Post by larryc1 on Sept 17, 2020 23:47:04 GMT
In July and August of 1944 French Forces of the Interior (FFI) initiated a campaign against the occupying German army. The Maquis, lightly armed, confronted the heavily armed German forces in a set-piece battle. This contradicts the cardinal rule of guerilla warfare and led to inevitable disaster.
This action played out on the Vercors Massif, a high plateau with good local support and remote from the Wermacht but not, unfortunately, from the Luftwaffe.
The Luftwaffe landed a number of troops by glider near the village of Vassieux and went on to invade and occupy the massif. By late August the Maquis had been defeated and were forced to disperse. Eight to ten thousand German troops had invaded the area and suffered minor losses. The French lost 659 maquis and 201 civilians.
Why did this happen? A series of inconsistent directives from the Allies combined with eagerness to fight following D-Day led to this debacle.
(The place markers contain information specific to the location.)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maquis_du_Vercors
www.resistance-drome.org/vercors.vassieux.operation.aeroportee.2.shtml
Vercors Massacre July - August 1944..kmz (3.04 KB)
This action played out on the Vercors Massif, a high plateau with good local support and remote from the Wermacht but not, unfortunately, from the Luftwaffe.
The Luftwaffe landed a number of troops by glider near the village of Vassieux and went on to invade and occupy the massif. By late August the Maquis had been defeated and were forced to disperse. Eight to ten thousand German troops had invaded the area and suffered minor losses. The French lost 659 maquis and 201 civilians.
Why did this happen? A series of inconsistent directives from the Allies combined with eagerness to fight following D-Day led to this debacle.
(The place markers contain information specific to the location.)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maquis_du_Vercors
www.resistance-drome.org/vercors.vassieux.operation.aeroportee.2.shtml
Vercors Massacre July - August 1944..kmz (3.04 KB)