A Changing of Priorities

Both Roosevelt and Churchill had their own worries about each other. The Americans were fighting their own war in the Pacific against the Japanese, and Roosevelt feared that the British would pull out of the war if Hitler was defeated, leaving America to fight alone. Churchill feared that if he did not keep the Americans’ attention on Europe with a well-made plan, they would leave and focus their attention on the Pacific. growing resistance groups around the country. While they waited for their much-needed supplies, agents would teach rebels how to assemble and clean machine guns as well as load a pistol within the many cafes in France. Cafes provided a sense of safety and disguise as they were crowded throughout the day, and the employees and barmen would signal those in the circuit if any trouble was coming by. In Paris, Andrée, Francis, and Gilbert Norman (one of the only radio operators in the area) would often gather in these cafes and worked as an almost inseparable group—they liked and trusted each other with their lives. In Poitiers, Lise worked alone to recruit and train rebels— hosting many parties and using her social life as an excuse if questioned for talking to so many people. Poitiers was relatively safe, so when Lise got bored, she traveled to Paris to meet up with her friend Andrée for a chat or to give or collect information, or to Bordeaux to see her brother, Claude. Even on her own, she made good use of her time to receive agents dropping into France, procure contacts and safe houses, and arrange for guides across the northsouth militarized border that stayed in place even after Hitler had fully taken over France.

A little more than a year after the bombing at Pearl Harbor, the Americans had arrived in northern Africa. British troops had been fighting for years at this point and were fatigued, American troops on the other hand were ready to fight, but the new recruits lacked the combat experience necessary to win the war. Operation Torch, a battle to take the French colonies and the Mediterranean Sea out of the control of the Nazis, was an offensive to open up a southern shipping route to supply the Soviet Army as well as an access point to the Suez Canal which would allow the Allies to stop the Japanese from joining up with the Germans. The combined British and American forces quickly won against Hitler’s troops, and France was given hope for a future free from the control of the Reich. Two birds were downed with one stone: the Allies had secured their first major victory, and the Americans were now combat ready.

President Roosevelt met with Prime Minister Churchill along with their highest-ranking commanders to discuss the specifics of the D-Day plan. They had to invade soon, or Hitler would have another year to build his Atlantic Wall; and if the Soviets were allowed to advance into Germany, the current dictator would just be replaced with another. The details were argued over to an intense degree: where in France was best to invade from, the number of troops needed and the logistics of the supplies needed to sustain them, the need for an air campaign to cripple German supplies and morale. Once the strategy was decided, a crucial element had to be taken care of in order for the Allies to be successful: German reinforcements needed to be halted or stopped altogether from coordinating and reaching the frontlines.

De Gaulle had been assisting the coordination of agents and rebels in France from Britain, but there was only so much he could do without leading from

within. Jean Moulin was sent into France as his personal emissary to organize the efforts of the rapidly growing and diverse resistance groups and unite them under his command. At this point, groups (in addition to SOE agents) consisted of manual laborers, socialists, Communists, ex-military, police, Jews, peasants, and students (many of which were in their teens). The Bangs were no longer a priority; as D-Day grew closer, large-scale, heavier attacks to the Nazis were of utmost importance.

In early spring of 1943, Gilbert Norman coordinated one such attack that would take place on the power stations in the town of Chaingy. “Whereas coal-driven engines were still used on the national north-to-south railway, the routes bisecting the country from the Atlantic coast to the Alps were electrified, and therefore vulnerable. The two thousand miles of high-voltage track were a perfect target for the Firm’s sabotage operations. The plan was to cut off power at the source, at the stations, with a series of explosions” (Rose 144). While they would most likely be rebuilt within a day or two, disruption of the coordination of war supplies and manpower reaching all parts of the Reich would deal a devastating blow to their plans. The trains carrying the food that would feed the French populace would remain unharmed; it was important to make sure they did not turn against the resistance.

A total of eight teams including those led by Andrée and Gilbert themselves would destroy 27 power stations carrying 300,000 volts each. Agents had

(below) Andrée and her partner setting the bombs at their designated towers. Pliers were used to cut two small copper cylinders that held an acid, that acid would slowly corrode a springloaded lead wire connected to a striking pin which would set off the bomb.