From occupiers to protectors, the French forces in Berlin fundamentally changed the game. Initially sidelined after WWII, France carved out its own sector, becoming a key player. They weren’t just soldiers; they were city-builders and denazification agents.
Then came the 1948 Soviet blockade, their defining moment. While the U.S. and Britain owned the skies, France made its stand on the ground. Their audacious move: building an entire airport, Tegel, in a stunning 90 days.
This wasn’t just construction; it was a strategic masterstroke. Tegel broke the back of the Soviet siege, ensuring the airlift’s success. It became a legendary symbol of French resolve and ingenuity.
For nearly 50 years, they were more than a garrison. They were spies, diplomats, and crucial partners in the Cold War’s hottest flashpoint. They transformed old enemies into steadfast allies.
The French didn’t just occupy Berlin; they helped save it and secure its freedom.
France’s little-known role in the Berlin Airlift
In 1948, as the Soviet blockade of Berlin raged, France played a decisive yet little-known role. History has primarily remembered the American and British airlift, but it was a French initiative on the ground that proved to be a game-changer. Faced with the congestion of Berlin’s two airports, General Jean Ganeval proposed a bold solution: the construction of a third runway.
Table of Contents
par Joël-François Dumont — Paris, September 25, 2025 —
In a record time of 90 days, the French Army Corps of Engineers, with the help of 19,000 Berlin civilians, built Tegel Airport. It would feature the longest runway in Europe at the time. This « stroke of genius » not only streamlined Allied air traffic and increased the number of flights, but most importantly, it rendered the Soviet blockade ineffective.
Tegel Airport thus became a symbol of the ingenuity and spirit of the French Forces in Berlin. This action demonstrated that strategic intelligence could be more decisive than sheer material power. Through this initiative, France established itself as an indispensable partner in resolving this major crisis of the Cold War.
History often remembers the numbers. In the face of the Berlin Blockade, it recalls the hundreds of thousands of American and British flights and the millions of tons of cargo that fed a besieged city. Within this heroic narrative, the participation of the French Air Force, with its 424 rotations, might seem like a mere footnote.[01]
That would be a profound mistake. For France’s most decisive contribution was not measured in the sky, but on the ground. It was not an act of mass, but a flash of strategic intelligence, a bold gamble that changed the rules of the game: the construction of Tegel Airport.[02]
The Art of Changing the Question
In the early summer of 1948, General Jean Ganeval, commander of the French sector, faced a stark reality. Committed in Indochina with its JU-52s (“Auntie Ju”) and in Mada-gascar with requisitioned Air France JU-52 AAC1s, France had only meager military air transport resources for Berlin.[03] Trying to compete in the number of rotations was a dead end.
Where others might have resigned them-selves to a symbolic role, General Ganeval demonstrated brilliant foresight.
He understood that the breaking point of the airlift was not the number of avail-able planes, but the critical congestion at the only two airports, Tempelhof and Gatow.[04]
Général Jean Ganeval (Photo FFB)
Not only will Berlin-Tegel have the longest runway in Europe (2,400 meters), but the Air Force will also install a new generation, high-performance radar system there, which will enable the Americans to coordinate Allied air traffic by significantly increasing the flow of traffic to the point where a plane will land or take off from one of the three military airports in West Berlin every 30 seconds, day and night, in summer and during the harsh winter of 1948.[01]
His thinking represented a strategic pivot. He didn’t ask, « How can we do more with our meager means? » but rather, « How can we enable all our allies to do infinitely more? » The answer, as simple in its concept as it was audacious in its ambition, was to build, ex nihilo, a third gateway into Berlin.
Tegel: 90 Days to Build a Legend
The chosen location was a waterlogged training ground in Tegel. The challenge was colossal. On August 5, 1948, the project was launched in a frantic race against time and the elements.[05] It is here that the story shifts from military calculation to a human narrative.
A veritable army of 19,000 Berlin civilians, men and women, answered the call. Under the direction of the French military engineers and with American technical support, this hive of human activity would perform a miracle. In three months, through backbreaking labor day and night, they erected a 2,428-meter (nearly 8,000-foot) runway—the longest in Europe.[02] On November 5, 1948, a mere 90 days after the first shovelful of earth, the first American C-54 landed on the new tarmac.[05] General Ganeval’s gamble had paid off.
This achievement was much more than a technical feat. By turning a besieged population into an agent of its own survival, France forged an unbreakable bond with the people of Berlin. The trust and friendship born in the mud of that construction site would become the foundation of the French presence for the next half-century.
A Strategic Lever with a Multiplied Impact
The opening of Tegel was a game-changer. Its impact was not additive; it was exponential.
- Massive Decongestion: The new airfield instantly relieved traffic at Tempelhof and Gatow, allowing for a drastic increase in the total number of Allied rotations.
- Logistical Tipping Point: Berlin’s receiving capacity was suddenly increased, rendering the Soviet calculation of an economic strangulation completely obsolete. The failure of the blockade became inevitable.
- Redefining France’s Status: With this single action, France established itself as an indispensable strategic partner. Its credibility no longer rested on the number of its battalions, but on the relevance of its vision.[06]
The Legacy of Boldness
The story of France’s participation in the airlift is therefore one of a paradox. Its seemingly weakest contribution—air transport—hid its greatest strength: a decision on the ground that multiplied the power of all. The medical flights, especially the evacuation of thousands of children, added an unforgettable human dimension to this commitment.[01]
A Stroke of Genius That Saved the Airlift
Tegel Airport, born of urgency, would remain under French administration and become the beating heart of West Berlin, its primary window to the free world.[07] It stands as a lasting symbol of the spirit of the French Forces in Berlin: a doctrine where intelligence, audacity, and a profound humanity proved they could weigh more than steel.[08]
Joël-François ,Dumont
Sources:
[01] Gen. Silvestre de Sacy, Hugues, former head of the French Air Force Historical Service, in European-Security: « Participation de l’Armée de l’Air au pont aérien de Berlin ». (2019-0421) —
[02] Dumont, Joël-François in European Security : « Les forces françaises de Berlin (1945-1994)« .
[03] Vaïsse, Maurice (2000) : « La politique berlinoise de la France (1944-1949) ». Dans La France et l’Allemagne entre partenaires et compétiteurs. Presses Sorbonne Nouvelle (2000).
[04] Turner, Barry (1987). The Berlin Airlift: The Relief Operation that Defined the Cold War. Patrick Stephens Ltd.
[05] « Rubble to Runway: The Triumph of Tegel » : National Museum of the United States Air Force.
[06] Führe, Dorothea : « Er kam nicht als Rächer » (He didn’t come to seek revenge.) Luisenstadt Edition, Berlinische Monatsschrift Heft 12/2000
[07] City of Berlin. « The Airlift and the Construction of Tegel Airport ». Site officiel de la ville de Berlin.
[08] Alliied Museum Berlin : « The Western Powers in Berlin ». Site officiel du musée des Alliés à Berlin. Avec tous nos remerciements à Madame Uta Birkemeyer, conservatrice du Musée pour la France.
See Also:
- « Berlin-Tegel 1948: The French Stroke of Genius » — (2025-0927)
- « Der Blockadebrecher: Wie Frankreich Berlin rettete » — (2025-0927)
- « Berlin-Tegel 1948 : Le coup de génie français » — (2025-0927)
- « Remembering the Epic Triumph of the Berlin Airlift » — (2023-0626)
- « We had no guns, only flour » — ()
In-depth Analysis:
In 1948, as the Soviet blockade of Berlin was raging, France played a decisive, yet little-known, role. History has mainly remembered the American and British airlift, but it was a French initiative on the ground that changed the game. Faced with the congestion of the two existing Berlin airports, General Jean Ganeval proposed a bold solution: the construction of a third runway.
In a record time of 90 days, the French Army Engineering Corps, with the help of 19,000 Berlin civilians, built Tegel Airport, which then boasted the longest runway in Europe. This « stroke of genius » not only streamlined Allied air traffic and increased the number of flights, but above all, it rendered the Soviet blockade ineffective.
Tegel Airport thus became the symbol of the ingenuity and spirit of the French Forces in Berlin. This action demonstrated that strategic intelligence could prove more decisive than sheer material power. Through this initiative, France established itself as an indispensable partner in resolving this major Cold War crisis.
