political outlook was so opposed to their own. Despite this, he also recognised that Joseph’s organisation would be vital to the resistance work: they understood the need for security, were prepared to take risks and, bluntly, did not flinch at the thought that their actions would impact on innocent civilians who would suffer in German reprisals.
If Joseph was a complicated and disputed contact, Lecompte-Boynet of the Ceux de la Resistance could only be deemed an asset. Lecompte-Boynet was the chief of the party and had amassed around 1,000 supporters for the group, which was largely paramilitary. Unlike many resisters the party maintained quite neutral politics, looking only to restore France to liberty. MI6 had already made contact with the group and used them for gathering intelligence and Lecompte-Boynet proved a willing co-operator. His party members were ready for action and he estimated that by D-Day he would have between 25,000 and 30,000 troops at his disposal to fight the Nazis.
Forest found an even more significant contact in the Ceux de la Libération (CDLL) leader Roger Coquoin. 4 Coquoin was the same age as Forest and Brossolette when they met in early 1943; the son of a chemist and the former head of the chemistry laboratory at the Academy of Medicine, he had only been leader of the group for a short time having taken over from Maurice Ripoche after his arrest. Coquoin was keen to work with the British and his group was well established and neutral in its politics – always an asset. They also boasted links with Transports Routiers, the French organisation that controlled all road transport through the country. The managing director of the company was a member of CDLL and was quite willing to disrupt German traffic whenever he was needed to. He also regularly fed the group intelligence on the movement of German troops. Most exciting to Forest, the director knew the locations where the Germans had begun stockpiling vehicles in case of invasion and the CDLL was ready to sabotage these sites when the time came.
Coquoin could also list trustworthy comrades in the police, fire brigade and Garde Mobile, a rare and valuable resource for the Allies. (The Garde Mobile was created during the Franco-Prussian war as an auxiliary to the French army and expected to guard home territory. They were briefly revived during the Second World War to counteract the 1940 armistice which had reduced the official French army to 95,000 men.) Coquoin estimated his manpower at 35,000 and was keen to work with the British, but sadly he was not destined to see the fruition of his plans, as like his former leader he was arrested and shot in June 1943.
It was now becoming obvious to Forest how dangerous working with the resistance really was. One minute he was holding a meeting with an eager comrade and the next that same comrade had vanished into the clutches of the Gestapo. It was a desperate situation. The Germans were working hard to decapitate the resistance groups as fast as they could and leaders evaporated as quickly as they were assigned, either via betrayal, carelessness or bad luck.
The dangers Forest now faced were all too prevalent in his mind as he met with Joseph to be introduced to Pierre Ginzburger, the elusive head of Front National. The communists took their security seriously and Forest, Brossolette and Passy were told to await a contact at a park bench in the Luxembourg Gardens. Sitting opposite an empty bandstand that had once been filled with French musicians serenading passers-by, Forest spotted a cautious looking bearded man. It was the clichéd spy meeting: the furtive stranger approached the three men and asked them to follow him. He led them on a deliberately circuitous course, doubling-back several times to ensure that no one was following until, eventually, he brought them to the Luxembourg station and joined them as they caught a train to Sceaux.
On arrival, their secretive guide led them on another
If Joseph was a complicated and disputed contact, Lecompte-Boynet of the Ceux de la Resistance could only be deemed an asset. Lecompte-Boynet was the chief of the party and had amassed around 1,000 supporters for the group, which was largely paramilitary. Unlike many resisters the party maintained quite neutral politics, looking only to restore France to liberty. MI6 had already made contact with the group and used them for gathering intelligence and Lecompte-Boynet proved a willing co-operator. His party members were ready for action and he estimated that by D-Day he would have between 25,000 and 30,000 troops at his disposal to fight the Nazis.
Forest found an even more significant contact in the Ceux de la Libération (CDLL) leader Roger Coquoin. 4 Coquoin was the same age as Forest and Brossolette when they met in early 1943; the son of a chemist and the former head of the chemistry laboratory at the Academy of Medicine, he had only been leader of the group for a short time having taken over from Maurice Ripoche after his arrest. Coquoin was keen to work with the British and his group was well established and neutral in its politics – always an asset. They also boasted links with Transports Routiers, the French organisation that controlled all road transport through the country. The managing director of the company was a member of CDLL and was quite willing to disrupt German traffic whenever he was needed to. He also regularly fed the group intelligence on the movement of German troops. Most exciting to Forest, the director knew the locations where the Germans had begun stockpiling vehicles in case of invasion and the CDLL was ready to sabotage these sites when the time came.
Coquoin could also list trustworthy comrades in the police, fire brigade and Garde Mobile, a rare and valuable resource for the Allies. (The Garde Mobile was created during the Franco-Prussian war as an auxiliary to the French army and expected to guard home territory. They were briefly revived during the Second World War to counteract the 1940 armistice which had reduced the official French army to 95,000 men.) Coquoin estimated his manpower at 35,000 and was keen to work with the British, but sadly he was not destined to see the fruition of his plans, as like his former leader he was arrested and shot in June 1943.
It was now becoming obvious to Forest how dangerous working with the resistance really was. One minute he was holding a meeting with an eager comrade and the next that same comrade had vanished into the clutches of the Gestapo. It was a desperate situation. The Germans were working hard to decapitate the resistance groups as fast as they could and leaders evaporated as quickly as they were assigned, either via betrayal, carelessness or bad luck.
The dangers Forest now faced were all too prevalent in his mind as he met with Joseph to be introduced to Pierre Ginzburger, the elusive head of Front National. The communists took their security seriously and Forest, Brossolette and Passy were told to await a contact at a park bench in the Luxembourg Gardens. Sitting opposite an empty bandstand that had once been filled with French musicians serenading passers-by, Forest spotted a cautious looking bearded man. It was the clichéd spy meeting: the furtive stranger approached the three men and asked them to follow him. He led them on a deliberately circuitous course, doubling-back several times to ensure that no one was following until, eventually, he brought them to the Luxembourg station and joined them as they caught a train to Sceaux.
On arrival, their secretive guide led them on another
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