Eisenhower's Guerrillas: The Jedburghs and the Liberation of France

Eisenhower's Guerrillas: The Jedburghs and the Liberation of France With Benjamin F. Jones Part of our Build up to DDay and Operation Overlord series    • Build up to DDay and Operation Overlord   The challenges facing General Dwight Eisenhower before the Invasion of Normandy were not merely military but political as well. He knew that to liberate France, and to hold it, the Allies needed local help, which would necessitate coordinating with the highly independent French resistance groups known collectively as the maquis. The Allies' objective was to push the Germans out of France. The French objective, on the other hand, was a France free of all foreign armies, including the Allies. President Roosevelt refused to give full support to Charles de Gaulle, whom he mistrusted, and declined to supply the timing, location, and other key details of Operation Overlord to his Free French government. Eisenhower's hands were tied. He needed to involve the French, but without simultaneously involving them in operational planning. Into this atmosphere of tension and confusion jumped teams consisting of three officers each -- one from the British Special Operations Bureau, one from the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, one from the Free French Bureau Central de Renseignement -- as well as a radioman from any one of the three nations. Known as the Jedburghs, their primary purpose was to serve as liaisons to the maquis, working to arm, train, and equip them. They were to incite guerilla warfare. Benjamin F. Jones is the State Historian and Director of the South Dakota State Historical Society. Prior to his current position, he was South Dakota's Secretary of Education, a Dean at Dakota State University, and a professor in the Department of History at the US Air Force Academy. He served as an advisor to the National Military Academy of Afghanistan and later as a liaison officer to the Afghan Ministries of Defense, Interior, and their National Directorate of Security for the effort to transition Afghan security from the coalition back to Afghanistan. Buy the book: UK https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5843/978019... USA https://bookshop.org/a/21029/97801999... You can become a YouTube Member and support us here    / @ww2tv   You can become a Patron here   / ww2tv   Please click subscribe for updates also "like" the video - it really helps! Social Media links -   / ww2tv     / ww2tv     / ww2tv   WW2TV Merchandise https://ww2tv.creator-spring.com/ WW2TV Bookshop - where you can purchase copies of books featured in my YouTube shows. Any book listed here comes with the personal recommendation of Paul Woodadge, the host of WW2TV. For full disclosure, if you do buy a book through a link from this page WW2TV will earn a commission. UK - https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/WW2TV USA - https://bookshop.org/shop/WW2TV Patreon Brigadiers: Susan Yu, David Keahey and Tom Mullen Become a WW2TV Brigadier and become part of this Hall of Fame   / ww2tv