Between Mont Aiguille and Grand Veymont

4 points of interest

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  Stone of Remembrance

  After the Allied landings on June 6, 1944, growing numbers of Resistance fighters climbed the south-eastern edge of the Vercors to join the Maquis who had gathered in the mountains, which was now a very attractive proposition for them. But few men were on hand to guard these high, narrow passages when the 157th Alpine Reserve Division launched a widespread attack on July 21, 1944. Under the command of General Pflaum, the aim of the Germans was to crush the Vercors Maquis. In spite of the courage and bravery they showed during the fighting, the watchmen were quickly overcome by an enemy with superior numbers and weapons. The order to disperse was received on July 23, leaving military victory to the Germans. Resistance fighters from inside the plateau were also cut down when they tried to exfiltrate through the passes. This stone, placed symbolically at the foot of the Pas de la Ville, serves as a reminder of them.

• 

  Maison Gaston Faure

  A barn belonging to a farmer, Gaston Faure, once stood on this spot. Erected in the autumn of 1940 by the Scouts and Skiers Section of the 6th Battalion of Alpine Infantrymen, it was then used as a high mountain training centre for the unit. Large numbers of mountain infantrymen undertook their training here in the winter of 1940-1941. Alongside them were storied leaders who later joined the Resistance and took part in the battles of the Vercors: Chabal, Tanant, Gardent and Eysseric. German troops destroyed the house with explosives on July 4, 1944 in retaliation for the Resistance’s attack on their convoy the day before at the Allimas pass.

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  The stone-walled enclosures of Gresse

  In Gresse, stones and pebbles have been cleared from the land over many generations so the soil can be used for cultivation. The stones were removed by hand and piled up to form boundaries for the fields. This ancestral practice leaves a particular mark on the landscape and can be found in other regions with stony terrains, such as in the Massif Central or Scotland.

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  Uclaire

  In the autumn of 1943, a handful of Resistance fighters set up here in the hamlet abandoned by the Scouts and Skiers Section of the 6th Battalion of Alpine Infantrymen. They spent the winter of 1943-1944 under the command of Louis Kalck (André), with Robert Adage serving as liaison officer. Their numbers rose in the spring of 1944. The camp consisted of 37 men in July, nearly all of whom came from the region, with Achille Demaret (Potin) in command. They left in haste on July 3, 1944 after being warned about the attack by the German convoy at the Allimas pass, before making their way to the Resistance in the Vercors. The next day, July 4, the Germans destroyed the site they had left behind, burning the hamlet to the ground.