Thread by @ClaireBerlinski

Recently, my friend @robertzubrin drove from Paris to Switzerland to attend a conference of the Mars Society. He stopped, en route, in the village of Ferrières-en-Brie. His uncle Abe, serving in Patton’s Third Army, had been killed in action liberating it.

He was in the 35th Infantry division (Santa Fe Division). The Rothschilds had a chateau there, which Goering took over as his headquarters during the occupation and filled with art stolen from the Louvre.

Robert asked the the village historian if he had any records of that day.

The historian sent him a dossier of extraordinary accounts, some annotated by hand, in 2004, by a man who had been 17 when the village was liberated. Robert sent the files to me with a note: "Can you have a look at it and tell me what it says?”

The printed accounts are easy to translate, and they’re extraordinary. I'm having trouble with the handwritten notes, however: They're difficult to decipher. I asked Robert if I could share what I've translated so far on Twitter,

both because it's so moving and because there may be someone more gifted than I am at deciphering handwriting out there who could help me. He gave me his permission. It would take too long to Tweet everything, but here are some parts that especially struck me.

HEADLINE: IN VIOLENCE AND BLOOD

On August 27, ‘44, the tension is extreme. The Germans seek to blow up the bridges between Lagny and Thorigny. At about 5:30 p.m., a German section places itself under cover at the corner of Château Fort street.

Meanwhile, German sappers mine the Maunoury Bridge on the Thorigny side. The Germans requisition civilians to destroy the wooden deck of the Joffre Bridge. To go faster, they spray it with gasoline and set it on fire. The engineers mine the Maunoury Bridge.

In Lagny, resisters mobilize and trigger a heavy fire to prevent the bridge’s explosion.

At noon, an armored American reconnaissance vehicle enters Lagny by Saint-Laurent street.

It belongs to General Patton’s US Seventh Army corps.

At 12:30, the Americans establish contact with the leaders of the local resistance with the aid of an English interpreter from the Saint-Laurent boarding school.

Bombshells fall around Saint-Laurent Street.

The residents of Lagny seek to bring the Americans near the bridge to prevent the Germans from blowing it up. In vain: The small US detachment withdraws on the road to Tournon, waiting for reinforcement.

The FFI has little ammunition.

The leader of the detachment calls for calm and gives orders not to attack the Germans. He also calls for the evacuation of homes around the bridges.

FIVE MEMBERS OF THE RESISTANCE KILLED

Captain Jean-Jacques's SSI company is on the banks of the Marne.

But it is violently overtaken by the Germans, who cut it off from the front. The toll is heavy. Adjutant René Rochefort and FFIs René Poulin, Maurice Milham, Augustin Méignan, fall to enemy bullets. Medics Martin and Compain are also killed.

A frontline rescue station is set up on Delambre Street under the direction of Doctor Léveque. At 3:20 pm, the Manoury Bridge blows up. The explosion sets a building on fire, threatening the neighborhood.

ARTILLERY DUEL

At 11:10 p.m., Captain Jean-Jaques places a machine-gun battery near the Manoury Bridge.

On August 27, at 7:00 a.m, the German artillery continues its shelling.

At 9:30 a.m., the Americans arrive at Lagny.

The US infantry progresses in a column toward the city center. The Germans trigger a violent burst of artillery. With calm, the Americans win the forward positions on the banks of the Marne.

At 2:00 p.m., heavy American arms enter into action: The Germans rapidly abandon the terrain.

At 3:00 p.m., combat ceases. The people explode with joy. The count is five FFI and twelve civilians killed … and 300 bombshell impacts.

Handwritten, below:

"The last days of the German occupation. Long live the liberty regained!"

(To be continued ... )

Beg pardon, my friend is @robert_zubrin.