Eisenhower's Guerillas by Benjamin F. Jones

Underscoring the critical and often overlooked role that irregular warfare played in Allied operations on the Continent, it tells the story of the battle for and liberation of France and the complexities that threatened to undermine the operation before it even began. Benjamin Jones' Eisenhower's Guerrillas is the first book to show in detail how the Jedburghs - whose heroism and exploits have been widely celebrated - and the maquis worked together.

Known as the Jedburghs, their primary purpose was to serve as liaisons to the maquis, working to arm, train, and equip them. 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. 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. He needed to involve the French, but without simultaneously involving them in operational planning. Moreover, to call the agents 'Eisenhowers' guerillas ignores those (like the Brits and 'Wild Bill' Donovan) who pioneered/championed the use of guerrillas. In addition, the background and politics surrounding the French Resistance is weaved in to this story. 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. Jones has given us what might be the most thorough treatment. The French objective, on the other hand, was a France free of all foreign armies, including the Allies. The Allies' objective was to push the Germans out of France. 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 challenges facing General Dwight Eisenhower before the Invasion of Normandy were not merely military but political as well.

Eisenhower's Guerillas by Benjamin F. Jones