Patton's Secret Army of French Resistance Fighters

Patton's Secret Army of French Resistance Fighters

“Special mention must be made of the great assistance given to us by the F.F.I. (French Resistance) in reducing Brittany.” — General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, Report to the Combined Chiefs of Staff (1946). This book tells the fascinating true history of how General George S. Patton, Jr. took command of 30,000 French Resistance fighters during World War II while liberating France's Brittany Peninsula. Patton, one of the greatest generals of all time and master of armored warfare , boldly sent his tanks far behind enemy lines into the unknown ; exactly where the French Resistance had been operating and surviving for years. The military partnership between the U.S. Army and the French Resistance was extensive and highly organized. American officers in the 11th Special Forces Detachment were responsible for leading the French Resistance operating near the Third Army. The American and British secret services sent elite teams, known as Jedburgh teams, into occupied France to contact, organize, and train French Resistance fighters. They parachuted near French Resistance bases and carried a long-range radio to contact Allied headquarters in London. Once contact was established, Allied bomber planes carried crates filled with weapons and supplies to the hidden French Resistance bases, and the crates were then dropped by parachute to the French Resistance fighters. The Resistance was made up largely of civilians, both men and women, from all walks of life, including farmers, factory workers, fishermen, doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, and former soldiers. All the major Resistance groups in France united to form a single front known as the French Forces of the Interior (FFI). The FFI was the official military designation used by the U.S. Army for the French Resistance. When Patton's forces arrived in Brittany, FFI fighters emerged from hiding to support the American troops and tanks. The FFI served as guides, gathered critical intelligence, protected tanks, secured vital roads and bridges, fought German forces, and guarded prisoners of war. As the campaign progressed, Patton assigned increasingly complex and important missions to the Resistance as they consistently proved their value. Generals under his command even formed joint task forces composed of American troops and French Resistance fighters to take on difficult operations. The Battle for Brest was the largest battle won by the U.S. Army in Brittany. One of the American units who fought in the battle, Colonel James E. Rudder’s 2nd Ranger Battalion , best known for storming the Point-du Hoc using grappling hooks on D-Day, formed a joint task force with the FFI at Brest. This task force was called on to take out enemy forts on the coast. Together, the Rangers and the FFI overcame these enemy strongholds. The information in this book is drawn directly from the Service historique de la Défense, located in the Château de Vincennes (France's military archives), and the Archives nationales located in Paris. Official U.S. Army documents, battle reports, and firsthand testimony were also consulted and analyzed to present a full and thorough historical analysis of the partnership between the U.S. Army and the French Resistance. The shared hardship of battle formed unbreakable bonds among many of the Americans and the French.This extraordinary, effective, and often-overlooked military alliance is brought to life from beginning to end in this powerful account. “In no previous war, and in no other theater during the war, have Resistance forces been so closely harnessed to the main military effort.” — General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, OSS Reports Office report on Jedburghs , 1945