Freeing France: The Allies, the Résistance, and the JEDBURGHs

Abstract

General Dwight D. Eisenhower used the Forces Françaises de l'Intérieur to conduct a guerilla war against German forces during the Allied campaigns in France. The study below examines the Allied politics, the nature and the development of the French Résistance, and the actions of the German forces in France to evaluate how useful the deployment of 93 JEDBURGH teams were in their role to conduct an effective guerilla war aiding Allied military objectives. Disagreements between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and resistance leader General Charles de Gaulle led to Eisenhower's inability to get the most out of the effort. Under certain conditions, Eisenhower and the French with British and American support achieved limited success. Eisenhower's recognition of de Gaulle's authority over the Résistance and his insistence on placing a French commander in charge of the effort proved to be the single greatest factor in the successes gained with the JEDBURGHs.