,000 men at the outbreak of war in those two classes available under the French 2nd Reserve. I thought the French 2nd Reserve in 1940 was ages 42-48. Did the 47-48 year old reservists get mobilized into Travailleurs Militaires too, or just the classes of 1914-15?

    The following website says that of the French men mobilized "700,000 serve as laborers for the industry (special assignments), 300,000 remain in education, 250,000 remain at home for the needs of the agriculture, 650 000 are assigned to services and 150 000 to various posts" (Google Translate). If the 700,000 serving as laborers for industry were Travailleurs Militaires, then that suggest two more classes of the 2nd Reserve were mobilized as Travailleurs Militaires.
     

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