William Collins
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First published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2014
Copyright © Paddy Ashdown 2014
Maps by Harriet McDougall
Paddy Ashdown asserts his moral right to
be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
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Cover photographs © Musée départmental de la Résistance du Vercors, Vassieux-en-Vercors
Maps by Harriet McDougall
Source ISBN: 9780007520800
Ebook Edition © June 2014 ISBN: 9780007520824
Version: 2014-11-28
To the boy in the white shirt
In war, young men go out to die for old men’s dreams
Anon
CONTENTS
1 The Vercors before the Vercors
2 France from the Fall to 1943: Setting the Scene
7 Expectation, Nomadisation and Decapitation
8 Retreat, Retrenchment and Reconstruction
15 Weapons, Wirelesses, Air Drops and Codes
19 The First Five Days of June 1944
22 The First Battle of Saint-Nizier
23 The Second Battle of Saint-Nizier