During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Oisans L'Oisans () is a region in the French Alps, located in the départements of l'Isère and Hautes-Alpes, and corresponding to the drainage basin of the River Romanche and its tributaries (Eau d'Olle, Lignarre, Sarenne, Vénéon and Ferrand). Betw ...

maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The network ...

was an important center for the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

, in the

region between the

Belledonne Belledonne (french: link=no, La chaine de Belledonne, ) is a mountain range (french: link=no, massif) in the Dauphiné Alps (part of the French Alps) in southeast France. The southern end of the range forms the eastern wall of the mountains th ...

range and

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

to the north, the ' massif of the Alps and the Croix de Fer pass to the east, the Drac valley to the west and the

Barre des Écrins The Barre des Écrins () is a mountain in the French Alps with a peak elevation of . It is the highest peak of the Massif des Écrins and the Dauphiné Alps and the most southerly alpine peak in Europe that is higher than 4,000 metres. It is the ...

and the Provencal Alps to the south. Oisans contains and follows the

Romanche The Romanche () is a long mountain river in southeastern France. It is a right tributary of the Drac, which is itself a tributary of the Isère. Its drainage basin is .Romanche The Romanche () is a long mountain river in southeastern France. It is a right tributary of the Drac, which is itself a tributary of the Isère. Its drainage basin is .Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, it contains one of the few roads between the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

that allow traffic to flow towards Italy. Anticipating an Allied landing in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, the German army wanted to keep this route open as a path of retreat to Italy . In addition, they needed to ensure the supply of

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

and

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

from the "Lower Romansh" to Germany. The Oisans and its roads were thus doubly strategic for the Germans, as soon as they occupied the

south of France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', A ...

. The Oisans maquis, from November 1943 onwards, coordinated the Resistance within the city of

as well as in the mountains, the only group in the historic region of the

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

(and perhaps in all of France) responsible for both urban and mountain combat.

Start

On 22 June 1940, the French government signed the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

. Certain officers or military cadres continued fighting, forming troops and Resistance groups. This was the case of Lieutenant André Lespiau: after having been ordered to the 9th Colonial Towed Artillery Regiment (''9e régiment d’artillerie coloniale tractée'') for his conduct at fire in June 1940, he joined the head office of the Colonial Troops in

Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 54,458. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north of ...

, then joined the

Armée Secrète The armée secrète was a French military organization active during World War II. The collective grouped the paramilitary formations of the three most important Gaullist resistance movements in the southern zone. History In mid-1942, in t ...

(Secret Army) in the

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

. There, he was christened "Lanvin". He would later become famous as "captain" of about 1,500 men of the Oisans maquis. From the end of November 1942 on, the ranks of the ''maquis'' swelled with the introduction of the

Service du Travail Obligatoire The ' ( en, Compulsory Work Service; STO) was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II. The STO was created under law ...

(STO). Many young people went underground and took to the mountains to avoid forced labor in Nazi Germany. Captain André Lespiau was assigned to the Groupements Militaires d'Indigènes Coloniaux Rapatriables (GMICR) in

. Large Resistance groups formed in the Alps:

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

Haute-Savoie Haute-Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè d'Amont'' or ''Hiôta-Savouè''; en, Upper Savoy) or '; it, Alta Savoia. is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France, bordering both Switzerland and Italy. Its prefecture is ...

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; oc, Auts Aups; en, Upper Alps) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population of 141,220 ...

Alpes de Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence or sometimes abbreviated as AHP (; oc, Aups d'Auta Provença; ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the south, Vaucluse to the west, ...

. Lespiau was appointed in February 1943, to command the 14th Company of the 1st Sub-Group of the 1st GMICR in

Jarrie Jarrie () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit The urban unit of Grenoble (french: unité urbaine de Grenoble) is a French urban unit centred on the city of Grenoble. An urban unit ...

, Isère - neighbour to the 13th Company, in

Pont-de-Claix Le Pont-de-Claix (, literally ''The Bridge of Claix''; frp, Lo Pont-de-Cllês) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).General Delestraint (alias "Vidal"), then Alain Le Ray of the

French Forces of the Interior The French Forces of the Interior (french: Forces françaises de l'Intérieur) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation ...

). In Oisans, different groups united under Lanvin, to control the area ("Sector 1") from Grenoble to the gates of Savoy in the east and as far south as Lavaldens. Another maquis was responsible for the southern part of the Oisans region (called "Sector 5"), which overflowed into the Trièves (

Notre-Dame-de-Commiers Notre-Dame-de-Commiers () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Isère department The following is a list of the 512 Communes of France, communes in the French Departments of Fran ...

Monestier-de-Clermont Monestier-de-Clermont () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and terri ...

La Mure La Mure () is a commune in the Isère département in southeastern France. It is located south of Grenoble on the plateau Matheysin. Population Sights * The Chemin de fer de la Mure is a small touristic train using a railway initially bu ...

, Valbonnais).

Organisation

Led by a professional soldier, the Oisans maquis maintained a quasi-military structure. Its 1,526 men and women were divided into five "action" sections of 150 fighters each; the others carried out tasks such as supply, intelligence, surveillance, and maintenance.

1943

On December 20, at the Alma barracks in Grenoble, Captain Lespiau ("Lanvin") was given command of "Sector 1" of the Secret Army by Commander Sylvain, who had led the Grenoble Resistance until then. At the end of November 1943, the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

and the

Milice The ''Milice française'' (French Militia), generally called ''la Milice'' (literally ''the militia'') (), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy France, Vichy regime (with Nazi Germany, German aid) t ...

had dealt a ''coup de grâce'' to the Grenoble organisation by capturing its leaders. Three months later, André Lespiau was declared a "deserter" by his army officers. His father, Captain Paul Lespiau (a decorated veteran of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and member of the network) was arrested in reprisal and deported to

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

, where he died. Captain "Lanvin-Lespiau" was now completely underground. The Maquis de l'Oisans had at its service men and women of many different nationalities and origins. Lanvin was of

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

origin and had served in the colonial troops with

Indochinese Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

and

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

riflemen under his command. Among his recruits were Poles, Russians, Tunisians, Algerians, Spaniards, and others. "Oisans" also had a Catholic chaplain and a rabbi in its ranks.

1944

French Forces of the Interior hospital

In addition to its activities against the German and Militia forces, the ''Oisans'' maquis was responsible for the

hospital for all of the

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Robert Tissot, a doctor and soldier, to treat the maquis wounded; he himself brought 10kg of his own surgical equipment. At the beginning of August, after defeating the maquis of the Vercors and Glières (Savoy), the German 157th Division attempted to encircle Oisans, finish the maquis there, and free the critical road to Italy. This manoeuvre forced the hospital and its patients to flee to higher ground, erasing all trace of their passage in the chalet and the village of Alpe d'Huez, while the para-military groups organised the counter-attack. Two groups were evacuated: on the one hand, the most able-bodied patients and some of the medical staff hid in the forest; on the other, the seriously wounded (including two amputees) left with the rest of the medical staff on 11 August at 11 am. Inhabitants made a hedge of honour to this fleeing column. The maquisards were assisted in this evacuation by 11 American soldiers, crew of a "

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

" which had crashed a few days earlier in the

and who had been taken by the maquis to this field hospital, since their pilot was wounded. The Americans carried stretchers, transported equipment, carried out reconnaissance missions and hid food and bandages. On the evening of 11 August 1944, the most seriously-wounded soldiers of the F.F.I. settled with their caretakers at l'Alpette, a few kilometres and 300 metres from the La Fare refuge in

Vaujany Vaujany () is a commune in the canton of Oisans-Romanche, in the Isère department in southeastern France. The village is picturesque, with excellent views of the Grand Galbert mountain at the head of the valley. Population Economy The hydroe ...

. The barns were used as treatment and restrooms. But on the 14th, while it was still dark, the makeshift hospital had to evacuate because German troops were getting dangerously close. The refuge was 300 m higher and it was impossible to transport the wounded on stretchers, since the terrain was so steep. The amputees were hidden in rocks at the bottom of this promontory, each with a caregiver. During the night of August 14 to 15, the F.F.I. fighters of "Mobile Group No. 4" arrived, under the command of Lieutenant Menton. They took up positions to the north and east of the Alpette, blocking the Germans' advance on their comrades. The battle lasted five to six hours and resulted in about 20 deaths on the German side and no casualties on the French side. The "battle of Grandes Rousses" remains as one of the rare victorious direct confrontations against the German army for the maquis, more accustomed to ambushes and isolated actions than to face-to-face battle. But, despite this victory, the pursuit by the Bavarian Alpine Hunters was not over and what remained of the Germans were determined to capture or kill the hospital team. On the morning of 15 August, the Germans spotted the wounded and the hospital staff at the La Fare hut; the group then set off again towards Lac La Fare, where they found a hut full of maquisards who had come from the north after fighting at the

Glandon Glandon (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. Inhabitants are known as ''Glandonais''. Geography Glandon lies Southeast of Périgord-Limousin National Regional Park and Sout ...

pass. With German troops having occupied the Romanche valley for four days now, there was only one way out for the patients and their companions: to go up towards the east. Without equipment and weapons, they hid for several days in a wall on the edge of the

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

, eating "Brun" ( fr) biscuits and a captured sheep that they devoured almost raw. For a few days, the Rajon shelter at Lac La Fare became the highest hospital in the world, at an altitude of 2,645 metres.

Epilogue

On 22 August 1944 at 5am, the "Groupe Franc d'

Uriage Uriage-les-Bains (or ''Uriage'') is a spa town in France, at above sea level. Uriage is attached to the communes of Saint-Martin-d'Uriage and Vaulnaveys-le-Haut and is located in the department of Isère, beneath the ski resort of Chamrous ...

" was the first unit of armed men to enter a liberated Grenoble, after the Germans fled in the night, and a few hours before the Americans also arrived. In the South Isère, the Germans had to surrender to the local Resistance (the "terrorists"), not to the

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

military, or to the allied American and British forces. On the same day, the mobile groups of the Oisans maquis joined up with the 1st battalion of the 143rd American infantry regiment in

Vizille Vizille (; frp, Veselye) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Sights Vizille is the home of the Musée de la Révolution française, a rich depository of archival and rare materials devoted to the French ...

. A short and intense battle took hundreds of German prisoners at the

Château de Vizille The Château de Vizille is a castle in the French town of Vizille near Grenoble. It is one of the most prestigious and important castles of the Dauphiné Region. Traditionally, from the 14th century, the Dauphiné was the homeland of the inherit ...

. At the end of August 1944, Oisans and Grenoble regained their freedom, but the war was not over. Numerous maquisards from the Oisans continued to fight, notably forming the 1st Colonial Infantry Battalion (1st B.I.C.) and the Colonial Artillery Group (''1er G.A.C.'') which distinguished themselves in the

Maurienne Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of France, provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. ...

fights. At the end of 1944, the 1st B.I.C. became the 11th Battalion of "Oisans" Alpine Hunters (11th B.C.A.) and the 1st ''G.A.C.'' became the 93rd Mountain Artillery Regiment (''93e R.A.M.''). Both covered themselves with glory at the Mont Froid battle in the

. The 93rd R.A.M. keeps a faithful memory of it. Other maquisards from the Oisans chose to join and fight in the

1st French Army The First Army (french: 1re Armée) was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War. First World War On mobilization in August 1914, General Auguste Dubail was put in the ch ...

led by General

Jean de Lattre de Tassigny Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French général d'armée during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952. As ...

Official recognition

In spite of its central role in the liberation of

and the Isère département, the Oisans maquis has little national and international renown, compared to the Vercors or the Savoie maquis, for example. The memory concerning it rarely goes beyond the communal or

departmental ''Departmental'' is a 1980 Australian TV movie based on a play by Mervyn Rutherford. It was part of the ABC's Australian Theatre Festival.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p43 Reviews were poor ...

scale. A monument to the dead of the Oisans maquis was built at

Livet-et-Gavet Livet-et-Gavet () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Geography Livet-et-Gavet is located in Oisans on the Romanche river, halfway between Grenoble and the winter sports resorts of The Alpe d'Huez and ...

, the ''Mémorial de l'Infernet''. A memorial plaque has been placed at the La Fare lake (Vaujany commune) with the following text: ''Dans ce modeste refuge et alentour séjourna au cours de l’été 1944, l’Hôpital Départemental des Forces Françaises de l’Intérieur qui, sous la direction de son médecin chef le docteur Robert TISSOT couvert par un groupe de protection maquisard, aidé par 11 hommes d’un équipage de l’U.S. Air Force, dû se replier sous la pression des Alpenjager de la 157ème Division Alpine Bavaroise. Après l’arrêt brutal de l’avance allemande par le groupe mobile n°4 du maquis de l’Oisans à la bataille des Grandes Rousses le 14 août 1944, la totalité des personnels et blessés de l’Hôpital purent regagner Grenoble libéré.'' Translated as: Several streets have been named "rue du Maquis de l'Oisans", notably in Vizille and

Bourg d'Oisans Le Bourg-d'Oisans () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is located in the Oisans region of the French Alps. Le Bourg-d'Oisans is located in the valley of the Romanche river, on the road from Grenoble to Briançon, a ...

Events

In 2014, the Palais des sports et des congrès de l'Alpe d'Huez hosted a temporary exhibition on the Oisans maquis.

Bibliography

* ''La Libération entre Alpes et Rhône'', Olivier Cogne, Éditions le Dauphiné libéré, Grenoble, 2014 ()

References

External pages

Alpe d'Huez TV documentary on the 2014 Alpe d'Huez exhibition
{{Portal bar, France, World War II French Maquis Isère French Alps