'Without the networks of the French Resistance, the invasion would not have been possible'
Major General Walter Bedell Smith, Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Days after France fell in June 1940, Charles de Gaulle appointed André Dewavrin to create, from scratch, the Free French Intelligence Service.
Recruiting agents among the sailors, farmers, painters, housewives and children of Occupied France, he managed cells of spies across the country, and focused their attention on one goal: preparing for the Allied invasion of France, even at the risk of torture and death.
Hitler's fortifications along the European coastline - known as the Atlantic Wall - were their target. Gun battery locations, troop movements, and more... All this information was funnelled back to the Allies by a network of brave individuals, creating a living map that became essential to the planning of D-Day, and the selection of Normandy as the invasion point.
Using a wealth of material both published and unpublished, including interviews with Dewavrin and de Gaulle himself, Collier has produced an authentic record of one of the most remarkable episodes of the Second World War; a human story of a group of ordinary people whose faith paved the way for Eisenhower's great sweep across Europe. Perfect for readers of Antony Beevor and Max Hastings.