Matrix Games Forums

I recently had a game where I was playing allies and upon the eminent fall of France, I moved the French
Syrian Corps to Jordan to try to salvage it. As luck would have it, the unit survived. However I noticed
something I thought was strange, for although the unit changed to tan from blue, and then had access to UK
techs, it never changed to a UK unit, its country remained (France). I have noticed that other free-French
units country affiliation is (UK), as are free Polish units.

This would not seem very important, except that I tried to use this windfall unit to help take Iraq.
Since it was not technically a UK unit, it did not trigger the garrison to surrender, and caused me no
end of problems.

Is this intended? It seems odd that a unit remains in the game that is loyal to a country that no longer
exists. After the fall of France, shouldn't all French units either be Free-French or Vichy French?
Why does the Third Republic live on in this one unit so far from it's homeland?

It should be Free French, is it showing a different nationality in your game?

The Free French naval units and Free Polish you have seen are different in that they are scripted units triggered by events, so they have to arrive as integral parts of their respective owners' national armed forces.

A French unit that becomes Free French through being on Allied territory when France surrenders, is a genuine Free French unit in terms of how the engine works, as they will have passed the die roll to fight on after France falls.

It also means they revert to French units when France is liberated. That means that they will throw away any upgrades you gave them.

The Cherry on top of this is that as Free French units they can not be attached to UK HQs.

Thanks for the answer Bill, I understand. Perhaps if the Free-French units created in this way are truly going to remain French, you might consider leaving them blue instead of turning them British Kaki. They could still have access to UK tech, but it would be clear to the player that this is not just another UK unit.

If I remember my history, Free-French units fought under both British and US command during they war(they didn't always follow orders, but they were French, after all). Yet in this game, they cannot be commanded by either, unless they are "scripted", then they can be commanded by the British. It just seems like an odd distinction, how they came into being determines if they can be attached to an HQ or not. I guess some Free-French are more just compliant than others.

If you look real closely you'll notice their roundel is different than the standard UK unit's.

Ah, so that's the trick! Thanks Taxman, I will keep my eye open for that.