Mussidan (; ) is a
commune in the
Dordogne
Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...
department in
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...
in southwestern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Mussidan station has rail connections to Bordeaux, Périgueux, Brive-la-Gaillarde and Limoges.
Population
Roundup of 16 January 1944
On 16 January 1944, 35 hostages were arrested by the Germans for acts of resistance. They were deported to German work camps.
[.]
Battle and executions of 11 June 1944
On 11 June 1944
Francs-Tireurs et Partisans
The ''Francs-tireurs et partisans français'' (, FTPF), or commonly the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP), was an armed resistance organization created by leaders of the French Communist Party during World War II (1939–45). The communist ...
destroyed a German armoured train at Mussidan station. During the fight, eight guerrillas and the train guard were killed. At the same time a convoy of the
11th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht arrived from Bordeaux. The guerrillas were obliged to withdraw.
As a reprisal, a detachment of the Gestapo from Périgueux led by Second Lieutenant Michaël Hambrecht, reinforced by a platoon led by
Alexandre Villaplane, head of one of the five sections of the North African Brigade and former captain of the
France football team at the
1930 World Cup in Uruguay, 350 men over the age of sixteen from the city and its surroundings were arrested. The village was plundered by the North Africans. In the evening, 47 civilians were shot near the town hall; five others were massacred in the street, including Raoul Grassin, the mayor of the town, and a councillor. Eight boys were under 18. Only two people survived despite their serious injuries. The Mussidan massacre constitutes the largest massacre of civilians committed in the Dordogne during the Second World War, the tenth largest in France. 115 inhabitants were deported.
These sufferings earned Mussidan the award of the 1939-1945 war cross on 11 November 1948, a distinction also awarded to eighteen other municipalities in the Dordogne.
International relations
It is twinned with:
*
Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is up the River Deben from the sea. It lies north-east of Ipswich and around north-east of London. In 2011 it had a populat ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
*
Vigy,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
; since 1990
See also
*
Communes of the Dordogne department
The following is a list of the 503 communes of the Dordogne department of France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include Fren ...
References
Communes of Dordogne
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