Conférence : "Juin-Août 1944. Résistance et Libération dans le Var et en Provence"

Historical lecture presented by Jean-Marie GUILLON, Emeritus Professor of History at Marseille-Aix University.
Organised by the Patrimoine Tropézien association. When we talk about the D-Day landings in France, we think first and foremost of the Normandy landings. When we talk about the Provence landings, we think first and foremost of the Americans. The Resistance is all too rarely mentioned.

However, the Resistance in Provence played a very important role in the preparation and conduct of the landings and in the liberation of Provence.

The Resistance provided the Allies with precise information on the organisation of the occupying forces. It went into action at the time of the landings, harassing the enemy and sometimes preceding the Allies in the liberation of communes. It guided the Allied troops and fought alongside them.

Finally, many Resistance fighters joined the Régiment des Maures and took part in the battles to liberate France. It was during the period from June to August 1944 that the Resistance suffered its heaviest losses.

In his memoirs published in 1949, General Eisenhower estimated that the Resistance throughout the country had played a decisive role in the liberation of France, and valued its action at that of 15 divisions.