Within the Shadows

After the partition of France, early in the 39-45 war, Churchill recognised that Vichy France would remain independent only as long as it suited the German High Command and was not convinced that De Gaulle's claim that all Frenchmen would rise up and resist either further encroachment or an Allied invasion

The action of this biography takes place in the high Auvergne. A very brave family running a typical bus terminus bar restaurant lost their only son, killed in a British air raid. His body was not found and they offered his identity to De Gaulle to be used in any way for defeating Germany

A suitable Englishman was recruited and trained by SOE. He was then successfully placed with his adoptive parents in a small town and acted as a liaison link with French resistance movements until the liberation. This is the story of Henri Dufour

After acceptance into the local community Henri played a key role in supplying all of the resistance needs in the Auvergne and surrounding areas before and after the Germans occupied Vichy France

When the Allies invaded the priority objective of the Auvergne resistance was to harass any South to North troop movement, or vice versa, through or to the West of the Auvergne

This is not just another War Story. Within the Shadows tells how life changed for the people of Vichy France and with those changes how the people changed their attitude to resistance. Henri's romantic involvement with his former teacher, his connivance in getting things done in spite of his orders are all detailed to lighten the story

By 1944 the Allies had created the possibility of the eventual invasion being in either the North or South. Accordingly the Germans had disposed large army Groups in both the North and South leaving the rapid movement of either to aid the other part of an essential strategy

When it became clear to the German command that the Allied landing in Normandy was the primary invasion their effort to move Army Group H from the area around Castres and Albi was hampered by resistance groups at Souillac, Brive, Tulle and Uzerche but so little delay could be achieved, in all only about three days

The delays provoked the SS General of Army Group H to take unbelievable retaliations against the civilian population culminating in the martyrdom of Oradour-sur-Glane