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A great rendition of a little-known story.

From best-selling author of ‘A Brilliant Little Operation’, winner of the British Army Military History prize and the Royal marines History prize for 2013, comes the long-neglected D-Day story of the Resistance uprising and subsequent massacre on the Vercors massif – the largest action by the French Resistance during the Second World War. In 1941 factions of the French Resistance began to plot against their German occupiers. Aided by Allied arms and secret agents, they would seize the mountainous Vercors plateau in south-eastern France in a D-Day uprising intended to divert the Nazis from the Normandy beaches. But when muddled Allied strategy in London and Algiers left them abandoned, the 4,500 young fighters were left to face the might of the German Army alone. ‘The Cruel Victory’ gives voice to the young fighters who fought the largest Resistance battle of the war. It is a story of how early idealism can turn to despair, and of the cost to those on the front line of battle when those at the top know too little about the harsh realities of war. It is a human story of heroic proportion.

Review: Thoroughly researched account of a tragic mistake caused by unforgivable confusion and indecision in London and Algiers and to a degree by pig-headedness among the Maquisards themselves. It is a very detailed narrative especially in relation to the people involved and the geography of the Vercors which I found worked best for me if I did not try to retain all of the detail but just let the ‘story’ flow. I do feel that too long was spent on the political and military comings and goings prior to D-day and that these could have been given in more succinct form without any loss of understanding of what led to the tragedy that was the Vercors.

About the Author: After service as a Royal Marine Commando Officer, Paddy Ashdown served as a diplomat in the Foreign Office before being elected as the Member of Parliament for Yeovil, serving in that capacity from 1983 to 2001. In 1988 he became leader of the Liberal Democrats, standing aside after eleven years of leading his Party. Later he was appointed as the international community’s High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving from 2002 to 2006.