On 5th June 1944 Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower sent coded messages to the French Resistance asking them to carry out acts of sabotage. Actions which would assist the D-Day landings in Normandy by diverting German forces. After the war ended the General estimated that the French Resistance had been worth “an extra six divisions.” Whilst it seems clear that in a battle scenario the resisters could not equal 90,000 fully armed and trained troops, their impact lay in the intelligence they provided and the guerrilla tactics they employed to disrupt services and supply lines.
Much of the intelligence used for the D-Day landings was supplied by the French Resistance.
Dordogne in South-West France was one area where the resistance was strong.
In answer to the General’s call the camp of Mauzac was liberated on the 7th June and between the 8th and 14th June battles took place as the Resistants attempted to delay the Panzer division Das Reich from joining German divisions in the North of France to combat the Allied invasion.
With an Axis submarine base in Bordeaux and an Aircraft base in Saint-Astier, near the Dordogne capital of Perigueux, the market town of Mussidan held an important strategic position, because of the convergence of rail and road links there and its location between Bordeaux and Perigueux. The battle of Mussidan took place on the 11th June 1944. The Resistance attempted to liberate the town but were forced to withdraw after the unexpected arrival of the Das Reich division. The Germans held the town and reprisals took place resulting in the death of fifty-one local men.
Resistance, Book 1, Liberty, whilst a fictional novel set in the fictional Dordogne village of Saint-Antoine-de-Double, has these events as a backdrop. The main characters, Sabine a farmer’s daughter who makes goat’s cheese and Hérisson together with his mysterious group of companions are drawn into the French Resistance believing they are embarking upon a great adventure. They soon discover themselves trapped in an impossible position from which it appears there can be no escape. Eilidh McGinness, the author of the novel lives and works in this area of Dordogne and has been fortunate in her research for the book because she has been able to visit important Resistance sites in the area, meet actual members of the French resistance and hear their stories at first hand.
The International Review of Books described the novel as “an addictive look at the French Resistance through the historical fiction tale of two members working to free France from the Nazis.”
The book is available from the 7th June 2021, with the e-book available at an introductory offer price of £0.99.
