It was in January 1944 that the Secret Army constituted a group of 450 Resistants on the plateau of the Glières. The members of the Resistance were under the orders of a handful of officers from the 27th battalion of mountain infantrymen from Annecy, led by Tom Morel.
Right from the beginning of the war, and despite his young age (not yet 30), he showed his exemplary capacity to manage men who appreciated him for this charisma and courage.
On March the 9th 1944, Tom Morel was killed by the police in Vichy. Captain Anjot took over the command.
That same month, 20 000 soldiers from the Wehrmacht and the French militia from Vichy invaded the plateau..
The Plateau of the Glières had become the emblem of the French Resistance in the public opinion which was following with passion the events on the radio. This “battle on the radio” which opposed Pétainists and Gaullists was followed worldwide.
Even though the members of the Resistance knew the Plateau of the Glières perfectly, they were outnumbered and not sufficiently armed to face the Germans. (They only had small arms)
It was then that Captain Anjot decided to deliver a last-ditch struggle in front of the German assault, to show the determination of the Resistance to France and the Allies, while commanding, at the same time, the fast evacuation of the Plateau to spare the lives of his men.
But these latter, hunted down, and betrayed by the French collaborators, were nearly all killed, arrested or sent to concentration camps.
Even though this battle ended up by a defeat of the army, it galvanised the Resistance in the whole country.
It also brought the Allies to supply increased help to the Resistance. Thus, in August 1944 the English and the Americans dropped a great quantity of weapons onto the Plateau which enabled the members of the Resistance to force the Germans to withdraw.
Know more :
Cover the remembrance tracks and discover the former places where the members of the Resistance used to live.
Visit the Memorial of Glières, located in the Massif of the Bornes, between Thorens-Glières and Grand-Bornand.
Visit The Museum of the Resistance (le Musée Départemental de la Résistance), in Thônes.
