So Close to Freedom
Jean-Luc Carton investigates the betrayed April 1944 François Line crossing of the Pyrenees.
- Author
- Jean-Luc Carton
- Publisher
- Potomac Books
- Price
- US$29.95
- ISBN
- 9781640121027
- Published
- 2018
So Close to Freedom by Jean-Luc Carton
As German intelligence tightened its grip on southern France in 1943–44, larger groups of Allied evaders converged on Toulouse and the François Line for guides across the Pyrenees. Jean-Luc Carton meticulously reconstructs the 19–22 April 1944 crossing led by famed passeur Jean-Louis “Charbonnier” Bazerque, when 35 evaders, résistants, civilians, and Engelandvaarders were betrayed and ambushed by Austrian ski troops.
Carton’s research traces each participant’s journey, the escape lines that funnelled them south, the deadly patrols and spotter aircraft stalking the high routes, and the informers who sealed their fate. Essential reading for anyone studying the François Line, Dutch-Paris, or the perilous high Pyrenees crossings.
Potomac Books. US$29.95. ISBN 9781640121027.