Armée française

Current form
 Service branches
National Navy
Air Army
 Headquarters
 Chief of Armies
 Military age
 Conscription
 Available formilitary service
 Active personnel
 Reserve personnel
 History

The **French Army (FA)** (French: *Armée française - AF*), also known as the **French Armed Forces (FAF)** (French: *Forces armées française - FAF*) is the name for the armed forces of the French National and Social Republic. The French military is the second-largest military force in the world, only behind the army of the Soviet Union, the French army is perceived with the Volskarmee as one of the best fighting forces in the world because of its experience, its victories, its financing and its deployment in the world.

## History

The French Army was formed with the proclamation of the Third French Republic and after the defeat of the Second French Empire against the North German Federation and her allies in the Franco-Prussian War.

The loss of Alsace-Lorraine in the Treaty of Frankfurt and the humiliation of the defeat popularised the idea of *Revanche* which unified the people of France behind a single common goal. Between 1870 and 1883, all politicians within the Republic supported the army and a close working relationship between the government and the military is developed.

But, the Boulangist crisis, destroyed this relationship and instilled a sense of distrust between the army and republicans. The army, following the Boulagist crisis, began to present itself as *La Grande Muette* (the Great Mute), the institution positioning itself as an apolitical organization and desiring only to take back Alsace-Lorainne, however, the army is in fact very markedly politically. The Dreyfus affair deepened this mistrust, and after the failure to sway the army to conduct a coup in 1899, and the false accusation of Dreyfus, the army is totally discredited, only its success in the various colonial conquests and the international tension favourable to the war prevents a real questioning of the military apparatus in France.

The coming of the Great War swept aside the mistrust in all political apparatus, the Army was reborn as the new champion of the Republic, as if nothing had happened between 1871 and 1914. The war was for the army a paradise, as from 1915 to 1919 the power of Army on French politics was described by Clemenceau like "a military dictator" and was ended by his coming of power.

The victory of 1918 change the french society, 8 million men in all fought for 4 years of intense and uninterrupted total war, the men were broken and with the continuation of the conflict by the German Civil War and other post-Great War conflicts a majority of them remained in the army, finding within it a real society that they have built and defended, that they could no longer find in civilian life. The leagues of veterans real political leagues multiplied, fussing, separating the international and national situation not relaxing, the interests of these leagues not going the direction of the new government elected from the Cartel of the left then it happened the unthinkable. The coup of 25 May 1925, followed by far-right leagues and veterans associations and lead by the chiefs of the French Army overthrew the republican regime, the supposed Great Mute talked, yelled and imposing his power. Modeling a new regime and a new France as his image, a stratocratic regime born and the French Army is his center

### Ideology

The Armée française, as a conscript army, has an important political role, a role that has increased in the regime of the French National and Social Republic. The Armée française does not have any ideology, always presenting itself as the "Great Mute"(French:«*Grande Muette»*), but the 5th office of the French General Staff, called "Bureau des menées anti-nationales" aims to track down any element judged as "anti-national and Bolshevik" present in the army and among new conscripts. A compulsory oath is also present, in which all the soldiers and officers of the army of all the branches is obliged to recite collectively once a month, by making the salute of Joinville before a portrait of the Chief of the Nation, the Marshal Hubert Lyautey.

### Composition

As of 1932 the Armée française has an active personnel count of 979,000 with about 430,000 in reserves. Many are conscript and career soldier.Military service offers many rights and benefits. The vast majority of the Armée française comes from lower working class backgrounds, the high bourgeoisie and the remaining former aristocracy. Primary school is the average highest level of education among Volksarmee soldiers.

## Organization

The Armée français has four branches:

* The *Armée de terre* (Land Army) with an active personnel strength of about 732,000 (of which 203,000 are «natives»)
* The *Marine nationale* (National Navy) with an active personnel strength of about 98,000.
* The *Armée de l'air* (Air Army) with an active personnel strength of about 39,000.
* The *Gendarmerie nationale* (National Gendarmerie) with an active personnel strength of about 110,000

## Equipment

The French army is mostly equipped with material dating from the Great War (not to forget that equipment was at the forefront of technology at the time) but launches modernization programs especially on military vehicles and tanks. Despite these stocks are quite large, containing:

* 2,854,612 firearms
* 930,000 tons of ammunition
* 1,472 vehicles (+450,000 mobizable vehicles)
* 5,752 artillery pieces
* 3,561 tanks
* 1,841 aircraft

The official weapon of the French army is the Rifle Lebel Model 1886-M93

### Uniforms

    The uniforms of the French army have not changed enormously since the Great War, if it is the color that goes from blue horizon to khaki in 1927.