Musée de la Résistance

The US Marines have their Iwo Jima. The US army has Omaha Beach. The French resistance has the Vercors Massif. On this Fortress of a plateau, hundreds and later thousands of Maquisards organized the fighting force to counter the occupying troops. After American troops landed on Omaha Beach, thousands more flocked to this hill to join the fight. They thought it was almost over. There were 4,000 poorly trained and equipped volunteers trying to make a defensive fort on this mountaintop. The Germans sent 15,000 troops against them. The French were slaughtered.

This is the grounds of the Musée de la Résistance. It was a fascinating look into a devastating time. The picture shows the remains of a German glider that landed near Vassieux-en-Vercors during the offensive of July 1944. They landed where the Allies had been dropping supplies and picking up people. The Maquisards thought they were allied aircraft until it was too late. After the war, gliders were stripped for their parts to rebuild the devastated towns and farms.Read more