Mission II: AUTHOR

Harry returned to France on the night of 17/18 September 1943 to begin a new circuit named AUTHOR, covering the rural area of the Corrèze in south-western France. Arriving by Lysander at a secret landing field near Angers, he made his way to Paris as arranged but his plans soon ran into serious trouble.

Harry's contact, a resistance leader in south-western France called André Grandclément, had just been arrested. Even worse, he had agreed to start working with the Germans to dismantle the local resistance groups. Despite the dangers Harry carried on with his mission, linking up with de Baissac's SCIENTIST circuit in Bordeaux before moving to Brive-la-Gaillarde in the Corrèze, where he started laying the foundations for AUTHOR.

Assisted by local businessman Maurice Arnouil, whose 'Bloc-Gazo' premises were used as an HQ, Harry also received help from former policeman Louis Delsanti and the celebrated novelist and adventurer André Malraux. Together they were able to recruit new members, arrange parachute supply drops and begin training the local maquis groups in guerrilla warfare. Two young local résistants, Louis Bertheau and Jean Melon, maintained wireless communications with London from a secluded mill near Ussel in the Haute-Corrèze, and later at a safe house on the outskirts of Brive.

In the new year more SOE agents arrived to help, including Cyril Watney and George Hiller, who founded the FOOTMAN circuit in the neighbouring department of the Lot. Jacques Poirier also parachuted back into France and became Harry's second in command at the end of January, posing as a British officer who locally became known as 'Captain Jack'.

Despite the efforts of Grandclément and the Gestapo the AUTHOR circuit built up a secret army of more than 4000 resistance fighters across the Corrèze and Dordogne, and by March 1944 had begun to seriously harass the local German forces. However, with D-Day approaching Harry was forced to take increasing risks to meet London's demands.

Peulevé's lieutenant,
Louis Delsanti

(© Musée Henri Queuille)

AUTHOR's wireless operator
Louis Bertheau

(© Musée Henri Queuille)