The Francs-tireurs et partisans français (FTPF), or commonly the Francs-tireurs et partisans (FTP), was an armed resistance organization created by leaders of the French Communist Party during World War II (1939–45). The communist party was neutral at first, following the Soviet Union's official view that the war was a struggle between imperialists, but changed to a policy of armed resistance against the German occupation of France after Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Three groups were formed, consisting of party members, young communists and foreign workers. Early in 1942 they were merged to form the FTP, which undertook sabotage and assassinations of the occupation. The FTP became the best organized and most effective of the French Resistance groups. In March 1944, before the Allied forces returned to Normandy, the FTP was theoretically merged with the other Resistance groups. In practice, it retained its independence until the end of the war. Background Germany attacked the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 in Operation Barbarossa. With this, the policy of the French Communist Party (Parti communiste français, PCF) policy switched to support for armed struggle against the German occupiers. The National Front (Front national de l'indépendance de la France) was created as a French Resistance movement in the northern area in June 1941. The Front national was theoretically independent of the PCF, but in reality it was dominated by the PCF. At first the objectives were mainly political, taking advantage of the unstable situation under the occupying German army. Charles Tillon was put in charge of military matters. On 2 August 1941 Albert Ouzoulias was put in charge of the Bataillons de la Jeunesse, fighting groups that were being created by the Jeunesses Communistes. Soon after, Arthur Dallidet introduced him to Eugène Hénaff, who was responsible for the armed struggle under the direction of Tillon. In October 1941 the PCF decided to unify its armed groups into the Organisation spéciale. Hénaff joined the leadership of the PCF's Organisation Spéciale, where he was responsible for coordinating between the various armed units. He was a member of the Comité militaire national, which became the Francs-tireurs et partisans français (FTPF). Formation Rather than limit armed action to Communists, it was decided to create a non-Communist organization, the Francs-Tireurs et Partisans (FTP), under the Front national. The FTP was open to non-communists but operated under communist control. The FTP movement was seen as a