Chemin de la Mémoire La Londe les Maures 1942 – 1944
The French Remembrance Committee of La Londe les Maures, in partnership with the commune, offers a free route which recalls the occupation of the village from 1942 to 1944, the commitment and sacrifice of its inhabitants and its liberation on August 17, 1944.
Route details
Description
Two panels at the East and West entrances to the city, 5 lecterns and 2 wall plaques placed in different places in the town, constitute a path of memory in homage to the French and American soldiers and the twenty-two Londoners who “Died for France” during the Second World War.
Labeled “75th anniversary of the landing of Provence and the Liberation”.
> Liberation Stele
Located on the D.559 at the eastern entrance to the city, 800 m from the zoo, it was erected by Souvenir Français in 1970 on the site of the first divisional cemetery of the 1st Free French Division where 117 soldiers were killed. in the fights for the Liberation of Toulon.
> Sergeant Stanley Bender Bridge
Located at the start of the road leading to Valcros, it spans the Maravenne.
The only access point to enter La Londe, it was taken intact after hard fighting by Sergeant Bender's section of the 3rd American Infantry Division (3rd DI.US), on August 17, 1944.
> Eugène Oswald School
Located rue Eugène Oswald, it bears the name of the young resistance fighter from London from a maquis in Ain, killed in an ambush in Songieu (01) on July 13, 1944.
> Rue Louis Bussone
Named after the young resistance fighter from London who tried to defuse the explosive charges under the Pansard bridge.
Discovered, he was pursued and arrested in front of his home by the occupying troops, then shot near the cooperative cellar on August 17, 1944.
> The 1st Free French Division
The plaque located in the city center on Avenue Clemenceau recalls the epic tale of this division.
It was at the crossroads of the four paths that the troops were directed towards Hyères and Pierrefeu on August 19, 1944 by officer Pierre Pasquini.
After the war, this early resistance fighter held municipal, departmental and national positions.
He was Minister of Veterans Affairs from 1995 to 1997.
> Stele of the martyrs of the Resistance
Located on the Pansard bridge at the entrance to the city, it was erected in May 1945.
The names of three London resistance fighters: Eugène Oswald, Louis Bussone and Pierre Rivault are engraved there.
> General Paul Ducournau Bridge
Located near the entrance to the Vitria stadium, the panel was inaugurated in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of the landing of Provence.
It recalls the passage on August 18, 1944 of the 1st group of commandos from Africa commanded by Captain Ducournau, liberator of Cap Nègre, the Mauvanne blockhouses and Fort du Coudon.
> Place called La Pascalette
Located at the old level crossing on the D.559 at the western entrance to the city, near the castle of La Pascalette, headquarters of the Kommandantur and at the precise location from where the commandos of Africa to attack the Mauvanne blockhouses.
> Stele of the Bormettes
Located on Place Pierre Rivault, it recalls the sacrifice of four children from the Morts pour la France district during the Second World War: Pierre Mazières, Pierre Rivault, Léonard Turc, Ubaldo Sangès.
Labeled “75th anniversary of the landing of Provence and the Liberation”.
> Liberation Stele
Located on the D.559 at the eastern entrance to the city, 800 m from the zoo, it was erected by Souvenir Français in 1970 on the site of the first divisional cemetery of the 1st Free French Division where 117 soldiers were killed. in the fights for the Liberation of Toulon.
> Sergeant Stanley Bender Bridge
Located at the start of the road leading to Valcros, it spans the Maravenne.
The only access point to enter La Londe, it was taken intact after hard fighting by Sergeant Bender's section of the 3rd American Infantry Division (3rd DI.US), on August 17, 1944.
> Eugène Oswald School
Located rue Eugène Oswald, it bears the name of the young resistance fighter from London from a maquis in Ain, killed in an ambush in Songieu (01) on July 13, 1944.
> Rue Louis Bussone
Named after the young resistance fighter from London who tried to defuse the explosive charges under the Pansard bridge.
Discovered, he was pursued and arrested in front of his home by the occupying troops, then shot near the cooperative cellar on August 17, 1944.
> The 1st Free French Division
The plaque located in the city center on Avenue Clemenceau recalls the epic tale of this division.
It was at the crossroads of the four paths that the troops were directed towards Hyères and Pierrefeu on August 19, 1944 by officer Pierre Pasquini.
After the war, this early resistance fighter held municipal, departmental and national positions.
He was Minister of Veterans Affairs from 1995 to 1997.
> Stele of the martyrs of the Resistance
Located on the Pansard bridge at the entrance to the city, it was erected in May 1945.
The names of three London resistance fighters: Eugène Oswald, Louis Bussone and Pierre Rivault are engraved there.
> General Paul Ducournau Bridge
Located near the entrance to the Vitria stadium, the panel was inaugurated in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of the landing of Provence.
It recalls the passage on August 18, 1944 of the 1st group of commandos from Africa commanded by Captain Ducournau, liberator of Cap Nègre, the Mauvanne blockhouses and Fort du Coudon.
> Place called La Pascalette
Located at the old level crossing on the D.559 at the western entrance to the city, near the castle of La Pascalette, headquarters of the Kommandantur and at the precise location from where the commandos of Africa to attack the Mauvanne blockhouses.
> Stele of the Bormettes
Located on Place Pierre Rivault, it recalls the sacrifice of four children from the Morts pour la France district during the Second World War: Pierre Mazières, Pierre Rivault, Léonard Turc, Ubaldo Sangès.