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First Battle: Jean Moulin – The Diary of France’s Resistance Hero (Translated): A New English Edition with Historical Introduction, Notes, Maps and Illustrations
This translated and annotated edition of ‘First Battle’
New English translation of Moulin’s diaryHistorical introduction and background notesBiographical essay on Jean Moulin, 1940–1943Maps of the 1940 campaign around ChartresIllustrations and photos
This edition presents Jean Moulin’s powerful account of the collapse of France in June 1940 and the extraordinary pressures he faced as Prefect of Eure-et-Loir. Written soon after the events and preserved by his family during the occupation, the diary records, with clarity and restraint, the days when the city of Chartres was battered by bombardment, overwhelmed by refugees, stripped of essential services and abandoned by much of its civil and military leadership.
Moulin describes the practical and human crises that confronted him hour by the loss of electricity, water and communications; uncontrolled fires; the sudden disappearance of police and municipal officials; the need to bury the dead, feed thousands of displaced families and shelter the elderly and wounded in makeshift refuges. His entries show the strain of attempting to preserve order when fear, hunger and misinformation spread faster than reliable news. They also reveal the growing presence of agitators and collaborators seeking to incite disorder as German forces approached.
When the first German troops entered Chartres on 17 June, Moulin’s difficulties increased sharply. He was confronted by threats, coercion and violent demands that he sign a false declaration accusing Senegalese soldiers of atrocities—an attempt by the occupiers to justify their treatment of colonial troops. His refusal led to beatings and humiliation severe enough that, believing further torture inevitable, he attempted to take his own life rather than yield to pressure. He survived, but the episode marked him deeply and shaped the convictions that would guide his later actions.
The diary presented here captures this moment before Jean Moulin became a national figure. It shows a civil servant struggling against disintegration, working to maintain human dignity amid bombardment, panic and occupation. Yet within these pages lie the foundations of the leader he would soon become. After recovering from his ordeal, Moulin later reached London, met General de Gaulle, and went on to unify the major Resistance movements—an achievement that made him one of the most important figures of the French Resistance until his arrest and death in 1943.
Beautifully translated and edited, First Jean Moulin – The Diary of France’s Resistance Hero (Translated) offers readers a vivid primary source from the earliest days of occupation and a rare insight into the moment a future Resistance hero fought his first battle—alone, outnumbered and armed only with his sense of duty.
New English translation of Moulin’s diaryHistorical introduction and background notesBiographical essay on Jean Moulin, 1940–1943Maps of the 1940 campaign around ChartresIllustrations and photos
This edition presents Jean Moulin’s powerful account of the collapse of France in June 1940 and the extraordinary pressures he faced as Prefect of Eure-et-Loir. Written soon after the events and preserved by his family during the occupation, the diary records, with clarity and restraint, the days when the city of Chartres was battered by bombardment, overwhelmed by refugees, stripped of essential services and abandoned by much of its civil and military leadership.
Moulin describes the practical and human crises that confronted him hour by the loss of electricity, water and communications; uncontrolled fires; the sudden disappearance of police and municipal officials; the need to bury the dead, feed thousands of displaced families and shelter the elderly and wounded in makeshift refuges. His entries show the strain of attempting to preserve order when fear, hunger and misinformation spread faster than reliable news. They also reveal the growing presence of agitators and collaborators seeking to incite disorder as German forces approached.
When the first German troops entered Chartres on 17 June, Moulin’s difficulties increased sharply. He was confronted by threats, coercion and violent demands that he sign a false declaration accusing Senegalese soldiers of atrocities—an attempt by the occupiers to justify their treatment of colonial troops. His refusal led to beatings and humiliation severe enough that, believing further torture inevitable, he attempted to take his own life rather than yield to pressure. He survived, but the episode marked him deeply and shaped the convictions that would guide his later actions.
The diary presented here captures this moment before Jean Moulin became a national figure. It shows a civil servant struggling against disintegration, working to maintain human dignity amid bombardment, panic and occupation. Yet within these pages lie the foundations of the leader he would soon become. After recovering from his ordeal, Moulin later reached London, met General de Gaulle, and went on to unify the major Resistance movements—an achievement that made him one of the most important figures of the French Resistance until his arrest and death in 1943.
Beautifully translated and edited, First Jean Moulin – The Diary of France’s Resistance Hero (Translated) offers readers a vivid primary source from the earliest days of occupation and a rare insight into the moment a future Resistance hero fought his first battle—alone, outnumbered and armed only with his sense of duty.
86 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 14, 2025
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