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Books > History > World history > From 1900 > Second World War
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Vercors 1944 - Resistance in the French Alps (Paperback)
Loot Price: R515
Discovery Miles 5 150
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Vercors 1944 - Resistance in the French Alps (Paperback)
Series: Campaign
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Loot Price R515
Discovery Miles 5 150
Expected to ship within 9 - 17 working days
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After D-Day the French resistance rose to sabotage the Nazi war
effort. Germany rutghlessly assaulted a French stronghold with
Fallschirmjaeger airborne troops.
Fighting insurgents has always been one of the greatest challenges
for regular armed forces during the 20th century. From Malaya
through Algeria and Vietnam to the ongoing operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan, the list is long. The war between the Germans and the
French resistance, also called FFI (Forces Francaises d'Interieur)
or Maquis, during World War II has remained a near-forgotten
chapter in the history of these 'Small Wars', particularly in the
English-speaking world. This is all the more astonishing as
agencies like the British SOE (Special Operations Executive) and
the American OSS (Office of Strategic Services) pumped a good
amount of their resources into the support of the French resistance
movement. By diversionary attacks on German forces in the occupied
hinterland the Allies hoped the FFI could provide assistance in
disrupting German supply lines as well as crumbling their morale.
The mountain plateau of the Vercors south-west of Grenoble was the
main stronghold of the French Maquis and in July 1944 some 8,000
German soldiers mounted an operation on the plateau and destroyed
the insurgent groups there. The battle of the Vercors was the
largest operation against the FFI during World War II and the
German's fast and crushing victory has caused traumatic memories
for the French that persist to the present day.
Following D-Day the FFI fully mobilised on orders given from London
and posed a real threat to the German lines of communications.
Operating from their sanctuaries in the mountains and armed with
British and US weapons from Allied air drops, the Maquis descended
into the valleys and tried to challenge the German troops of
occupation. By mid-June the Germans launched a series of major
counter-operations in the mountains which, carried out by the
Gebirgsjager, dispersed the French resistance from the Massif des
Bauges and the French Jura. On the mountain plateau of the Vercors
the FFI made the mistake of attempting to hold their ground against
regular German forces, and were encircled and destroyed,
accompanied by terrible reprisals against the local population.
British and US liaison teams could do little to help. A month
later, a similar operation put paid to the resistance on the
Tarentaise. However, the Germans were too short of manpower to
exploit these tactical victories and were always compelled to
withdraw, letting the French resistance re-appear and take control
again. German tactical victories did not translate into strategic
success. By their constant harassment the FFI eventually fragmented
the German forces. When after the landings at the French Riviera on
15 August 1944 US troops advanced swiftly to the north, German
troops could not offer a coherent line of defence in the Alps and
had to withdraw from French territory by the end of the month.
General
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