Premier combat

by Jean Moulin

Juin 1940. Chartres, submergée par la foule des réfugiés du Nord, s'est simultanément vidée de ses propres habitants. Quelques unités combattantes en retraite la traversent encore, bientôt suivies par les premiers détachements de la Wehrmacht. Resté à peu près seul à son poste, le jeune préfet est convoqué par le vainqueur, qui veut le contraindre à signer un document mensonger portant atteinte à l'honneur de l'armée française. Le dramatique récit de Jean Moulin, dont le dépouillement fait la force, ouvre, le 17 juin 1940, le grand livre de la Résistance. Premier combat a été publié aux Éditions de Minuit en 1947, avec une préface du général de Gaulle. Sommaire : Préface - Introduction - Journal (Chartres 14-18 juin 1940) - Appendices - Témoignages.

Genres: History

176 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Romain · Rating 5 out of 5]

« ... Il est des heures où servir son pays, à quelque poste que ce soit, a un tel caractère d'impérieuse obligation que c'est tout naturellement et avec enthousiasme que les hommes de bonne volonté trouvent les forces nécessaires à l'accomplissement de leur tâche ... »

[Pirate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrifying first-hand account by at the time an unremarkable man who became perhaps the finest French figure of World War II - de Gaulle apart - and remains today every French person's - well those not from the extremes - ideal of heroism. This short book is a fine narrative of his experiences in trying to keep his sizeable town of Chartres running in the days preceding the arrival of the Germans. There you have all the characters you would expect from the frauds taking advantage of the shattered people to the solid types who Moulin can rely on to fifth columnists. The panic is clear not so much from him but in the descriptions of the refugees pouring into the town from Paris - most touching is his story of a woman who has been robbed of all her money by a fellow refugess whom she trusted on their journey from Paris, who he furnishes with some money and hen she bursts into tears and asks him for a kiss - and then there is the passage surrounding his treatment when the Nazis arrive. I will pass over the details but it is here where you can clearly see his stoical and honoàurable character developing into an heroic one. Plus you see that even the so called 'good Germans' those of the Wehrmacht were less than civilised. In case one thinks this is an effort to create the myth of aa hero there are appendices at the end which clearly attest to the truth of a truly great man. Well worth a read.

[Marky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about the French defeat and how French society started to split in two during the Occupation. You start to see the heroes like Jean Moulin take their place. I really liked it as it's autobiographical.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read, especially nowadays to remember what war is and that it happened, in France, not so long ago.