The D-Day War Diaries: French Resistance and the Special Operations Executive

The SOE was the SIS (Secret Intelligence Service) based at St Ermin’s Hotel in London and then when Major-General Gubbins was appointed it moved to Baker Street in London. The SOE was split into various departments. F Section was responsible for France under Colonel Buckmaster. He recruited agents from the Women’s Nursing Auxiliary (FANY – First Aid Nursing Yeomanry), who knew France and could fit into the landscape. Training took place in Britain. The book documents all the SOE establishment, all the agents and operations conducted and the outcome of the agents and joint operations with the Maquis. The French Resistance was not organised until Jean Moulin who was originally in the French Government got to England and was then parachuted back into France to organise the eight separate organisations under the FFI (French Forces of the Interior) banner. Moulin was betrayed and arrested and then executed. A lot of the operations conducted are documented with photographs. Without all this activity the D-Day landings would not have been successful.