Francs-tireurs

Francs-tireurs (pronounced [fʁɑ̃.ti.ʁœʁ], French for "free shooters") were irregular military formations deployed by France during the early stages of the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71).

The term was revived and used by partisans to name two major French Resistance movements set up to fight against Nazi Germany during World War II.

Francs-tireurs were an outgrowth of rifle-shooting clubs or unofficial military societies formed in the east of France at the time of the Luxembourg Crisis of 1867.

[4] The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica described them as "at once a valuable asset to the armed strength of France and a possible menace to internal order under military discipline."

[4] The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica describes it as "now acknowledged, even by the Germans", that the francs-tireurs, by these relatively unconventional tactics, "paralysed large detachments of the enemy, contested every step of his advance (as in the Loire campaign), and prevented him from gaining information, and that their soldierly qualities improved with experience.

Whole regiments or divisions often took part in "pacifying actions" in areas with significant franc-tireur activity; this created a lasting enmity and hatred between the occupying German soldiers and French civilians.

[citation needed] In an article in the 13 September 1919 issue of Illustrated London News, writer G. K. Chesterton responded to Ludendorff's book by remarking: It is astounding how clumsy Prussians are at this sort of thing.

A "franc-tireur" is a free man, who fights to defend his own farm or family against foreign aggressors, but who does not happen to possess certain badges and articles of clothing catalogued by Prussia in 1870.

The PCF initially called their group the Organisation Spéciale (OS); a number of its leaders had served in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War (notably, "Colonel" Henri Rol-Tanguy).

Their job was four-fold: to destroy rail lines carrying men and materials to the eastern front, sabotage factories working for the Germans, punish traitors and collaborators, and kill the occupying soldiers.

The PETA (Indonesian: Pembela Tanah Air – Defenders of the Homeland) and Heiho soldiers in the Japanese-occupied Dutch East Indies were considered francs-tireurs by the Allies.

[12] In relation to Wilhelm List, the tribunal stated: We are obliged to hold that such guerrillas were francs tireurs who, upon capture, could be subjected to the death penalty.

Consequently, no criminal responsibility attaches to the defendant List because of the execution of captured partisans...[12]The post-war Geneva Convention established new protocols; according to Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, francs-tireurs are entitled to prisoner-of-war status provided that they are commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates, have a fixed distinctive sign recognisable at a distance, carry arms openly, and conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.