SOE & French Resistance in Central France

SOE and French Resistance Tour

The SOE and French Resistance Tour in Central France is a comprehensive look at the activities of the SOE agents and Resistance fighters during WWII from Lyon to Limoges. This is a six-day tour (not including travel to start and from end points) which takes in the following main sites:

Lyon – The hot-bed of French Resistance and under the strict command of the Gestapo – led for the most part by the infamous Klaus Barbie.

The Auvergne – The Battles of Mont Mouchet, Maquis Camps and sabotage.

Vichy – The seat of the French Government under Marshal Pétain. Walking tour of the town.

Tulle – The Rise of Resistance immediately after D-Day and how it affected the 2SS Panzer Division “Das Reich”.

Oradour-sur-Glane – Site of the June 1944 massacre and now a national monument.

Aside from these places we visit an abudance of sites where SOE agents and Resistance Leaders lived and operated from – where battles were fought, arrests were made and escapes thereafter. We look in detail at agents such as Violette Szabo, Nancy Wake, Maurice Southgate, John Farmer, Virginia Hall and many more. We follow Colonel Gaspard (Émile Coulaudon) and his men who fought on Mont Mouchet outnumbered and outgunned in the second largest battle between the resistance and the Germans during the occupation. The politics, the strategies, propaganda, the Milice, the collaborators and the informants. Clandestine printing presses, sharpened hat-pins, silenced pistols and bank robberies.

We visit many sites on this tour and hear of courage, treachery, derring-do and love…it really is a rollercoaster of emotion.

This is one of my favourite tours and the tales of sheer cold blooded bravery are nothing short of astounding…and often heartbreaking.

As with some of my other tours I’m afraid I no longer put detailed itineraries on the internet because other companies and guides have been stealing them so please contact me for further details.

Thank you Gary!
I have learned so much - I've been moved, informed, smiled, cried.
Such expertise...You're a lovely teacher. Ruth A

You're an amazing font of beautiful human stories. Julie M

The first man to make me cry five times a day...a wonderfully curated tour. Sarah G

Once again dearest friend, it has been emotional, poignant and fun. Hard to express enough thanks. Alison A

Various - September 2024
Taken from an end of tour card by a group. (LINK)