France Under the Jackboot – SOE, SAS & the French Resistance
France Under the Jackboot – SOE, SAS & the French Resistance
France Under the Jackboot – SOE, SAS & the French Resistance
7 Days Starting in 60200 Compiègne, France and ending in Amiens, France
Visiting: Compiègne, Limoges, Oradour-sur-Glane, Amiens
Tour operator:
Tour code:
fsa
Guide Type:
Fully Guided
Age range:
0-99
Special diets catered:
Vegetarians
Tour operated in:
EnglishTrip Styles:
Interests:
Activities:
Tour Overview
We look at the experience of France under Nazi occupation during the Second World War from the Battle of France in 1940 to the terrible events of the Holocaust in France, as well as the use of SOE and SAS, and the role of the French resistance. We see where France was humiliated at Compiegne, see the Holocaust Memorial at Drancy, and go into Limoges to look at SOE Heroine Violette Szabo before seeing Oradour sur Glane where a whole community was wiped out. We end the tour in northern France seeing where members of the French Resistance were executed, now a moving memorial site.
Highlights
Itinerary
Day 1 : Arrive In Compiegne
Location: Compiègne
Accommodation: Hotel
Accommodation Name: 3-star hotel
Local departure by coach or Door-to-Door service then, to Compiegne, north of Paris for two nights.
Day 2 : Battle Of France
Location: Compiègne
Accommodation: Hotel
Accommodation Name: 3-star hotel
Meals Included: Breakfast
We start by looking at the German Blitzkrieg in 1940 and the Fall of France. We see where the Germans humiliated France by forcing them to surrender where the Armistice of 1918 was signed, seeing the museum here. In the Compiegne Forest we see where Paris’ Jews were deported by train to Concentration Camps. In the afternoon we visit the Compiegne Memorial Museum, looking at the Holocaust in this part of France, and end the day by visiting the graves of French soldiers who fell in defence of Paris. Please note: for 2023/4 the Resistance Museum at Tergnier is closed for a major refit and will not reopen for some time. Instead, we will visit the Memorial at Compiegne in its place.
Included meals: Breakfast
Day 3 : The Holocaust In Paris
Location: Limoges
Accommodation: Hotel
Accommodation Name: 3-star Ibis Limoges Nord
Meals Included: Breakfast
Today we focus on the experience of the Jewish community in Paris during WW2 seeing the Holocaust Memorial site at Drancy which served as a Concentration Camp before those held here were sent off to camps in Germany and in the East. We view where the camp was, see the memorials and the Visitors Centre*. In the afternoon we depart for Limoges for two nights.
Day 4 : Soe In Limoges; Oradour-Sur-Glane
Location: Limoges, Oradour-sur-Glane
Accommodation: Hotel
Accommodation Name: 3-star Ibis Limoges Nord
Meals Included: Breakfast
In the morning we follow the trail of SOE Agent Violette Szabo close to Limoges, seeing the village where she was sheltered, the area where she was dropped in and the ground where she was captured. In the afternoon we visit the village of Oradour sur Glane which was wiped out by SS troops in 1944. Now preserved as a memorial site, we enter through the visitors centre to learn of this tragic event from WW2 and spend the afternoon among the deserted streets left just as they were in 1944.
Day 5 : Soe Memorial
Location: Amiens
Accommodation: Hotel
Accommodation Name: 3-star Holiday Inn Express Amiens, or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast
We depart Limoges and examine the role of British Special Air Service troops behind enemy lines in occupied France and visit the SOE Memorial at Valençay. We then depart for Amiens where we stay for two nights.
Day 6 : Amiens Prison & French Resistance
Location: Amiens
Accommodation: Hotel
Accommodation Name: 3-star Holiday Inn Express Amiens, or similar
Meals Included: Breakfast
Today we look at the French resistance in northern France travelling to the Resistance Museum at Bondues near Lille. After lunch in Arras, we visit the ‘Mur des Fusillies’: the moat of an old fort where members of the Resistance were executed during WWII, now a poignant memorial site. We then travel to Amiens seeing where the attack on Amiens Prison took place. Here RAF Mosquitos bombed the prison. We also visit the graves of the RAF crews in the nearby cemetery.
Day 7 : Return Home
Location: Amiens
Meals Included: Breakfast
Return home.
What's Included
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Additional Services
Travel from a wide range of convenient joining points across the UK is included within your coach holiday price; some carry a supplement. Please contact us for our full list of joining points.
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Accommodation
As detailed in the itinerary
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Airport Transfers at Destination
This trip includes coach travel from/to a local UK joining point
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Fully Guided
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International Travel
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Meals
As detailed in the itinerary
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Transport
Comfortable, air-conditioned motorcoach
What's Not Included
Accommodation
You will stay for two nights in Compiegne, near Paris at a 3-star hotel, then two nights at the 3-star Ibis Limoges Nord and finally two nights at the 3-star Holiday Inn Express Amiens, or similar.
Check out our Q&As
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What type of coach will be used?
You will travel on either our Luxuria Coach or our Silver Service Coach
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What is the fitness level required to do this tour?
Low
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Will there be an escort accompanying this tour?
Fully escorted by our experienced drivers/crews. And in most towns and cities we either include or offer optional sightseeing tours with expert local guides to help you get the most from your visits.
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Are the local guides on the tour English speaking?
Yes
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Are all the relevant entry visa’s included in the price of the tour?
No
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Is there a supplement for solo travellers?
Some tours carry a supplement for solo travellers, please ask for details if the Single price is not shown
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Is the tour coach air conditioned?
Yes
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Will I know the names and details of all the accommodation before I depart?
Yes
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Is there a limit to luggage that can be brought on the tour?
On Leger Coach Holidays, your allowance is one medium sized suitcase per person, which should weigh no more than 20kg when full.
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Is there any free time to explore places during the tour?
As detailed in the itinerary
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How long has the tour company been trading?
40 years
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Do you operate a “single share” option and how does it work?
Sole use of your own room on all Single Traveller holidays: means you still get your privacy and time out from the group.
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Will the accommodation included meet local health and safety regulations?
Yes
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Battlefield Tours - Will it be possible to visit a particular cemetery whilst on the tour?
Please contact us and we will check to see whether you can visit a particular cemetery on any of our Battlefield Tours, if we are not able to fit it into our itinerary then you could take some time out of the tour and do this independently by taxi or public transport.
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What policies are in place for Covid-19?
Please contact us for latest Covid-19 policies
Reviews of this operator
Book with Confidence
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Low Deposit
Leger Holidays requires a minimum deposit of 20% or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 75 days before departure.
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Cancellation Policy
We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of leger holidays charges.
Up to 56 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.
At 55 days before tour starts: Forfeit 50% of booking price.
At 42 days before tour starts: Forfeit 75% of booking price.
At 21 days before tour starts: Forfeit 90% of booking price.
At 14 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.