The Brutus Network (french: Réseau Brutus) was a

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

movement during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was founded in 1941 by Pierre Fourcaud, parachuted in France with instructions from

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

to set up an intelligence network,Le Réseau Brutus Boyer
and other socialist members of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), from the

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and ...

department in the Southern Zone, and led by

Félix Gouin Félix Gouin (; 4 October 1884 – 25 October 1977) was a French Socialist politician who was a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO). Personal life Félix Gouin was born in Peypin, Bouches-du-Rhône, the son of ...

. As soon as July 1941, the network almost became the armed wing of the '' Comité d'action socialiste'' (CAS - Socialist Action Committee), of which Félix Gouin had been a co-founder, along with Daniel Mayer. The CAS delegate

Eugène Thomas Eugène Thomas (23 July 1903 – 29 January 1969) was a French socialist teacher, trade unionist and politician. He was a member of the French Resistance during World War II (1939–45). He was Minister or Secretary of State for PTT four times i ...

became the leader of the Brutus Network after the arrest of Pierre Fourcaud and the departure of his brother, Jean Fourcaud, for London. Extending itself in 1942–43, Brutus became a national Resistance network in February 1943, in particular through the impulsion of

André Boyer André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation ...

. Boasting more than 1,000 agents, its headquarters were in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, with

Pierre Sudreau Pierre Sudreau (13 May 1919 – 22 January 2012) was a French politician. His childhood correspondence with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944) helped inspire the title character of the 1943 novel ''The Little Prince''. Biography Sudr ...

as responsible of the Northern Zone and Jean-Maurice Hermann of the Southern Zone. André Boyer entered the directing committee of the '' Mouvements unis de Résistance'' (United Movements of Resistance) in November 1943. At the end of this year, the network was strongly affected by the arrest of Boyer, Sudreau, and Hermann.

Gaston Defferre Gaston Defferre (14 September 1910 – 7 May 1986) was a French Socialist politician. He served as mayor of Marseille for 33 years until his death in 1986. He was minister for overseas territories in Guy Mollet’s socialist government in 1956� ...

, later mayor of Marseilles for years, succeeded to André Boyer (he was previously his deputy) as national chief.

Some members

* Jean-Louis Bazerque * Pierre Bourthoumieux * Jean Biondi * Élie Bloncourt *

* André Clavé *

* Pierre Fourcaud * Raymond Gernez *

* Ginette Kahn Bernheim * Jean-Maurice Hermann * Pierre Malafosse * Daniel Mayer * Émilienne Moreau * Jacques Poupault * Georges Ronceray *

* Jean Valnet * Gaston Vedel

Footnotes

Bibliography

*Jean-Marc Binot and Bernard Boyer, ''Nom de code : Brutus'', éd. Fayard, 2007

External links

Témoignage
video testimony of a Brutus member in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nickname ...

{{SFIO French Resistance networks and movements French Section of the Workers' International

Some members

Footnotes

Bibliography

See also

External links