1941
63-463: Vercors may refer to: Places [ edit ] Vercors Cave System , a set of long caves in the Alps of South-Eastern France Vercors Massif , a range of mountains and plateaus in the departments of Isère and Drome, French Alps Vercors Regional Natural Park , a protected area of southeastern France Other [ edit ] Maquis du Vercors ,
126-786: A base for the French Resistance against German occupation. The Vercors includes the largest alpine karst area in the Northern French pre-alps, and contains a number of large and deep cave systems. These include Gouffre Berger , which is over 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) deep, and the Réseau de Coufin-Chevaline (grotte de Choranche), a show cave in the Bourne Gorge which has almost 30 kilometres (19 miles) of mapped passages. The Vercors has several resorts for cross-country skiing and for down-hill skiing. Villard-de-Lans
189-454: A bit further on, so the first wave of assault consisted only of about a hundred soldiers. Lieb specifies that the commander of the Sipo-SD of Lyon (KDS), SS- Obersturmbannführer (SS Lieutenant Colonel) Werner Knab , was also airborne on Vassieux on 21 July. Shot and wounded, he was evacuated in a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch on 24 July. He would have played an important part in the torture and
252-733: A column of 25 Milice vehicles attacked the village of Vassieux , burning several farms and shooting or deporting some of the inhabitants. In the weeks leading up to the Operation Overlord , the invasion of Normandy, on 6 June 1944, the instructions given by the Allies to the maquis on the Vercors Massif were contradictory and inconsistent on whether the maquis should rise against the Germans immediately after D-Day or should wait until later, when it could be of maximum help to
315-595: A further on, only one Go-242 with weaponry and supplies landed on Vassieux, so the second wave of assault consisted only of about a hundred and fifty soldiers. Thomas and Ketley wrote that the Fallschirm-Kampfgruppe "Schäfer" was detached from Kampfgeschwader 200 on 8 June 1944. It was made up of volunteers out of Fallschirmjäger-Bewährungstruppe (probationary troops), mustered at Tangerhütte and trained for three months at Dedelstorf in order to launch an attack from gliders. Günther Gellermann says that
378-571: A large German military garrison, is situated at the foot of the steep cliffs of the Vercors Massif at its northeastern edge. An important Luftwaffe base was located at Chabeuil , just below the south-western rim of the Vercors. by the early months of 1943, the forest and fastnesses of places like the Vercors had become home and refuge to a polyglot collection of the elements of defeated France: its new generations, its old administrators, its competing political parties, its heterodox communities and
441-474: A meeting of his leaders and they decided to continue to fight until defeat was inevitable and then disperse to the forest and mountains of the massif, anticipating that the Germans would soon withdraw. It was also decided that Huet's superior officer in the FFI, Henri Zeller who was present at the meeting, would escape the Vercors with SOE agents Cammaerts, Granville, and wireless operator Auguste Floiras to coordinate
504-661: A section of the French Resistance in World War II Free Republic of Vercors (June-July 1944), a short lived Free government established by the French Resistance Jean Bruller , a French author who used the pen name Vercors Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Vercors . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
567-715: A site near Rencurel in the Coulmes. In the Paleogene period, the Tethys ocean closed up and at the start of the Miocene , the raising of the Alps involved the thrusting of a nappe to the west. Sedimentary rocks were raised 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above the current location of the Massif des Écrins and faulted and folded in the process. Subsequent marine transgressions were responsible for secondary sedimentation in
630-549: Is a mountain range in eastern France consisting of rugged plateaus and mountains straddling the départements of Isère and Drôme in the French Prealps . It lies west of the Dauphiné Alps , from which it is separated by the rivers Drac and Isère . The cliffs at the massif's eastern limit face the city of Grenoble . Over time, various features of the complex geography have been recognised including,
693-659: Is a layer of the massif, formed in the Tithonian age . Then, about 130 million years ago, in the Cretaceous period, a rise in temperatures combined with shallow waters led to the development of coral reefs, which abounded with molluscs , particularly rudists . These were the origin of the Urgonian Limestone which forms the upper part of the massif, more prominently in the northern half. This primitive fauna left numerous fossils, some of which have been found at
SECTION 10
#1732772656166756-597: Is a part of the Drôme valley around Die. This region has a Mediterranean character, with vineyards and fields of lavender . It acts as a buffer between Gervanne and the interior of the massif. The Trièves , in the east, is a low hilly plateau, which lies between the highest summits of the Vercors and the gorge carved out by the Drac. From north to south: By descending altitude: The Tunnel du Mortier links Montaud with Autrans, at an altitude of 1,391 metres (4,564 ft). It
819-473: Is also known for its traditional activities such as the breeding of dairy cows and cheese making. The main villages, Autrans , Méaudre , Lans-en-Vercors , and Villard-de-Lans , are spread over two plateaus covered by wooded hills. The Drômois Vercors is an area made up of a number of smaller plateaus. In the north of the Drômois Vercors there are several gorges which are traversed by roads cut into
882-576: Is known as the fortress or as the French dolomites because of its geomorphology. The massif is likened to a plateau: the fall from the massif to its inner valleys is a few hundred metres, while the fall to the surrounding areas is between 800 metres (2,600 ft) and 1,200 metres (3,900 ft). The crest of the eastern edge has several summits over 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). The interior varies between 800 metres (2,600 ft) and 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). The massif also has wide valleys including
945-418: Is the biggest down-hill ski resort. This sporting area is environmentally protected, and although the natural environment has been drastically altered throughout history for the purposes of agriculture and forestry, plans for afforestation will make it one of the major forests of Metropolitan France and a reserve for species such as the southern tulip and black grouse , two symbols of the park, as well as
1008-778: The Col de Romeyère and the Col de Rousset . The water hollowed out the cirque of Archiane , the steephead valley of Bournillon, and the Combe Laval . The Vercors have appeared in many films, including; Jean-Jacques, Delannoy (1984). "Le Vercors : un massif de la moyenne montagne alpine" . Karstologia (in French). Fédération Française de Spéléologie et de l'Association Française de Karstologie: 34–45. ISSN 0751-7688 . Free Republic of Vercors 1942 1944 1945 The Battle of Vercors in July and August 1944
1071-626: The French Republic tricolour featuring the Cross of Lorraine and the "V" for Vercors and Victory (both used as a signature by de Gaulle's Free French) and its coat of arms, the French Alpine Chamois . It was a short-lived republic; it ceased to exist before the end of the month. On 14 July, 72 American B-17 bombers dropped by parachute 870 CLE Canisters containing weapons, including supplies and anti-tank Bazookas , to
1134-600: The Prealps , in the south-east France, straddling the departments of Drôme and Isère, both of which are part of the Rhône-Alpes region, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) south-east of Lyon. The massif covers 135,000 hectares (520 sq mi) with a north-south length of 60 kilometres (37 miles) and an east-west width of 40 kilometres (25 mi). The massif is surrounded by the Chartreuse Mountains to
1197-667: The maquis , the rural resistance fighters against the German occupation. In 1943, three men, mountaineer Pierre Dalloz , soldier Alain Le Ray , and writer Jean Prévost planned to use the Vercors as a redoubt and a staging area for resistance to the German occupation. Following Operation Anton the German occupation of the Zone libre (Free Zone) and the disbandment of the Vichy Armistice Army , about fifty soldiers of
1260-577: The 11th Cuirassier Regiment arrived in the Vercors but kept themselves distinct from the maquis, whom they regarded as amateurs. In August 1943, Francis Cammaerts , code-name Roger, an agent of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization, journeyed to the Vercors and met with French soldier Eugène Chavant . Cammaerts liked the Vercors plan. He foresaw the Vercors and other nearby mountainous areas as drop zones for allied paratroopers who would work with
1323-408: The 20th century, Henri Ferrand explored the massif, taking numerous photographs, publishing books, and describing the geology of the mountains. Ferrand was the first to use the term Vercors in its extended contemporary sense. The geographers Raoul Blanchard and Jules Blache , popularised the term in the late 1920s and early 1930s. By the 1950s, the term was ubiquitous. The Vercors Massif lies in
SECTION 20
#17327726561661386-628: The Allies. The contradictions are illustrated by the differences in the D-Day messages of the Allied commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower , and the Free French leader, Charles de Gaulle . Eisenhower urged all the maquis in France to be cautious and patient, but de Gaulle's emotional message was interpreted by the maquis as a call to take up arms immediately. On D-Day, Cammaerts on the Vercors Massif gave
1449-458: The Fallschirm-Kampfgruppe "Schäfer", with several French volunteers (from the Sipo - SD of Lyons or from the 8th Company of the 3rd Regiment "Brandenburg"), were airborne in 22 DFS-230 gliders (each with 1 pilot and 9 soldiers) towed by Dornier-17 bombers of I/Luftlandegeschwader 1, from Lyons-Bron to Vassieux-en-Vercors. According to Peter Lieb , two gliders crashed and eight of them landed
1512-609: The French secret service and Harry Thackthwaite of SOE, met to evaluate the capabilities of the Resistance in the Alpine region of France. Along with Cammaerts they organized, trained and armed the maquis to prepare them for an important role in support of the allied invasion of southern France. The Union group departed France in May 1944. The Germans had no soldiers stationed on the Vercors Massif but in response to sabotage activities of
1575-437: The Germans sent several more probing attacks onto the Vercors. The Allies parachuted arms and supplies to the maquis on 27 June and sent an OSS team of 15 American soldiers commanded by Lt. Vernon G. Hoppers and a four-man SOE team headed by Major Desmond Longe . Longe spoke little or no French and Cammaerts took offense at the unannounced arrival of Longe's team, calling them "unprofessional voyeurs" and asserting his authority as
1638-649: The Germans. "We shall not forget the bitterness of having been abandoned alone and without support in time of battle", wired the FFI commander to London. The Allied forces' priorities were the Normandy front and Operation Dragoon , the latter in southern France, and not the maquis of Vercors. The large majority of the fighters were young and inexperienced men. The few French and allied instructors tried everything to train them fully but, owing to shortage of time and ammunition, this task turned out to be too challenging. Peter Lieb, Vercors 1944. German repression of
1701-601: The Maquis du Vercors, it appears that the Germans deployed nearly 10,000 soldiers and policemen under General Karl Pflaum: According to the daily reports of OB West on 23 and 24 July 1944, forwarded by the Militärbefehlshaber in Frankreich, the following troops landed at Vassieux-en-Vercors on 21 and 23 July 1944. On 21 July 1944, about 200 men from Fallschirm - Bewährungstruppe (probationary troops) forming
1764-471: The Maquis of Vercors. It was a daylight drop and the Germans quickly detected it and launched air strikes to bomb the canisters, the maquis fighters attempting to recover them, and the village of Vassieux, destroying one-half of the 85 houses in the village. Working with the maquis to collect the canisters was a newly arrived SOE courier, Christine Granville (Krystyna Skarbek), "World War II's most glamorous spy." The large, daytime drop of weapons, instead of
1827-671: The Mortier tunnel. Another example is the Peuil plateau in the east. During the Ice Age , the Grésivaudan glacier reached the Peuil plateau leaving a marsh. The central part of the Vercors Massif is divided into several regions. The Coulmes, in the north-west, are heavily covered in forest. Folds of Urgonian limestone are rounded, making the area appear mountainous. The four mountains area has been developed for tourism and skiing but
1890-614: The Quatre Montagnes (four mountains), the Coulmes (gorges), the Vercors Drômois (Drome Vercors), the Hauts-Plateaux (high plateaus) and, in the foothills, Royans, Gervanne, Diois, and Trièves. The massif is sometimes called the "fortress". The movement of people tends to be between the massif and the surrounding plains rather than between the various parts of the massif itself. Until the mid twentieth century,
1953-404: The Vercors maquis. With eight to ten thousand soldiers, Pflaum established a cordon of soldiers around the massif to prevent the escape of maquis and on 21 July launched a full-scale attack. German columns advanced south along a road from Saint-Nizier in the northeast and from the south along a road from the town of Die . Alpine troops crossed the formidable, but thinly defended, eastern ramparts of
Vercors - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-566: The basins. There was widening of the gorges and erosion of the cliffs from runoff, leading to the formation of the molasse in the Royans and also in the valleys of Lans, Autrans, and Rencurel. At the close of the Miocene , a new period of uplifting brought about the final receding of the sea. Once formed, the massif underwent severe erosion, which accentuated the relief. The different synclines grew larger, eventually forming valleys including those of Autrans, Méaudre and Lans, Villard, Corrençon ,
2079-542: The battle were heavy with estimates of 659 maquis fighters and 201 civilians killed. German losses were much smaller, including 83 killed and missing. The American team led by Hoppers and the SOE team led by Longe both escaped. Longe and Huet had already been dismissed by Cammaerts and the Maquis, they could not speak French and were not required. Huet hid in the forests until 6 August when he attempted to rally his surviving forces. Two days later they reverted to guerrilla tactics,
2142-436: The cliffs. Grassy areas are used as pastures in the summer months, and the biannual migration ( transhumance ) of animals is a period of celebration for the people of Die . The Haut-Plateaux (high plateaus) are the highest wilderness areas of the massif. The area is managed and the pastures are used for grazing in the summer. At the fringes of the massif, the Vercors regional park has four geographical areas. The Royans ,
2205-545: The commune of Châtelus, has the highest cave opening in Europe at 105 metres (344 ft). The climate of the Vercors due to its elevation is much more rigorous than the lowlands surrounding the massif. The village of La-Chapelle-en-Vercors , approximately in the center of the massif, has a Dfb climate under the Köppen Classification system. Winters are cold; summers are warm; and precipitation, often snow in
2268-494: The leadership of a force of about 4,000 maquis declared the Free Republic of Vercors and attempted to create a conventional army to oppose the German occupation. The Allies supported the maquis with parachute drops of weapons and by supplying teams of advisors and trainers but the uprising was premature. In July 1944, up to 10,000 German soldiers invaded the massif and killed more than 600 maquisards and 200 civilians. It
2331-500: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vercors&oldid=1244784196 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Vercors Cave System The Vercors massif ( French pronunciation: [vɛʁkɔʁ] ; Occitan : Vercòrs )
2394-567: The local maquis to tie down German military forces and assist the Allied forces in the invasion of southern France ( Operation Dragoon ) which was being planned. Cammaerts arranged for the first airdrop of arms and supplies by the SOE to the Vercors maquis on 13 November 1943. On 6 January 1944 a three-man "Union" mission, including US Marine Peter Ortiz from the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Colonel Pierre Fourcaud , of
2457-539: The maquis carried out several raids, claiming they killed 27 Germans. The long-expected allied landing in southern France took place on 15 August and the allied forces advanced rapidly northward, aided by the maquis. On 22 August the city of Grenoble was liberated from German control and maquis from the Vercors marched in the victory parade. According to the order of battle of 8 July 1944 from General Niehoff , Kommandant des Heeresgebietes Südfrankreich (military region of southern France), about operation Bettina against
2520-478: The maquis conducted periodic raids usually launched from Grenoble. The first raid was on 25 November 1943 and a wireless operator was captured and another wounded. On 22 January 1944, a column of 300 German troops arrived at the Grands Goulets gorge on a punitive expedition in retaliation for the ambush of a German staff car a few days earlier. A small force of maquisards attempted to block their progress on
2583-404: The maquis on the Vercors Massif began on 11 June with a reconnaissance-in-force from the city of Grenoble to the village of Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte . The small German force was repulsed by the maquis controlling the only road leading up the massif to Saint-Nizier. On 15 June the Germans returned with artillery and a larger force and forced the maquis to withdraw. During the remainder of June,
Vercors - Misplaced Pages Continue
2646-422: The massif and the population lives in a few small villages. The porous limestone rocks and karst terrain result in an extensive system of caves, caverns and a scarcity of surface water in the form of streams, springs and shallow wells. These characteristics would be important during the battle as the Germans took control of the water sources and ambushed maquis seeking water. The city of Grenoble , which had
2709-442: The massif. The preparations being made for these assaults were readily visible to the maquis; the surprise element in the offensive was the landing of 200 airborne soldiers by glider near the village of Vassieux in the rear of the maquis defense. The glider landings were supported by warplanes bombing and strafing maquis positions. By that first evening it was clear that the German assault was succeeding. The maquis commander Huet had
2772-417: The men nor the arms to defend Vercors, but Descour assured him that the Allies would send reinforcements. The Vercors maquis expected the invasion of southern France shortly after D-Day but it took place more than two months later. The maquis also anticipated incorrectly that Allied paratroopers would land on the massif to assist it and that it would be supplied with anti-tank and other heavy weapons to fight
2835-462: The message to the maquis that clandestine sabotage should continue, but it should remain hidden, as "it would be at least two months before they would be needed". Cammaerts knew also that similar uprisings in other areas had been crushed by the Germans. To the contrary, on June 8, Marcel Descour , the regional leader of the French Resistance, instructed Francois Huet , the new commander of the Vercors maquis, to mobilise. Huet objected that he had neither
2898-592: The name Vercors was used to describe only the township of La Chapelle-en-Vercors (with Royans ), and the northern area around Lans-en-Vercors , Villard-de-Lans , Autrans , and Méaudre (with Grenoble ) and was known as the Four Mountains area. In June and July 1944, the massif became important in World War II with the establishment of the Free Republic of Vercors , led by the Maquis du Vercors ,
2961-471: The narrow road but were either outgunned or outflanked by Gebirgsjäger Alpine troops at each blocking position that they established; twenty maquis were killed. When the Germans reached Échevis on the plateau, they burned the village. The Germans also used the Milice (a pro-German French paramilitary militia) to suppress the growing strength of the resistance on the Vercors massif. On 15 April 1944
3024-734: The north, the Matheysine area of the Dauphiné Alps to the east, and the Diois Massif to the south. In the far south-east, the massif joins with the 1,457 metres (4,780 ft) col de Menée . The massif is drained in the north-east and the north-west by the Isère , in the east by the Drac , and in the south by the Drôme . The western side overlooks the Rhône Valley . The Vercors Massif
3087-683: The north-west foothills are the location of walnuts growing. Three valleys descend to the edge of the Royans: the Gorges de la Bourne , the cirque of the Combe Laval , and the Échevis valley, including the Grands and the Petits Goulets . The Gervanne , in the south-west, is a rugged area of hills at the foot of the plateau, with picturesque villages. It looks towards Crest . The Diois
3150-518: The re-introduced griffon vulture and the alpine ibex . The differences in climate and altitude across the Vercors are reflected in the high level of diversity in the fauna and flora. Members of the cult the Order of the Solar Temple infamously committed mass murder-suicide in the Vercors in 1995. The name Massif du Vercors is derived from the name of a local tribe who lived in the area at
3213-520: The resistance in other areas. The maquis sent a bitter message to the Free French authorities in Algiers and to the SOE in London telling them that they were "criminals and cowards" for not sending help. The last gasps of the organized resistance were on 23 July with the surviving maquis taking refuge in the forests or escaping to the lowlands surrounding the Vercors. Casualties among the maquis during
SECTION 50
#17327726561663276-402: The rest of the massif as the result of erosion. Other parts are isolated from the rest of the massif due to its relief. For example, to reach Gresse-en-Vercors in the south, one must travel 100 kilometres (62 mi) via the col de Rousset or journey 70 kilometres (43 mi) via Saint-Nizier-du-Moucherotte in the north. The villages at the far northern end were isolated by a landslide near
3339-529: The scattered fragments of its once proud army. Paddy Ashdown , The Cruel Victory . Beginning in 1942, the Service du Travail Obligatoire (STO, Compulsory Work Service) resulted in the deportation of hundreds of thousands of young French men to Nazi Germany to work as forced labour for the German war effort. To avoid the STO, tens of thousands of men fled into the mountains and forests of France and joined
3402-457: The senior British official in southeastern France. While François Huet was attempting to create a conventional army from the maquis, journalist and De Gaulle supporter Yves Farge was organizing the politics of the Vercors resistance. On 3 July 1944 Farge and a committee proclaimed the Free Republic of Vercors , the first independent territory in France since the beginning of the German occupation in 1940. The Free Republic had its own flag, i.e.,
3465-471: The slaughter of the maquisards of Vercors and the inhabitants of Vassieux. On 23 July 1944, three Go-242 gliders (each with 2 pilots and 21 soldiers, or weaponry and supplies) towed by Heinkel-111 bombers, and 20 DFS-230 gliders transported one Ost-Kompanie ( Ostlegionen : Russian, Ukrainian and Caucasian volunteers) and a paratrooper platoon from Valence-Chabeuil to Vassieux. According to Peter Lieb, at least two DFS-230 and two Go-242 gliders landed
3528-402: The steep-sided plateau average about 250 m (820 ft) in elevation above sea level while the top of the massif has an average elevation of about 1,000 m (3,300 ft) with a maximum elevation of 2,341 m (7,680 ft) at Grand Veymont . Unlike a flat-topped mesa , three ridges run along the top of the massif from north to south. Only a few roads climb the steep slopes to
3591-578: The time of the Roman conquest of Gaul , who were known as the Vertamocorii (also spelled Vertamocori, Vertacomicorii, or Vertacomocorii), meaning excellent troops or troops of the summit . Modern inhabitants are referred to as Vertacomiriens . Prior to the 1900s, the name Vercors referred only to the upper valleys of the Vernaison near the township of La Chapelle-en-Vercors . At the beginning of
3654-417: The usual smaller night drops, was criticized by the maquis leaders as igniting German worries that the Vercors would become a serious threat to their forces and lines of communications. The German response was to organize one of their largest anti-resistance military operations in France during World War II. Lt. General Karl Ludwig Pflaum [ fr ] was the commander of the German forces attacking
3717-526: The valley of Lans-en-Vercors , the regions around Autrans , and La Chapelle-en-Vercors , and plateaus including forêt des Coulmes , forêt de Lente , and the high plateau. There are a number of deeply incised gorges, including the Bourne and Furon Gorges. These have imposing cliffs often exceeding 400 metres (1,300 ft) such as the Combe Laval and the Cirque d'Archiane . Mont Aiguille stands apart from
3780-597: The winter, is abundant in all seasons. The constituent rocks of the Vercors were formed by sedimentation about 165 million years ago, in the middle Jurassic period, at the bottom of the Piemont-Liguria Ocean . The deposition of animal material formed limestone, with detritus rocks, formed primarily from the erosion of marl from the Variscan orogeny formed the massif in a period marked by changing climatic conditions and ocean depth. At Diois and Trièves
3843-442: Was Germany's largest anti-partisan operation in Western Europe. In August 1944, shortly after the battle for the Vercors, the area was liberated from German control by the Americans and the FFI. The Vercors Massif is a roughly triangular-shaped plateau with a maximum north–south length of 60 km (37 miles) and a maximum width of 40 km (25 miles). The area is 135,000 ha (520 sq mi). The lowlands surrounding
SECTION 60
#17327726561663906-428: Was between a rural group of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) [ maquis ] and the armed forces of Nazi Germany which had occupied France since 1940 in the Second World War . The maquis used the prominent scenic plateau known as the Massif du Vercors (Vercors Plateau) as a refuge. The maquis carried out sabotage and partisan operations against the Germans. After the Normandy Invasion of 6 June 1944,
3969-414: Was closed on 20 April 1992 after a landslide of 20,000 m of rock which involved part of the slope to the north of the route. The instability of the slopes have proved an impediment for the realisation of further work below the site, particularly work on the gorges d'Engins to Sassenage road, the D531. The commune in which the cave is situated is given in italics. The Grotte de Bournillon , located in
#165834