French Forces of the Interior (FFI)

French Forces of the Interior (FFI). "The Maquis". Taking its nickname from the Corsican expression for the underbrush outlaws hid in, the FFI was a loose alliance of French Resistance movements including, among others, Francs Tireurs et Partisans, Organisation Civile et Militaire, Libération-Nord, and Organisation de Résistance de l'Armée. Devoted to the harassment and eventual expulsion of the German occupation forces, the Maquis also worked actively against the Vichy government with the goal of placing Charles de Gaulle at the head of a provisional government. To hasten those eventualities, the FFI did all it could, directly and indirectly, to aid the Allied liberation of France. , , Sometimes independently and sometimes in coordination with other cells, Maquis guerrillas, in bands numbering fewer than a dozen to battalion strength, repeatedly interdicted German and collaborationist lines of communication ranging from telephone and telegraph wires to railroad tracks and bridges. They also ambushed supply convoys and troop movements as such targets of opportunity presented themselves. Over the long term, the erosive effects on morale of that sort of sustained harassment are obvious. In addition to engaging in regular harassment and interdiction of the enemy, the Maquis also ran an effective rescue-and-escape operation for downed Allied airmen. , , The FFI’s thorough collection and timely reporting of information contributed invaluably to the Allies planning, both day to day and long term. Renowned Maquis agent Gilbert Renault-Rouler (codenamed Rémy), though exceptional in his courage and productivity, was by no means unique. For example, another Maquis agent identified and plotted the deployment of the German defenders on a fifty-foot map that reached England some two months before D-Day. Indeed, as D-Day approached, the Allied Headquarters in England was receiving several thousand intelligence reports a month, some of them delivered by carrier pigeon, and nearly 4,000 came in during May of 1944. , , On D-Day and into the next week, the Breton Resistance, a lightly armed body of 20,000, deployed along the Brittany peninsula. Positioned to the south and west of Normandy, that force, inspired by Special Air Service (SAS) Commandant Pierre Bourgoin, blocked German reinforcements and protected the flank of the Allies inland advance. In Normandy, some 3,000 Maquis were active in the departments of Manche and Calvados. Armed with weapons air-dropped by the British Special Operations Executive, they responded to a system of open messages that disguised Allied orders to attack specific enemy targets. As the amphibious assault got underway, the Calvados Maquis were destroying eight bridges, cutting dozens of railroad lines, and disabling more than a hundred vehicles. Thus the French Forces of the Interior fought alongside their seaborne Allies in the early moments of the liberation of France. , , In tribute to the courageous, faithful, and selfless men and women who did their duty to free France. Given by Areva Inc., of Bethesda, Maryland and Lynchburg, Virginia.