The Riviera at War: World War II on the Cote D'Azur by George G. Kundahl
The Riviera at War: World War II on the Cote D'Azur by George G. Kundahl
During World War II three distinct forces opposed the Allies -- Germany, Italy, and Japan. Few areas of the world experienced domination by more than a single one of these, but southeastern France -- notably the South of the Riviera (the Cote d'Azur) -- was one. The Riviera at War presents the panoply of wartime experiences in southeastern France under Marechal Petain's government in Vichy and the Italian and German occupations that followed.
In early 1942, the British began inserting special agents by boat, parachute, and small aircraft to equip and train a French resistance. The desolate terrain behind the Mediterranean coast sheltered more fugitives than any other area of France. Small isolated camps (or maquis) attracted Jews, Freemasons, communists, gypsies, deserters from the Wehrmacht, and other foreign nationals. A forced labor program sending French workers to factories in Germany drove more dissenters into the hills to join the resistance.
The Cote d'Azur also became the destination for Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution across Europe, especially when the Italians occupied southeastern France. More than 50,000 Jews sought refuge there during the war years, leading to a series of tragic deportations once the Gestapo gained control.
The Allies landed on the Riviera in August 1944. An amphibious operation unfolded, second in size only to Normandy, with 850 ships transporting three American infantry divisions and a French army with two armored and five infantry divisions. At the same time, Allied aircraft delivered parachutists and artillery pieces in gliders to drop zones behind the coast. With the help of the Resistance, both urban and rural, the Allies liberated the Riviera and its back-country while the French army freed Marseille and Toulon.
Yet the Riviera was not completely free from hostilities until April 1945, as German artillery on an Alpine peak continued daily barrages until two weeks before Berlin surrendered.
In this book, George G. Kundahl provides the first comprehensive narrative of wartime experiences on the French Riviera, covering military, political, and social aspects. Using a wide variety of original sources, including interviews and previously unseen documents, he shows how the brutal realities of war were experienced in one of the most beautiful corners of France.
I.B. Tauris, Hardcover, 1st Edition, 2017
THIS IS A USED BOOK IN "AS NEW" CONDITION. THE DUSTWRAPPER IS ALSO IN "AS NEW" CONDITION. THERE IS A SMALL BUMP ON THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE FRONT COVER.