“On August 17, 1944, audacity and bravery won the day”
On August 17, during the 80th anniversary of the Débarquement de Provence, François de Canson addressed the presidents of patriotic associations and...
On this day of commemoration of the liberation of the town, the mayor declared: “You are tirelessly faithful to the duties that are yours, flying the national colors high, enhancing with dignity and presence the many commemorative ceremonies that punctuate the republican, civic, and patriotic life of our town.”
WITNESSES TO THE TRACES OF HISTORY
“Thank you to the Amicale des Anciens Combattants, to the association of Anciens Marins, to the association of the Médaille Militaire, to the association of Combattants Volontaires, to the Souvenir Français, and to the representative of the Ordres Nationaux. Through your presence, you bear witness to the traces of our history which recall the valiant struggles of our elders, you preserve the memory of the far too many lives sacrificed to defend France, preserve its identity and restore our freedom.” A tribute to which he associated the security forces: “Among today's heroes to whom I also wanted to pay tribute are our security and emergency forces, our police officers, our gendarmes, our CCFF, civil protection, the SNSM, who spare no effort this summer to protect, on all fronts, your daily life and ensure a peaceful life. Finally, I want to think here of our soldiers, our armies – soldiers, sailors, submariners, and aviators – who continue to mobilize in all theaters of operation, for our protection.”
REJECT THE INVADER
As early as August 15, 1944, the French Army (...) arrived on mainland soil. Coming from the mainland and all over the Empire, Africans from the countries of French Equatorial Africa and French West Africa, Malagasy, Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans, Antilleans, Indochinese and Pondicherians, Polynesians, Caledonians and Kanaks from the valiant Bataillon du Pacifique. All wanted to be part of the liberating wave (...). Then came the French wave. They landed on August 16 at La Croix-Valmer, Sylvabelle, and La Foux, and headed west (...).
Audacity and bravery won the day. Everything was decided in a few hours of a moonless night, when a few dozen Commandos d'Afrique brilliantly accomplished the suicide mission assigned to them. “That is why our history remains forever linked to the epic of this elite unit: the first to set foot on the soil of our Provence, the first to deliver it from the occupier. It was indeed these men, of an incredible caliber, filled with the rage to win as much as the love of their country, who restored France’s honor. Everything, from their heroism to their exploits, inspires respect. Men trained in forced marches, infiltration techniques, close combat, precision shooting, progression through mined terrain, anti-tank combat, and the neutralization of sentries (...). These exceptional men who chose the most exposed combat unit, that of missions deemed impossible, were destined for the paths of glory,” insisted François de Canson (...).
In La Londe, while the population took refuge in the countryside, and as the Italian occupation was succeeded by the German occupation whose command set up in La Pascalette, the people of La Londe finally felt, in this month of August 1944, the wind of freedom blowing. The radio announced the landing, but the movements of German troops to the west only confirmed the impression of an imminent liberation. It was 4 p.m. when American soldiers entered the territory of the commune. The vanguard of the 3ème Division d'Infanterie US made contact with a few local resistance fighters from La Londe. They informed the American officer and also the troops of the 1ère Division Française Libre of General Brosset of the presence of the Germans on the Saint-Honoré and La Pabourette estates. After a battle lasting nearly two hours, La Londe was on the verge of regaining its freedom. The enemy, surrounded, was neutralized. In the early morning of August 18, as the German units retreated to the blockhouses of Mauvanne, the passage of the reconnaissance scout cars of the first battalion of the Fusillés Marins and the Commandos d’Afrique led by Captain Ducournau marked the liberation of La Londe and sounded the end of the German occupation” (...).
Photos Philippe OLIVIER.