Login

**desantnik** · 12-11-2011, 06:55 AM

Can any of our French speakers shed any more light on Private Lomidze?

Is this an ID or certificate of participation?

His rank is listed as "soldat" and he was in a "Sovietique" detachment.

Anyone seen something similar or provide any further information?

My guess is the recipient joined the French resistance after escaping his status as a deported laborer or escaped POW.

He received his Soviet Victory over Germany medal in 1958.

Thanks in advance!

***CtahhR*** · 12-11-2011, 07:14 AM

That is an amazing item! I wonder if he got the Medal Of Liberated France too? I like documents but this one is on another level.

charlet · 12-11-2011, 09:25 AM

this is an ID. He fought in the south of France.

Lapa · 12-11-2011, 10:43 AM

Paul,

I brought up the topic of Soviets fighting in French partisan units a few years ago: 1st Soviet regiment of partisans in France

Marc

**desantnik** · 12-11-2011, 11:09 AM

Marc, thanks - I vaguely remembered something along these lines. If the below is excerpt from the link you provided is valid, this ID in question is serial-numbered 284...:confused:

Interesting story from Lapa. At the end of WWII a lot of Russian soldiers who served in the German army have tried to escape and tried to join the local resistance. In Holland there was even a revolt of Georgian “Wehrmacht” soldiers.
On the Dutch island of Texel were at the spring of 1945, about 800 Georgian soldiers stationed. Most of them were ex-prisoners of war. These Georgian soldiers belonged to the 882nd Georgian battalion. At the end of March 1945 the German staff decided to send half of the Georgian battalion to the front in the east of Holland. What the Germans already expected was that the Georgian soldiers at the front should defect to the Allies. For that reason the other half of the Georgian battalion should stay on the island. When the Georgian battalion at the front should defect the Germans could punish the other half of the Georgian battalion, which was left behind on the island.
For that reason the officers of the Georgian battalion decided for a mutiny against their German leaders.
In the night of April 6th the Georgian soldiers started their revolt. They gave it the name; Operation Birthday. They hoped that they could clear the island from the Germans. About 180 German officers and soldiers were killed in that first night of the revolt.
Already on the first day of their revolt the Georgian soldiers saw that their situation was hopeless because the Germans got reinforcements from the mainland.
On April 21st the last group of 59 Georgian soldiers surrendered. Before they were executed by the Germans they had to dig their own graves. A lot of Georgian soldiers were hidden by the local population or they hid themselves in the woods.
Even after the official capitulation of the German forces in Holland there were still gunfights between the Georgians and the Germans. This dangerous situation ended at May 20th when Canadian soldiers landed on the island. 236 Georgian soldiers survived the battle. This Georgian revolt was the last battle in Holland. Almost 570 Georgians, 460 Germans and 89 Dutchmen were killed during this battle. On the island of Texel there is still today a Georgian war cemetery.
I thought it was in 2005, that the Georgian president Michail Saakasjvili and his Dutch wife Sandra Roelofs were at a commemoration of this battle, which was held on this cemetery.
I even heard that the Russians had made a film about this Georgian revolt. The title should be something like “The crucified island”. Has anyone heard about this Soviet film? The film should be made in the 1960’s.

patricko · 12-13-2011, 12:26 AM

Lapa Wrote:Paul,

I brought up the topic of Soviets fighting in French partisan units a few years ago: 1st Soviet regiment of partisans in France

Marc

Paul, Marc,

I found some scattered pieces (in French) about this "régiment soviétique" of the FTP (Francs tireurs et partisans). The FTP was created by the Communist Party. In the FTP, there was a section for "foreigners" called FTP-MOI (main-d’œuvre immigrée= foreign labor) active in Paris and in the south of France (Francs-tireurs et partisans - Main-d'œuvre immigrée - Wikipédia)

1) in Cyril Le Talle, La communauté arménienne de France: 1920-1950, L'harmattan, 2003. About the "Premier régiment des partisans soviétiques en France" see:
(link to google book : La communauté arménienne de France ... - Cyril Le Tallec - Google Livres) see p. 182ss. It is said in particular that the regiment was awarded on May 1, 45 of the "Croix de Guerre".

2) Also about Armenians in the FTP-MOI (Missak Manouchian - Ces Arm�niens qui ont dit non) with picture of the "parade" of the troups in the city of Nîmes in 1944 or 45. And something about Missak Manouchian who was one of the leader of the FTP-MOI and who was executed in 44.

3) Boris Holban (rumanian) who was also one of the leader of the FTP-MOI has published his memoirs : Le Testament, Calmann-Lévy, 1994 ISBN 978-2702117781

Patrick

patricko · 12-13-2011, 01:18 AM

More about the First soviet regiment in France.

La R�sistance en Loz�re - Les Arm�niens de l'<i>�st L�gion</i> : de la <i>Wehrmacht</i> au 1er r�giment de partisans sovi�tiques en France

I've made the translation in English (roughly! )

"Deserters from the Öst Legion and some Soviet prisoners from German camps in the south of France, after joining various maquis, are grouped under the command of Alexander Kazarian in the 1st Regiment Soviet partisan strong of about 500 men. Their PC is installed in Patus, near the collar of Dèze. Integrated in the FTP-MOI led by Otto Kühne promoted to lieutenant colonel, he participated in the liberation of the Gard.
The regiment of Soviet partisans is installed in the barracks of Vallongue in Nimes. The commander of the FFI Victor Gardon, is appointed by Gilbert de Chambrun (regional military chief), "Chief of Staff liaison with this unit" that receives traditional uniform of the Red Army and the flag of the 1st regiment of partisans Soviet in France. Molotov, Foreign Minister of the USSR, wrote: "The Motherland awaits you with open arms. Although you were away from your homeland, you have done your duty as the enemy was the same from east to west ". General Zeller, commander of the 16th Military Region, presents, 18 May 1945 in Nimes, in the presence of Soviet general Vikharev, the Croix de Guerre to the regiment leaving for the USSR, with the following quote: "Unity symbolizing the all Soviet citizens who joined the French Resistance and fought the common enemy on our soil. From June to September 1944, took a large part in the fighting that led to the Liberation, killing and capturing many Germans, making an important war booty, struggling heroically with our Patriots to contribute to the defeat of the enemy. Staying fraternally after having fought with us, the living testimony of the Franco-Soviet Friendship sealed on the same battlefield in defense of the same freedoms . "
General de Gaulle himself congratulated the first regiment of Soviet partisans in France. Back from Soviet occupation zone in Germany, Ost Legion deserters were disarmed and placed in camps where they are asked about their passage into the Wehrmacht. Some time after a final parade, the officers whose Kazarian and Alexandre Petrossian Bartouk officials say goodbye to their men before leaving for an unknown destination. Having donned the uniform of the enemy will lead all of the soldiers at the prison and the camps of the Gulag in Siberia. Previously, some as Grisha Mertitchian and three of his comrades, in October 1945, managed to escape and return to France. In 1964, Bartouk Petrossian, liberated the camps, participated in a ceremony in Paris in honor of the first regiment of Soviet partisans."

About V. Gardon (ACAM - Livres arméniens - GARDON , Victor)
On this page I found an extract of : "Historique du 1er régiment soviétique du Plateau en France. R3. FFI. 16e région militaire. Période de novembre 1943 à fin 1945", by Roger Genest, (chef de bataillon de réserve H° d'infanterie de marine, ancien officier, adjoint du chef d'état-major français de liaison pour les ressortissants soviétiques)

But I wasn't able to locate this work on the net....

Patrick

patricko · 12-13-2011, 10:26 PM

For those interested, I would particularly recommend reading the book (in French!) of Georges Coudry, Les camps soviétiques en France. Les "Russes" livrés à Staline en 1945, Albin Michel, 1997 (ISBN 978-2226089366).
To my knowledge, this book was unfortunately not translated!

It's a very interesting and well documented book about the Soviet citizens in France during the Nazi occupation (civilians, men and women rounded up in the occupied villages of Ukraine or Belarus, soldiers "enrolled" in the Wehrmacht, some of them deserting and heading to the "maquis"), their fate in the camps in France after the "Liberation", and their return in the USSR.

Coudry was himself a "partisan". And a war correspondent with the 1th (French) Army in Germany.

Patrick