Traveling Tuesday: The Grand Risoux Forest

Traveling Tuesday: The Grand Risoux Forest

With over 2,200 continue hectares (nearly 5,500 acres or 22 square km), the Risoux forest is the largest forest in Europe. Forming a natural border between France and Switzerland, the forest lines the edge of the Vallée de Joux in the Jura Mountains. The Vallée is well-known for its watch and cheese making, but during WWII, the area became one of many routes used by fugitives from France into Switzerland. The border is a dry stone wall with Fleur-de-Lis decorating it and stands approximately three feet tall making escape was somewhat easy as long as German troops were avoided.

A group of French and Swiss friends became known as the Passeurs du Risoud and helped countless downed pilots, those in danger of deportation, and escaped prisoners make it over the border. In addition to smuggling humans, the group passed confidential documents about troop numbers and movements to the British Embassy in Lausanne as well as armaments.

To make it more difficult for the Nazis to track them, the Passeurs formed multiple routes through the forest, many of which are still apparent. Soldiers patrolled the French side of the forest twenty-four hours a day, and anyone found within the two kilometer forbidden zone was shot on sight.

After arriving in Switzerland, the group would hide in one the two wooden huts (L’Hôtel d’Italie and Le Rendezvous des Sages) in order to rest. Then the Passeurs would go home under cover of darkness, and the escapees would continue the ten kilometer journey from the border to the place where they registered as illegal foreigners, then to an internment camp for the remainder of the war. Many downed military personnel did not register and continued their escape to Allied soil.

 ______________________

A secret mission. A fake bride. A run for their lives.

According to the OSS training manual, the life expectancy of a radio operator in Nazi-occupied France is six weeks. Partnered with one of the agency’s top spies, Gerard Lucas, newly-minted agent Emily Strealer plans to beat those odds. Then their cover is blown and all bets are off. The border to neutral Switzerland is three hundred miles away—a long way to run with SS soldiers on their heels.

Will Emily and Gerard survive the journey?

And what about their hearts? Nothing in the manual prepared them for falling in love.

Pre-order link: https://amzn.to/2UZ537N

Couriers with the French Resistance

Couriers with the French Resistance

Signed by the French, the Armistice stipulated that “The French Government will forbid French citizens to fight against Germany in the service of States with which the German Reich is still at war. French citizens who violate this provision are to be treated by German troops as insurgents.”

Thousands of French men and women chose to ignore the mandate. The exact number of La Résistance members in France during WWII is unknown because many were never captured and even more never told their family about their involvement during the war. Activities included securing intelligence about German troop numbers and movements, sabotaging communication and train lines, blowing up bridges, kidnapped and killed German army officers, and ambushed German soldiers. Another important task performed by La Résistance was to courier downed airmen and escaped prisoners out of the country and into neutral Switzerland.

As mentioned in a previous post, several escape routes existed. However, rather than be given a map, the escapees were led out of the country by couriers, who were often natives of the area through which the route passed. Much like a relay race, the courier would take the individuals from Point A to Point B where the next courier would meet them and continue the journey. Both men and women acted as couriers.

With a fatality rate of 42%, couriers held a dangerous job. They came from all walks of life: housewives and mothers, society women, teachers, and shopkeepers. Couriers had to be in excellent physical condition because of the hundreds of miles they traveled back and forth over rough terrain, many of which went into the higher elevations.

_____________________

A secret mission. A fake bride. A run for their lives.

According to the OSS training manual, the life expectancy of a radio operator in Nazi-occupied France is six weeks. Partnered with one of the agency’s top spies, Gerard Lucas, newly-minted agent Emily Strealer plans to beat those odds. Then their cover is blown and all bets are off. The border to neutral Switzerland is three hundred miles away—a long way to run with SS soldiers on their heels.

Will Emily and Gerard survive the journey?

And what about their hearts? Nothing in the manual prepared them for falling in love.

Pre-order link: https://amzn.to/2UZ537N

The OSS and the Liberation of France

The OSS and the Liberation of France

World War II has been studied by scholars, students, and history buffs since the day the guns fell silent and surrender documents were signed. Over the years I have read hundreds of books and watched thousands of hours of interviews and documentaries. The more I study, the more I realize I’ve merely scratched the surface of the conflict.

As time passes, more information comes to light as documents are declassified and people decide to tell their stories before they die. A topic I recently researched to ensure accuracy in my book Love’s Rescue, is the liberation of Paris. It has been interesting to discover who was involved and who was not.

I was sure the British were there. After all, France is just across the English Channel. Turns out the British didn’t arrive until several days after the City of Light was freed from the Germans. Also turns out the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), precursor to the CIA was heavily involved, prior to and during the liberation. I shouldn’t have been surprised. The OSS is a spy agency, and intelligence, subterfuge, and espionage played a crucial part in the event.

My search of documents from the National Archives and the CIA provided fascinating insight into the thoughts and activities as the war neared its end. One report indicated that having worked in league with the French Resistance, the OSS’s role came to fruition once the liberation of Paris occurred. Another report estimates that nearly eighty percent of the intelligence received prior to D-Day and the subsequent liberation was thanks to the 225 OSS agents stationed in France. Activities included:

• Messages answering specific inquiries by the Allied Fleet HQ and the Seventh Army were radioed directly to the command ship of the invasion fleet en route to France;
• Plans for the defense of Marseilles were forwarded to the appropriate military leader;
• Information regarding the fortifications of Lyon was sent ahed;
• German defense plans for St. Nazaire and Lorient were captured;
• Downed U.S. airmen in enemy territory were aided; and
• Agents served as guides for the Allied forces reaching their areas.

Once France was safely back in the hands of its leaders, the OSS could focus its sights on the remaining European Theater of Operation and the Pacific war which would not be over for another eight and eleven months respectively.

Love's Rescue is now available! Pick up your copy today of this tale of faith and hope inspired by the biblical story of Rahab and set during the liberation of Paris in August 1944. Available for a limited time for only $0.99 from these fine retailers:

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MJM6MNL

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/love-s-rescue-1

Apple Books: https://itunes.apple.com/book/id1451530079

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/loves-rescue-linda-shenton-matchett/1130382950?ean=9780998526546

Traveling Tuesday: French Forces of the Interior

Traveling Tuesday: French Forces of the Interior

 “The rapid advance of my army through France would have been impossible without the fighting aid of the FFI.”

Four-star General George S. Patton, Jr.

“The help given by the FFI from the Mediterranean landings to the arrival of U.S. troops at Dijon, was equivalent to four full divisions.”

Three-star General Alexander M. Patch

High praise from highly-placed senior officers in the U.S. Army. Who were these men and women? According to an article written by Sgt. Bill Davidson, Yank Staff Correspondent:

“The French Forces of the Interior, better known as the FFI or the Maquis (from the brush country in which they hide and operate), are not a collection of picturesque hit-and-run guerrillas led by a Hollywood character resembling Errol Flynn. They are a highly-organized, well-disciplined army of some 500,000 French men and women, divided into divisions and regiments, with rifles, mortars, pack artillery and even tanks, and fired with tremendous resolve to re-establish their homeland among the free, respected peoples of the earth.”

He goes on to say, “The Maquis are mostly young, tough-looking guys between the ages of 17 and 25, although there is a good percentage of women and older persons.”

One intriguing anecdote tells of a group of five FFI members who walked into a restaurant, hung their rifles on the hat rack, and sat down to have lunch with their wives. Having just finished a mission that killed some Germans outside the city, they discussed domestic issues with the women, finished their meal, then headed out in a captured German staff car marked with the cross of Lorraine.

Prior to 1942, the FFI was a relatively small and disorganized force. They worked underground, appearing long enough to conduct acts of sabotage and providing intelligence to Allied leaders. By 1944, the group had grown and were unified under the command of French General Marie Pierre Koenig. Absorbed into the French regular forces, the FFI were used as light infantry and continued to use their own weapons and wear civilian clothing with an armband marked “F.F.I.”

As liberation progressed, the FFI took control of bridges and flushed the Germans out of villages and towns all over France. It is estimated the Maquis liberated approximately 50,000 square miles of the country, including Paris. They served as scouts for the Allied armies and slowed down enemy troop movements.

Many members of the FFI are well-known, with streets, bridges, and parks named in their honor, but the majority of this organization slipped back into obscurity after the war and resumed their lives as unassuming men and women.

Love's Rescue releases tomorrow! Pre-order your copy today of this tale of faith and hope inspired by the biblical story of Rahab and set during the liberation of Paris in August 1944. Available for a limited time for only $0.99 from these fine retailers: 

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MJM6MNL

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/love-s-rescue-1

Apple Books: https://itunes.apple.com/book/id1451530079

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/loves-rescue-linda-shenton-matchett/1130382950?ean=9780998526546

Wartime Wednesday: Lucie Aubrac of the French Resistance

Wartime Wednesday: 

Lucie Aubrac of the French Resistance

As often mentioned, for my book research I read memoirs and autobiographies and watch interviews of oral history reports. Over and over again, I’m stunned by the stories of ordinary people performing extraordinary deeds.

One such person was Lucie Aubrac (nee Bernard), a bright woman who obtained the “aggrégation” in history, the most prestigious higher degree in France. She obtained a job teaching history at a school in Strasbourg. In 1939, she met and married Raymond Samuel, an engineer who had recently returned from a year abroad at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

After the Germans occupied the northern portion of France, the couple moved south to Lyon. Recruited by journalist Emmanuel d’Astier de la Vigerie, Lucie joined the resistance movement in Free France and with her husband was one of the four founders of Libération-Sud (Liberation-South). The following year, the group performed two sabotage attacks at train stations in Perpignan and Cannes. Shortly thereafter, they distributed 10,000 propaganda flyers, but one of the distributors was caught, leading to the arrest of d’Astier’s niece and uncle.

Libération-Sud decided to lie low, and perhaps this was when Lucie and Raymond decided to take on the nom de guerre Aubrac which they would retain after the end of the war.

It wasn’t long before the group was active again, one of their activities to create an underground newspaper, Libération. In May 1941, Lucie gave birth to her first child, and later stated that being the mother of a baby was an excellent cover to divert suspicion from the Germans. Her memoirs share an anecdote about a meeting between Samuel and de Gaulle’s envoy, Jean Moulin, in a Lyon public garden where her presence with the baby “proved particularly useful.”

Fast forward to March 1943. Samuel was arrested, so Lucie marched into the office of the local Vichy public prosecutor and managed to get him released. Two months later he was arrested again. This time, she went straight to the top and visited Klaus Barbie. She claimed to be Samuel’s fiancée, and that he had been caught as an innocent bystander. She asked to marry him because she was pregnant with their child. Barbie showed her the file of pictures he had on her, that included a photo of her with her first child, then threw her out of his office.

Days later, she made another attempt…this time with a lower level Nazi prosecutor who didn’t know about her conversation with Barbie. Later she would say, “This guy was a collaborator, and therefore, a coward. If I spoke louder than him, I was sure to win.” Whether it was her words or her bribe, he granted the request. After the ceremony, Lucie led armed Resistance members in an attack on the convoy of cars and rescued Samuel and fifteen other prisoners.

Needless to say, it was now time for Lucie and Samuel to go into hiding. It was a long eight months. They were not able to secure passage to London until February 1944. Three days later, Lucie gave birth to their daughter, Catherine.

In 1984, she published a semi-fictional version of her wartime diaries that would be made into a movie in 1997.