Maquis du Haut-du-Bois
Encyclopedia
The Maquis du Haut-du-Bois, also known as the Maquis d'Éloyes, was a combat unit of the French forces of the interior
within the Maquis des Vosges
. The unit made a large contribution towards liberating the Éloyes region. Armed operations by the maquisards were supported by regular distributions of tracts
and newspapers calling out to the resistance.
The testimony of Étienne Pierrat (honorary mayor), who was 19 years old at the time, was published in the La Liberté de l’Est daily on 8 September 1995, helping to understand the circumstances in which the Nazis' encirclement of the maquisards played out. That a large portion of the resistance fighters managed to barely escape the German assault was thanks to the sacrifice of several among them who stayed at their position to face the attackers and allow their comrades to disperse towards Hauts de Tendon
.
, whose were all very young. Weapons initially came from "cachettes" maintained since 1940
. Some weapons recovery missions from German depots, stationary trains and from the Pouxeux
barracks, or from the Kaiser (Wallach) factory allowed the equipment of part of the force.
The group met at Idoux's place (the café du Cinéma), Pierrat's place, the tinsmith, and in other places, particularly at the initiative of Pierre Bédel, head of the boys' school. Some met at Mrs. Mougel's place, who was known as Grande Yvonne and was the tenant proprietor at a café at Arches
. All answered "present" when the BBC radio
from London
broadcast the message "Croissez roseaux, bruissez feuillages, je porterai l'églantine" (Grow, you reeds, rustle, you leaves, I will bring the wild rose).
The group built itself up and reached about thirty men through the addition of fighters from neighbouring villages. The
Maquis d'Éloyes was created in Haut-du-Bois, in the commune of Xamontarupt
, as part of the 2nd Vosges formation. Its first leader was Lieutenant Romann, a former policeman. The parachute drop location of l'Aclimont, just nearby, was approved by London under the codename "Roitelet".
A tented camp with parachutes allowed men to be accommodated. Supplies were acquired from "collaborators" (or people presumed to be such). A baker in Éloyes provided bread, while the miller, Hocquaux, supplied dough. In such a time of want, this nonetheless allowed for a sufficient diet.
While guards made sure of short-range defense, long-range protection was not adequate. The constant coming and going of many people and vehicles interfered with the secrecy of the operation, and discipline in general lacked rigor.
Missions followed. An initial exchange took place at the Croix Bouquot, not far from the maquis, between an FFI patrol and a small German detachment whose members were resting in Éloyes. The leader gave the order to pull back because their weaponry was not sufficient.
The first parachute drop
took place at Arches on 2 August 1944. The code was "le chêne" (oak) and the personal message was "Le coq mange des noisettes" (the rooster is eating hazelnuts). It was to arm Épinal.
On 26 August 1944, the maquis fighters of Haut du Bois received their own first parachute drop. It was containers with grenades, machine guns, machine pistols and rifles with the appropriate ammunition
. The personal message was "Le soleil à rendez-vous avec la lune" (the sun has a meeting with the moon). Three lights in a triangle and one sudden light on the right-hand side was the signal for the release of the parachute.
On 28 August 1944, the thirty or so members of the maquis led by adjutant Munch carried out an ambush just before the Tendon falls. The aim was to rescue prisoners who were being transferred to Germany. After a few gunshots, the FFI were compelled to retreat due to the Germans' superior numbers.
The only weapons deliveries were where the "Jedburghs" were parachuted under Operation Jedburgh
. These last "Jeds" were groups of three men: A British liaison officer
, a French officer and an English non-commissioned officer
, charged with radio links. Parachuted from mid-August 1944, their missions were to support or coordinate and encourage FFI operations. It was in this fashion that a French-British mission composed of British Major Oliver Brown, French Captain René Karrière, and English radio Sergeant Schmich was parachuted in near Rambervillers
. Hubert Hocquaux went to look for them on foot and led them through the woodland before leaving them secretly in the mill
of his cousine Marcel Hocquaux on the evening of 31 August 1944.
After the parachutists set up in Hocquaux' mill, Captain Karrière made immediate contact with the liberators. Thence he pursued his activities coordinating FFI operations and linking up with the Americans. Major Brown did the same from the farm where he had been hidden for several days. The third member of the team, Radio-Sergeant Schmith, was already with the Americans, at the house of Gustave Mathieu at Chaud Côté. At the times of the Maquis' attack he had gone to this place to pursue his duties of contacting London by radio in a more secure environment. While he was hidden in the house's attic, Germans, not knowing he was there, entered the farm to dump their supplies. Despite the danger, the Mathieu family took charge of helping him get away to the forest, all the time continuing to provide him with food.
The resistance fighters acted from their various bases: the Hocquaux mill, Idoux's café du Cinéma and Pierrat the tinsmiths put themelves immediately at the disposal of the liberators to serve as guides.
During the night of 8-9 September 1944, a second parachute drop with the same code and personal message as the first, brought 150 grenades, 11 Sten automatic pistols, 9 rifles, 250 individual dressings and some clothing. This, however, was not enough to arm the whole FFI. More and more escapees from the Service du Travail Obligatoire
were arriving from Éloyes and neighbouring communes; some were in fairly well-armed units such as the Golbey group and the "thirty" from the Val-d'Ajol. The operatives surpassed 300 men; the new head of the Maquis, Henri Perrin d'Épinal, known as "Achille", decided to send home a certain number of them who had no weapons.
, interrogated
and held in the former post office
building near the hospice. He was freed the same evening. Lieutenant Romann, head of the first "hundred" was likewise away from the maquis since he had left the camp beforehand with an overarmed group.
Resistance members ("about a hundred") who had just received a second package of light weapons, were present on the maquis. In their leader's absence, Lieutenant Girod had taken command. For effective defence, he had a machine-gun set towards the north of the camp, and another above the Ruxelier stream gorge, to control the routes leading towards Cheniménil
et Jarménil
. A third machine gun was hidden at the source of the Ruxelier.
Similar positions were taken in the direction of Eloyes by Lieutenant Scheider, and towards the east by Lieutenant Gaillot. Meanwhile Sub-lieutenant Villemin and adjudant Pierson ensured the evacuation of the remaining unarmed maquisards toward Purifaing in good order. At about 11 o'clock, Mrs Alexandre née Hocquaux of Jarménil went to the maquis to warn the fighters that the enemy was arriving. A German battalion manned by SS
troops had been deploying since dawn in Eloyes, Cheniménil et Jarménil. From these bases they were besieging the Haut-du-bois plateau with trucks and two troop transport tankette
s.
The attack began at midday in the Ruxelier gorge, which the Germans approached by crawling up each side. The fighting was fierce but clearly unequal, although a German tankette was destroyed. Lieutenant Girod stood in front of the defenses, and was hit by a bullet
in the scapula
, two in the calf
, and by a grenade
blast in the right thigh
. His comrades evacuated, and he was later cared for at the hospital
in Remiremont.
The maquisards were obliged to fall back under German pressure and having sustained losses of dead and injured, but not before destroying the ammunition dump
. The order of retreat given by adjudant Munch saved the life of many FFI fighters who managed to get away, with about 20 injured, towards the Fossard massif, getting through across the German block which was set up on the road leading to the Hocuaux mill at la Bisoire.
They left behind 10 dead, namely Marcel Bolmont, Émile Deschaseaux (Val d'Ajol), Paul Dufour (Eloyes), André Lacuve, René Legrand, César Remy, Alphonse Rost, Marcel Valentin (Archettes), Christian Lhoner (Remiremont) et Jean Schneider (Arches). At the same time, Paul Dufour's father, Louis Dufour, was shot at Jarménil.
In the afternoon, allied aircraft, who had been warned by the Franco-British liaison group's English radio sergeant, arrived at base in Saint-Dizier. In two passes to flush the trees in the direction of Eloyes-Jarménil, they strafed the German troops, who sustained heavy losses, apparently over a hundred dead and two hundred wounded.
After the attack, the thirty or so maquis fighters stayed together in a dedicated unit and continued their action. Part of this group fell at Ménafaing. Other awaited the Americans on the banks of the Moselle
or towards Dounoux
and Xertigny
. Many of the Haut-du-Bois fighters pursued the struggle in the French Army
until the end of the war.
On Saturday 23 September 1944, Eloyes was liberated by the 143rd regiment of the United States infantry
, commanded by Colonel Paul D. Adams
.
. As a result of a misunderstanding, an officer from the 143rd who was in Éloyes asked an NCO of the maquis for FFI reinforcements. They were to plug a hole in the Fossard system with all available forces, judged to be about 20 men. A group of poorly trained and lightly armed resistance fighters was formed immediately. A GMC truck brought them towards the Fossard Massif via the Chênes et la Suche road. The men dismounted from the truck at Chaud Côté in front of the Gustave Mathieu farm, and some among them asked the son of the house, Georges (22ans), to join them. Georges Mathieu had just returned from a long mission guiding Americans towards Tendon, and hoping to eat something first, declined.
Without waiting for him, the fighters set off on the misison. Their march through the forest passed without difficulty. At a certain point, the group separated in two, with one team continuing through the forest along the brook, while the other aimed to make more rapid progress.
For this group, the path took them out of cover, into the long sloping meadow which led to the Perrin farm in Ménafaing. A German machine gun squad, which had moved in recently after the partial and temporary retreat of an American unit, had the opportunity to observe the group approach at their leisure. The Perrin family, whose cellar was being occupied, was composed of the mother, Louise, and some children including the 10-year-old Jean-Marie. A neighbour, Mrs. Ancel née Thomas was with them. Lucien Perrin was in the Mathieu farm at Chaud Côté.
Unsuspectingly, the maquis passed by the farm. At the moment when they were about to reach the edge of the wood through a hollow and re-enter cover, they were mowed down in a hail of machine gun bullets at point-blank range. Some were killed on the spot, while others who were wounded were subsequently finished off with a pistol shot to the neck. One man alone, Jules Hingray, despite being hit, managed to escape the killing by hiding behind a rock and feigning death. He stayed there for 24 hours without aid.
Learning that the patrol was in difficulty, the Americans gave a barrage of covering fire allowing them to fall back, although not to recover the dead and injured. A shell set fire to the hangar of the farm. The other team managed to shelter from enemy fire. Seven FFI were killed in all:
Maurice Nurdin, Marcel Bichotte (of Arches), Raymond Varoy (of Pouxeux), André Bosselmeyer, Louis Trinquart, Robert Cipollini and Ernest Pierre (of Eloyes). One of the victims, le FFI fighter Robert Cippollini aged 34, was the uncle of Colonel Pierre Aiguier-Cipollini.
The Germans passed the night in the farm, and evacuated the following morning. By the end of the afternoon of 26 September, calm had returned, and civilians overheard the cries of Hingray, who had been hit in the legs. He was transported to the house in a wheelbarrow
. Lucien Perrin, who had returned to his farm, drove Hingray in a cow truck towards Mathieu's farm at Chaud Côté, where he received care from a US Army medic before being evacuated to hospital. The FFI agents were warned and Perrain took on the task of bringing down the bloodied corpses to Eloyes through heavy rain on his plate carriage, drawn by two ox
en. The municipality set up a chapelle ardente at the mairie, where the comrades of the seven dead watched over their remains. In the midst of the confusion which reigned, the dead were put in their bier along with their equipment and with ammunition in their magazines.
On Friday 28 September 1944 at 10am, Father Gerrard, the curate
of Eloyes, celebrated a funeral
service in the village church, with significant attendance. It was a long and very emotional ceremony. Members of the American Staff and numerous FFI were present, with their head René Matz ("Commandant Didier"), the departmental FFI leader. Lieutenant Romann, first head of the Eloyes maquis, gave the deceased a vibrant elegy.
The next day, the 29 September, Lieutenant Romann was killed in a car incident at "Trou Vauthier" in unclear circumstances.
On Monday 2 October 1944, a ceremony took place at the church for the dead of the maquis du Haut-du-Bois and others who were shot at Jarménil. A detachment of FFI gave the honours. People present included Mr. Parisot, prefect of Vosges, the gendarmerie
captain Gonsard de Remiremont, Lieutenant Fleurot, and Commandant Didier.
Regarding those shot at Jarménil, the wife of Haut-du-Bois fighter Maurice Grosdemange from Archettes indicated that four men died there the same day. Mr Grosdemange would have cleaned the faces of his comrades at the age of 20.
. Blaise had made contact with the resistance to ensure that circulation of these papers in St-Étienne-lès-Remiremont.
The various Maquis des Vosges
paid a heavy price in the fight against the Germans and their allies. The seven men of the shooting at Ménafaing on 23 September 1944 in the Éloyes, were also members of the Maquis du Haut-du-Bois. An annual commemoration is planned each year; in 2008 the event took place on Sunday September 21.
Remiremont and Épinal were liberated on 23 and 24 September 1944, followed by Saint-Étienne-lès-Remiremont on 25 September, by the United States Seventh Army.
A stele recalls the maquis dead, and a yearly tribute is held towards the beginning of September.
French Forces of the Interior
The French Forces of the Interior refers to 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 of these groups to FFI occurred as France's status changed from that of an occupied nation...
within the Maquis des Vosges
Maquis des Vosges
The Maquis des Vosges were groups of French resistance fighters in the Department of the Vosges during the Second World War. They were associated through an amalgamation of different resistance groups roughly when the Conseil national de la Résistance was created on 27 May 1943...
. The unit made a large contribution towards liberating the Éloyes region. Armed operations by the maquisards were supported by regular distributions of tracts
Tract (literature)
A tract is a literary work, and in current usage, usually religious in nature. The notion of what constitutes a tract has changed over time. By the early part of the 21st century, these meant small pamphlets used for religious and political purposes, though far more often the former. They are...
and newspapers calling out to the resistance.
Testimonies
A commemorative postcard from the banque numérique d’images de Lorraine illustrates the tragic events of 9 September 1944. The last survivors of the maquis were allowed to draw up a definitive list of the maquisards.The testimony of Étienne Pierrat (honorary mayor), who was 19 years old at the time, was published in the La Liberté de l’Est daily on 8 September 1995, helping to understand the circumstances in which the Nazis' encirclement of the maquisards played out. That a large portion of the resistance fighters managed to barely escape the German assault was thanks to the sacrifice of several among them who stayed at their position to face the attackers and allow their comrades to disperse towards Hauts de Tendon
Tendon, Vosges
Tendon is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France. Its inhabitants are known as Todas.-Geography:Tendon is a comune in the heart of a long valley, composed of a village and about 60 settlements. Situated 19 kilometres to the East of Épinal, Tendon lies in the valley of...
.
History of the Maquis
This passage, completed by Colonel Pierre Aiguier of Éloyes, resulted in the collection of information on witnesses of that time and both published and unpublished documents.First operations led at Éloyes
From February 1944, Hubert Hocquaux (23 years old), known as "Grizzli", organized the first meetings and formed a resistance group at ÉloyesÉloyes
Éloyes is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-References:*...
, whose were all very young. Weapons initially came from "cachettes" maintained since 1940
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
. Some weapons recovery missions from German depots, stationary trains and from the Pouxeux
Pouxeux
Pouxeux is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Inhabitants are called Pexéens.-Geography:Pouxeux lies on the left bank of the Moselle, opposite its confluence with the little River Vologne...
barracks, or from the Kaiser (Wallach) factory allowed the equipment of part of the force.
The group met at Idoux's place (the café du Cinéma), Pierrat's place, the tinsmith, and in other places, particularly at the initiative of Pierre Bédel, head of the boys' school. Some met at Mrs. Mougel's place, who was known as Grande Yvonne and was the tenant proprietor at a café at Arches
Arches, Vosges
Arches is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.- External links :* *...
. All answered "present" when the BBC radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
broadcast the message "Croissez roseaux, bruissez feuillages, je porterai l'églantine" (Grow, you reeds, rustle, you leaves, I will bring the wild rose).
Creation of the maquis
On 24 July 1944, after a mission, two members of the French Forces of the Interior, Maurice Hocquaux and his aide, were arrested by French detectives. Thanks to much support, their freedom was obtained.The group built itself up and reached about thirty men through the addition of fighters from neighbouring villages. The
Maquis d'Éloyes was created in Haut-du-Bois, in the commune of Xamontarupt
Xamontarupt
Xamontarupt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Its inhabitants are known as Rupéains or Xamontois.-Geography:...
, as part of the 2nd Vosges formation. Its first leader was Lieutenant Romann, a former policeman. The parachute drop location of l'Aclimont, just nearby, was approved by London under the codename "Roitelet".
A tented camp with parachutes allowed men to be accommodated. Supplies were acquired from "collaborators" (or people presumed to be such). A baker in Éloyes provided bread, while the miller, Hocquaux, supplied dough. In such a time of want, this nonetheless allowed for a sufficient diet.
While guards made sure of short-range defense, long-range protection was not adequate. The constant coming and going of many people and vehicles interfered with the secrecy of the operation, and discipline in general lacked rigor.
Missions followed. An initial exchange took place at the Croix Bouquot, not far from the maquis, between an FFI patrol and a small German detachment whose members were resting in Éloyes. The leader gave the order to pull back because their weaponry was not sufficient.
The first parachute drop
Drop zone
A drop zone is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes...
took place at Arches on 2 August 1944. The code was "le chêne" (oak) and the personal message was "Le coq mange des noisettes" (the rooster is eating hazelnuts). It was to arm Épinal.
On 26 August 1944, the maquis fighters of Haut du Bois received their own first parachute drop. It was containers with grenades, machine guns, machine pistols and rifles with the appropriate ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
. The personal message was "Le soleil à rendez-vous avec la lune" (the sun has a meeting with the moon). Three lights in a triangle and one sudden light on the right-hand side was the signal for the release of the parachute.
On 28 August 1944, the thirty or so members of the maquis led by adjutant Munch carried out an ambush just before the Tendon falls. The aim was to rescue prisoners who were being transferred to Germany. After a few gunshots, the FFI were compelled to retreat due to the Germans' superior numbers.
The only weapons deliveries were where the "Jedburghs" were parachuted under Operation Jedburgh
Operation Jedburgh
Operation Jedburgh was a clandestine operation during World War II, in which personnel of the British Special Operations Executive, the U.S...
. These last "Jeds" were groups of three men: A British liaison officer
Liaison officer
A liaison officer or LNO is a person that liaises between two organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities. Generally, they are used to achieve the best utilization of resources or employment of services of one organization by another. In the military, liaison officers may...
, a French officer and an English non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
, charged with radio links. Parachuted from mid-August 1944, their missions were to support or coordinate and encourage FFI operations. It was in this fashion that a French-British mission composed of British Major Oliver Brown, French Captain René Karrière, and English radio Sergeant Schmich was parachuted in near Rambervillers
Rambervillers
Rambervillers is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Inhabitants are called Rambuvetais.-Geography:The town is built on the banks of the Mortagne, some to the west of Saint-Dié and to the north-east of Épinal....
. Hubert Hocquaux went to look for them on foot and led them through the woodland before leaving them secretly in the mill
Mill
Mill may refer to:* Mill , an equipment for the grinding or pulverizing of grain and other raw materials using millstones* Milling machine, metalworking machine that operates by rotating a cutting bit while the workpiece is moved against the cutter on an XY table.* Mill ** Arithmetic logic unit,...
of his cousine Marcel Hocquaux on the evening of 31 August 1944.
After the parachutists set up in Hocquaux' mill, Captain Karrière made immediate contact with the liberators. Thence he pursued his activities coordinating FFI operations and linking up with the Americans. Major Brown did the same from the farm where he had been hidden for several days. The third member of the team, Radio-Sergeant Schmith, was already with the Americans, at the house of Gustave Mathieu at Chaud Côté. At the times of the Maquis' attack he had gone to this place to pursue his duties of contacting London by radio in a more secure environment. While he was hidden in the house's attic, Germans, not knowing he was there, entered the farm to dump their supplies. Despite the danger, the Mathieu family took charge of helping him get away to the forest, all the time continuing to provide him with food.
The resistance fighters acted from their various bases: the Hocquaux mill, Idoux's café du Cinéma and Pierrat the tinsmiths put themelves immediately at the disposal of the liberators to serve as guides.
During the night of 8-9 September 1944, a second parachute drop with the same code and personal message as the first, brought 150 grenades, 11 Sten automatic pistols, 9 rifles, 250 individual dressings and some clothing. This, however, was not enough to arm the whole FFI. More and more escapees from the Service du Travail Obligatoire
Service du travail obligatoire
The Service du travail obligatoire was the forced enlistment and deportation of hundreds of thousands of French workers to Nazi Germany in order to work as forced labour for the German war effort during World War II....
were arriving from Éloyes and neighbouring communes; some were in fairly well-armed units such as the Golbey group and the "thirty" from the Val-d'Ajol. The operatives surpassed 300 men; the new head of the Maquis, Henri Perrin d'Épinal, known as "Achille", decided to send home a certain number of them who had no weapons.
Attack on the maquis
For several days the maquis had known that an attack on the camp was imminent, through information that had come to them about German troop movements. However on the morning of 9 September 1944, "Achille", head of the maquis, left the camp to make contact in Eloyes with Major Brown, head of the Franco-British mission. On arrival at the village, he was arrested by a German patrolPatrol
A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as police officers or soldiers, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.- Military :...
, interrogated
Interrogation
Interrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
and held in the former post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
building near the hospice. He was freed the same evening. Lieutenant Romann, head of the first "hundred" was likewise away from the maquis since he had left the camp beforehand with an overarmed group.
Resistance members ("about a hundred") who had just received a second package of light weapons, were present on the maquis. In their leader's absence, Lieutenant Girod had taken command. For effective defence, he had a machine-gun set towards the north of the camp, and another above the Ruxelier stream gorge, to control the routes leading towards Cheniménil
Cheniménil
Cheniménil is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-References:*...
et Jarménil
Jarménil
Jarménil is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-References:*...
. A third machine gun was hidden at the source of the Ruxelier.
Similar positions were taken in the direction of Eloyes by Lieutenant Scheider, and towards the east by Lieutenant Gaillot. Meanwhile Sub-lieutenant Villemin and adjudant Pierson ensured the evacuation of the remaining unarmed maquisards toward Purifaing in good order. At about 11 o'clock, Mrs Alexandre née Hocquaux of Jarménil went to the maquis to warn the fighters that the enemy was arriving. A German battalion manned by SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
troops had been deploying since dawn in Eloyes, Cheniménil et Jarménil. From these bases they were besieging the Haut-du-bois plateau with trucks and two troop transport tankette
Tankette
A tankette is a tracked combat vehicle resembling a small tank roughly the size of a car, mainly intended for light infantry support or reconnaissance. Colloquially it may also simply mean a "small tank"....
s.
The attack began at midday in the Ruxelier gorge, which the Germans approached by crawling up each side. The fighting was fierce but clearly unequal, although a German tankette was destroyed. Lieutenant Girod stood in front of the defenses, and was hit by a bullet
Bullet
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...
in the scapula
Scapula
In anatomy, the scapula , omo, or shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus with the clavicle ....
, two in the calf
Calf (anatomy)
In human anatomy the calf is the back portion of the lower leg . In terms of muscle systems, the calf corresponds to the posterior compartment of the leg. Within the posterior compartment, the two largest muscles are known together as the calf muscle and attach to the heel via the Achilles tendon...
, and by a grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
blast in the right thigh
Thigh
In humans the thigh is the area between the pelvis and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb.The single bone in the thigh is called the femur...
. His comrades evacuated, and he was later cared for at the hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in Remiremont.
The maquisards were obliged to fall back under German pressure and having sustained losses of dead and injured, but not before destroying the ammunition dump
Ammunition dump
An ammunition dump, ammunition compound, ammunition depot, bomb dump, ammunition supply point or ammo dump, is a military storage facility for live ammunition and explosives....
. The order of retreat given by adjudant Munch saved the life of many FFI fighters who managed to get away, with about 20 injured, towards the Fossard massif, getting through across the German block which was set up on the road leading to the Hocuaux mill at la Bisoire.
They left behind 10 dead, namely Marcel Bolmont, Émile Deschaseaux (Val d'Ajol), Paul Dufour (Eloyes), André Lacuve, René Legrand, César Remy, Alphonse Rost, Marcel Valentin (Archettes), Christian Lhoner (Remiremont) et Jean Schneider (Arches). At the same time, Paul Dufour's father, Louis Dufour, was shot at Jarménil.
In the afternoon, allied aircraft, who had been warned by the Franco-British liaison group's English radio sergeant, arrived at base in Saint-Dizier. In two passes to flush the trees in the direction of Eloyes-Jarménil, they strafed the German troops, who sustained heavy losses, apparently over a hundred dead and two hundred wounded.
After the attack, the thirty or so maquis fighters stayed together in a dedicated unit and continued their action. Part of this group fell at Ménafaing. Other awaited the Americans on the banks of the Moselle
Moselle
Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
or towards Dounoux
Dounoux
Dounoux is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France....
and Xertigny
Xertigny
Xertigny is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-External links:*...
. Many of the Haut-du-Bois fighters pursued the struggle in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
until the end of the war.
On Saturday 23 September 1944, Eloyes was liberated by the 143rd regiment of the United States infantry
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, commanded by Colonel Paul D. Adams
Paul D. Adams
General Paul DeWitt Adams was a General in the United States Army.Adams was born in Heflin, Alabama. After graduating from Marion Military Institute in 1924, he entered the United States Military Academy and graduated in 1928, receiving his commission in the Infantry.He served with as executive...
.
The ambush at the Perrin farm
On 25 September 1944 at midday, the US Army 143rd Infantry Regiment, whose units were finding themselves in difficulty from the direction of Ménafaing, requested help trying to contain a German counter-attackCounter-Attack
Counter-Attack is a 1945 war film starring Paul Muni and Marguerite Chapman as two Russians trapped in a collapsed building with seven enemy German soldiers during World War II...
. As a result of a misunderstanding, an officer from the 143rd who was in Éloyes asked an NCO of the maquis for FFI reinforcements. They were to plug a hole in the Fossard system with all available forces, judged to be about 20 men. A group of poorly trained and lightly armed resistance fighters was formed immediately. A GMC truck brought them towards the Fossard Massif via the Chênes et la Suche road. The men dismounted from the truck at Chaud Côté in front of the Gustave Mathieu farm, and some among them asked the son of the house, Georges (22ans), to join them. Georges Mathieu had just returned from a long mission guiding Americans towards Tendon, and hoping to eat something first, declined.
Without waiting for him, the fighters set off on the misison. Their march through the forest passed without difficulty. At a certain point, the group separated in two, with one team continuing through the forest along the brook, while the other aimed to make more rapid progress.
For this group, the path took them out of cover, into the long sloping meadow which led to the Perrin farm in Ménafaing. A German machine gun squad, which had moved in recently after the partial and temporary retreat of an American unit, had the opportunity to observe the group approach at their leisure. The Perrin family, whose cellar was being occupied, was composed of the mother, Louise, and some children including the 10-year-old Jean-Marie. A neighbour, Mrs. Ancel née Thomas was with them. Lucien Perrin was in the Mathieu farm at Chaud Côté.
Unsuspectingly, the maquis passed by the farm. At the moment when they were about to reach the edge of the wood through a hollow and re-enter cover, they were mowed down in a hail of machine gun bullets at point-blank range. Some were killed on the spot, while others who were wounded were subsequently finished off with a pistol shot to the neck. One man alone, Jules Hingray, despite being hit, managed to escape the killing by hiding behind a rock and feigning death. He stayed there for 24 hours without aid.
Learning that the patrol was in difficulty, the Americans gave a barrage of covering fire allowing them to fall back, although not to recover the dead and injured. A shell set fire to the hangar of the farm. The other team managed to shelter from enemy fire. Seven FFI were killed in all:
Maurice Nurdin, Marcel Bichotte (of Arches), Raymond Varoy (of Pouxeux), André Bosselmeyer, Louis Trinquart, Robert Cipollini and Ernest Pierre (of Eloyes). One of the victims, le FFI fighter Robert Cippollini aged 34, was the uncle of Colonel Pierre Aiguier-Cipollini.
The Germans passed the night in the farm, and evacuated the following morning. By the end of the afternoon of 26 September, calm had returned, and civilians overheard the cries of Hingray, who had been hit in the legs. He was transported to the house in a wheelbarrow
Wheelbarrow
A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles to the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is made of two words: "wheel" and "barrow." "Barrow" is a...
. Lucien Perrin, who had returned to his farm, drove Hingray in a cow truck towards Mathieu's farm at Chaud Côté, where he received care from a US Army medic before being evacuated to hospital. The FFI agents were warned and Perrain took on the task of bringing down the bloodied corpses to Eloyes through heavy rain on his plate carriage, drawn by two ox
Ox
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
en. The municipality set up a chapelle ardente at the mairie, where the comrades of the seven dead watched over their remains. In the midst of the confusion which reigned, the dead were put in their bier along with their equipment and with ammunition in their magazines.
On Friday 28 September 1944 at 10am, Father Gerrard, the curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
of Eloyes, celebrated a funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
service in the village church, with significant attendance. It was a long and very emotional ceremony. Members of the American Staff and numerous FFI were present, with their head René Matz ("Commandant Didier"), the departmental FFI leader. Lieutenant Romann, first head of the Eloyes maquis, gave the deceased a vibrant elegy.
The next day, the 29 September, Lieutenant Romann was killed in a car incident at "Trou Vauthier" in unclear circumstances.
On Monday 2 October 1944, a ceremony took place at the church for the dead of the maquis du Haut-du-Bois and others who were shot at Jarménil. A detachment of FFI gave the honours. People present included Mr. Parisot, prefect of Vosges, the gendarmerie
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
captain Gonsard de Remiremont, Lieutenant Fleurot, and Commandant Didier.
Regarding those shot at Jarménil, the wife of Haut-du-Bois fighter Maurice Grosdemange from Archettes indicated that four men died there the same day. Mr Grosdemange would have cleaned the faces of his comrades at the age of 20.
Resistance operations
A distribution network for clandestine tracts was put in place by Miss Marie Joseph Blaise, a student at the Nancy who lived at Saint-Étienne-lès-RemiremontSaint-Étienne-lès-Remiremont
Saint-Étienne-lès-Remiremont is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-External links:* *...
. Blaise had made contact with the resistance to ensure that circulation of these papers in St-Étienne-lès-Remiremont.
The various Maquis des Vosges
Maquis des Vosges
The Maquis des Vosges were groups of French resistance fighters in the Department of the Vosges during the Second World War. They were associated through an amalgamation of different resistance groups roughly when the Conseil national de la Résistance was created on 27 May 1943...
paid a heavy price in the fight against the Germans and their allies. The seven men of the shooting at Ménafaing on 23 September 1944 in the Éloyes, were also members of the Maquis du Haut-du-Bois. An annual commemoration is planned each year; in 2008 the event took place on Sunday September 21.
Remiremont and Épinal were liberated on 23 and 24 September 1944, followed by Saint-Étienne-lès-Remiremont on 25 September, by the United States Seventh Army.
External links
A stele recalls the maquis dead, and a yearly tribute is held towards the beginning of September.