Massacre at Vassieux-en-Vercors

On July 20, 1944, following several weeks of troops build-up, the Germans launched their attack on the newly proclaimed "Free Republic of Vercors". The next morning, the German 157.Reserve-Division, bolstered with Ukrainian troops from Eastern battalions, completely finished surrounding the …

1944-07-21

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On July 20, 1944, following several weeks of troops build-up, the Germans launched their attack on the newly proclaimed "Free Republic of Vercors". The next morning, the German 157.Reserve-Division, bolstered with Ukrainian troops from Eastern battalions, completely finished surrounding the Vercors Plateau, trapping the French Resistance in. By early morning, twenty gliders landed in the vicinity of Vassieux-en-Vercors, on a makeshift landing strip the Resistance was busy finishing. They did not contain the allied reinforcements the maquisards had hoped for though. Instead, SS troops stormed out of these gliders to seize Vassieux and the neighboring hamlets of La Mure, Jossaulx and Le Château, indiscriminately killing all they met - French Resistance and local inhabitants alike. Late in the day, French Resistance companies, coming to the rescue from other parts of the Plateau, attempted to encircle the enemy and wipe him out in a counter-attack, but failed due to a lack of heavy armament against the now well-entrenched SS troops.

Vassieux-en-Vercors, France

The Maquis du Vercors was a rural group of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) (maquis) that resisted the 1940–1944 German occupation of France in World War II. The Maquis du Vercors used the prominent scenic plateau known as the Massif du Vercors as a refuge. Initially the maquis carried out only sabotage and partisan operations against the Germans, but after the Normandy Invasion on 6 June 1944, the leadership of an army of about 4,000 maquis declared the "Free Republic of Vercors," raised the French flag, and attempted to create a conventional army to oppose the German occupation.

Wikipedia: Maquis du Vercors

German

French

Game Type: Standard

Board Type: Countryside

Website Access: Classified