France’s 1st Army was it’s premier military force formed during WW1. At the start of WW2 it fought against the Germans but was trapped in the Dunkirk Pocket in May 1940 as the Germans closed in and fought as best it could to delay the Germans to allow the Allies to escape. The 1st Army formerly ceased to exist on May 29, 1940 as France was defeated.
In the summer of 1944 as the Allies were to finally liberate France, the 1st Army was reborn and was the main French landing force during Operation Dragoon to liberate Southern France as the Allies were fighting in the north in the Normandy campaign. Once France was finally liberated the French armed forces continued to grow and expand raising to over a million and they continued the fight against Germany mainly fighting in the southern flank of the Allies broad front
They would be a Riflemen squad. Their unique weapon would be the MAS 44. The MAS 40 was the original semi-automatic rifle meant to standardize the French armed forces but the quick defeat of France ended that dream. While France was occupied their arsenals managed to keep some of their projects a secret to prevent the Germans from taking them, and the MAS 44, an upgraded and improved semi-auto rifle, was secretly developed and the MAS 44 began production once France was finally liberated
I like it when special squads are thematic, and this would be the reborn French army no longer fighting as resistance but true countrymen with the new standard rifle made in secret now being produced for this rebirth
Also it’s a good excuse to mention that Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, could be added one day