| When Allied forces landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944, during World War II, the armed French underground units had grown large enough to play an important role in the battles that followed—harassing German forces and sabotaging railways and bridges. As the Germans gradually fell back, local Resistance organizations took over town halls and prefectures from Vichy incumbents. Charles de Gaulle's provisional government immediately sent its own delegates into the liberated areas to ensure an ... |