Vichy]. 5
Meanwhile SOE had heard of round-ups orchestrated by the combined French and German police to detain and ship men to Germany as forced labour. Hitler had overstretched himself: while his troops marched on, industry in their homeland was stuttering and something needed to be done to forestall the rot. It only seemed logical to look to newly conquered countries for slave labour. It was not called that of course, it was the Compulsory Labour Service, and every Frenchman between the age of 19 and 32 was automatically signed up for it. Some men had managed to avoid registering for the service, but that only gave the Germans another excuse for police round-ups. All over France, town and countryside were being searched for deserters from the labour force. If captured the men were sent to German factories to work on the armaments or machines that were fuelling their enemy’s war effort. Some unfortunate souls even found themselves stepping into the frozen wastes of the Russian Front.
It was still not enough. Even with POW labour and work parties from concentration camps the Germans were still short and the rumours were spreading that soon they would be upping the age limit to 42 or even 55.
For Forest, Brossolette and Passy this was disastrous for their plans. A secret army was of no use if most of its number had been shipped to Germany as forced labour. Every week it was said that 20,000 Frenchmen were taken from Paris, and there was no way a secret army could be sustained unless something was done.
Forest reported to London on 14 March making it clear that if the situation continued there was no hope for a resistance army. The forced labour details were even more detrimental than the Gestapo culls, which tended to only catch a few members at a time and often resulted in more resisters enlisting with the cause. The same could not be said when 20,000 men were simply lost into Germany. As much as Forest was appalled by the treatment he was also practical, and advised SOE that propaganda should go out encouraging men to evade the conscription in any way they could; this would be either by leaving the country or living in hiding.
The first solution was hardly ideal for most people, but the second option could not be achieved without help from London. Conscript escapees would need money and forged ration cards so that they could live without being detected. Forest also pointed out that financial aid would need to be generous, as there was no point sending pocket money if the men were expected to live in secret and be ready for D-Day. Thus Forest was paving the way for the Maquis, the resistance organisation of outlaws who often set up camps within the woodlands of France and lived in hiding for years until the Allied invasion, when they took up arms and guerrilla warfare tactics. Forest would never really get to know the men he helped in this way; though he always longed to make contacts within the Maquis, he had to just be satisfied that his efforts helped them to exist.
Meanwhile Forest had also been inspired to create his own r é seau , a network of reliable agents exclusive to himself that would help him keep in contact with the various acquaintances he was making within the resistance. His first recruit was unexpected. He paid a visit to Jose Dupuis to whom he had sent the postcard and the enigmatic BBC message. Jose was astonished by his arrival on her doorstep and overcome with emotion she sobbed and laughed as she told him how she received both missives.
Dupuis was running a private girls’ school, and her thirty pupils followed their teacher in being devoted patriots. But Dupuis was desperate to do more and as Forest sat in her apartment she begged him to let her become actively involved. For Forest his first recruit was probably his hardest. He trusted Jose Dupuis implicitly, which was the first prerequisite of picking a recruit, but he also cared about her as a friend and was keenly aware of the risk she
Meanwhile SOE had heard of round-ups orchestrated by the combined French and German police to detain and ship men to Germany as forced labour. Hitler had overstretched himself: while his troops marched on, industry in their homeland was stuttering and something needed to be done to forestall the rot. It only seemed logical to look to newly conquered countries for slave labour. It was not called that of course, it was the Compulsory Labour Service, and every Frenchman between the age of 19 and 32 was automatically signed up for it. Some men had managed to avoid registering for the service, but that only gave the Germans another excuse for police round-ups. All over France, town and countryside were being searched for deserters from the labour force. If captured the men were sent to German factories to work on the armaments or machines that were fuelling their enemy’s war effort. Some unfortunate souls even found themselves stepping into the frozen wastes of the Russian Front.
It was still not enough. Even with POW labour and work parties from concentration camps the Germans were still short and the rumours were spreading that soon they would be upping the age limit to 42 or even 55.
For Forest, Brossolette and Passy this was disastrous for their plans. A secret army was of no use if most of its number had been shipped to Germany as forced labour. Every week it was said that 20,000 Frenchmen were taken from Paris, and there was no way a secret army could be sustained unless something was done.
Forest reported to London on 14 March making it clear that if the situation continued there was no hope for a resistance army. The forced labour details were even more detrimental than the Gestapo culls, which tended to only catch a few members at a time and often resulted in more resisters enlisting with the cause. The same could not be said when 20,000 men were simply lost into Germany. As much as Forest was appalled by the treatment he was also practical, and advised SOE that propaganda should go out encouraging men to evade the conscription in any way they could; this would be either by leaving the country or living in hiding.
The first solution was hardly ideal for most people, but the second option could not be achieved without help from London. Conscript escapees would need money and forged ration cards so that they could live without being detected. Forest also pointed out that financial aid would need to be generous, as there was no point sending pocket money if the men were expected to live in secret and be ready for D-Day. Thus Forest was paving the way for the Maquis, the resistance organisation of outlaws who often set up camps within the woodlands of France and lived in hiding for years until the Allied invasion, when they took up arms and guerrilla warfare tactics. Forest would never really get to know the men he helped in this way; though he always longed to make contacts within the Maquis, he had to just be satisfied that his efforts helped them to exist.
Meanwhile Forest had also been inspired to create his own r é seau , a network of reliable agents exclusive to himself that would help him keep in contact with the various acquaintances he was making within the resistance. His first recruit was unexpected. He paid a visit to Jose Dupuis to whom he had sent the postcard and the enigmatic BBC message. Jose was astonished by his arrival on her doorstep and overcome with emotion she sobbed and laughed as she told him how she received both missives.
Dupuis was running a private girls’ school, and her thirty pupils followed their teacher in being devoted patriots. But Dupuis was desperate to do more and as Forest sat in her apartment she begged him to let her become actively involved. For Forest his first recruit was probably his hardest. He trusted Jose Dupuis implicitly, which was the first prerequisite of picking a recruit, but he also cared about her as a friend and was keenly aware of the risk she
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