Originally Posted by seaweed

In 1940, at vast cost in blood and ships, we rescued not only Percy Pongo but, at Churchill's insistence, thousands of Fr soldiers from Dunkirk. What proportion remained in England to carry on the fight? I have always understood that the majority went back to France.

If I remember from this book , the French Army personnel who were taken off by the Royal Navy during Op Dynamo were, for the most part , re-landed at their insistence in Western France in the belief that the fight would be continued......when the government in Paris surrendered, majority were subsequently shipped to POW cages in Germany .

De Gaulle ( as a cavalry Colonel ) was prominent amongst those who refused to accept his elected government's decision - and was condemned to death in absentia.

Three facets of French resistance that have always interested me are:

1. At the outbreak of WW2...Frances lack of resistance to the German invasion and subsequent pleas for help, which was answered by Britain.

2. The magnificent performance of the Free French Brigades in N.Africa, particularly their resistance of the Afrika Corps at Bir Hacheim as part of the British VIII Army.

3, Frances resistance to Britain joining the EEC in the 60s, and De Gaulle's treacherous vetoing of our application.

It would appear that France have never been able to resist the Germans in anything, unless Napoleon was involved of course, when strangely we supported our Tutonic bretherin. We have affected both their histories quite dramatically in one way or another. Which probably explains why they both despise us equally, and like nothing better than back stabbing Britain whenever possible...Or am i being unfair to both France and Germany???

Originally Posted by RhodieBKK

Also, worth reading is the dean of F-Section, M.R.D. Foot's, Resistance

Foot pillories Maurice Buckmaster's running of 'F' Section and in a sentence blames Buckmaster for the compromising of those agents easily collected up by the German agencies. Foot had access to the files, so who's to argue. It's just that he presents the case against Buckmaster as being too certain, even allowing for Foot's rather fey, Brian Sewell like manner in which he communicates information.

Buckmaster's involvement with the FTP (Francs Tireurs et Partisans) the Communist element as well as MI6's battles to keep the 'zeal without knowledge gang' (SOE) within certain agent boundaries in France didn't do him many favours. Despite the post war baubles, Buckmaster shuffled off to an oblivion having been made to feel the blame for everything that was wrong in 'F' Section. He features in 'The Sorrow and the Pity'.

I shared a room with his son on an SOE commemoration trip to Valancy. Allowing for his advanced age, he's still determined to 'clear' his father's name, God Bless him.

Originally Posted by Alec_Lomas

Foot pillories Maurice Buckmaster's running of 'F' Section and in a sentence blames Buckmaster for the compromising of those agents easily collected up by the German agencies. Foot had access to the files, so who's to argue. It's just that he presents the case against Buckmaster as being too certain, even allowing for Foot's rather fey, Brian Sewell like manner in which he communicates information.

Buckmaster's involvement with the FTP (Francs Tireurs et Partisans) the Communist element as well as MI6's battles to keep the 'zeal without knowledge gang' (SOE) within certain agent boundaries in France didn't do him many favours. Despite the post war baubles, Buckmaster shuffled off to an oblivion having been made to feel the blame for everything that was wrong in 'F' Section. He features in 'The Sorrow and the Pity'.

I shared a room with his son on an SOE commemoration trip to Valancy. Allowing for his advanced age, he's still determined to 'clear' his father's name, God Bless him.

Interesting, and am sorry to read this as MRD always impressed went met, but by that time he was the gatekeeper of the history. It appears to be yet another F-Section personality clash that were always prevalent at No.8 HC.
Was Foot's allegations the reason for the withdrawal of the official F-Section history in the 1960s?
I have the original copy, but was told that it was only two or three offensive sentences that caused the recall & pulping.
In spite of the allegations you site, which I have not come across before, I have never heard an ill-word spoken about the gallant Colonel Maurice. The sainted Vera always spoke of him with reverence and great fondness.
Nonetheless, I do hold that Foot has probably had the best overview on F-Section and factionalism amongst the various Resistance groups.
Would be interested in hearing your views further on this.

Originally Posted by TalaveraTom

Three facets of French resistance that have always interested me are:

1. At the outbreak of WW2...Frances lack of resistance to the German invasion and subsequent pleas for help, which was answered by Britain...

You might want to remind yourself of the sequence of events. In very brief summary, Allies Britain and France declared war on Germany as a result of its refusal to withdraw from its invasion of their ally, Poland. If land forces were to be engaged it was obvious that the main engagement would be in the general area between France and Germany, as in 1914, and that is why British land forces were deployed well before the German invasion of the Low Countries.

Casualty figures vary, but maybe 85,000 French military dead in that short but bloody campaign. French national morale did largely collapse following the success of the blitzkrieg, but "lack of resistance" seems an inadequate description.

Originally Posted by Old Nig

Scary how close we came, how would we have dealt with occupation I wonder?

The Channel Islands give a pretty good idea....

Records released this week by the Public Records Office suggest that as many as 900 babies of German fathers were born to Jersey women during the occupation. The fierce denials of this fact in Jersey show that 50 years on, some wounds have not yet healed.

How Jersey's Nazi children disappeared - News - The Independent

Have to agree with Fantassin's comments. îles Anglo-Normandes is not a good place to start enquiring about resistance movements and the like. The locals get a bit touchy and apprehensive, as if there is something to hide.

Originally Posted by fantassin

Records released this week by the Public Records Office suggest that as many as 900 babies of German fathers were born to Jersey women during the occupation.

No mention of that in the museum, oddly enough.

of course there's a perfectly rational explanation why fantassin missed this bit

Jersey residents say the figure of 900 is "ludicrous" and cite a figure of 174 births for the whole occupation period.

I mean the number could have been as high as three million......

Originally Posted by Maple

I mean the number could have been as high as three million......

Having a slight problem getting my head round the numbers!!! Are you suggesting the Germans were trying to turn îles Anglo-Normandes into the world's largest penguin colony?