Memory Lane La Londe les Maures 1942 – 1944

The committee of the Souvenir Français of La Londe les Maures, in partnership with the commune, proposes a free path that recalls the occupation of the village from 1942 to 1944, the commitment and sacrifice of its inhabitants and its liberation on 17 August 1944.

About

Two panels at the eastern and western entrances to the town, 5 lecterns and 2 wall plaques placed in different places in the town, form a memorial path in tribute to the French and American soldiers and the twenty-two inhabitants of London who "Died for France" during the Second World War.
It is called "75th anniversary of the Provence landings and the Liberation".

> Liberation stele
Located on the D.559 at the eastern entrance to the town, 800 m from the zoological park, it was erected by the Souvenir Français in 1970 on the site of the first divisional cemetery of the 1st Free French Division, where 117 soldiers killed in the fighting for the liberation of Toulon were laid to rest.


> Sergeant Stanley Bender Bridge
Situated at the beginning of the road leading to Valcros, it spans the Maravenne.
The only access point to La Londe, it was taken intact after heavy fighting by Sergeant Bender's platoon of the 3rd American Infantry Division (3° DI.US) on 17 August 1944. Eugène Oswald School Located in rue Eugène Oswald, it is named after the young Londais resistance fighter from a maquis in the Ain, who was killed in an ambush in Songieu (01) on 13 July 1944.


Rue Louis Bussone
Named after the young Londais resistance fighter 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 17 August 1944.


> The 1st Free French Division
The plaque located in the town centre on Avenue Clemenceau, recalls the epic of this division.
It was at the crossroads of the four roads that the troops were directed towards Hyères and Pierrefeu on 19 August 1944 by officer Pierre Pasquini.
After the war, this early Resistance fighter held municipal, departmental and national posts.
He was Minister for Veterans from 1995 to 1997.


Stele of the martyrs of the Resistance
Located on the Pansard bridge at the entrance to the town, it was erected in May 1945.
The names of three Resistance fighters from London: Eugène Oswald, Louis Bussone and Pierre Rivault are engraved on it.


> General Paul Ducournau Bridge
Located near the entrance to the Vitria stadium, the panel was inaugurated in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of the Provence landings.
It recalls the passage on 18 August 1944 of the 1st group of African commandos commanded by Captain Ducournau, who liberated Cap Nègre, the Mauvanne blockhouses and Fort du Coudon.


> La Pascalette site
Located at the former level crossing on the D.559 at the western entrance to the town, close to the castle of La Pascalette, seat of the Kommandantur and the exact spot from which the African commandos set off to attack the Mauvanne blockhouses.


> Stele of the Bormettes
Located on the Pierre Rivault square, it commemorates the sacrifice of four children from the district who died for France during the Second World War: Pierre Mazières, Pierre Rivault, Léonard Turc, Ubaldo Sangès.

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All year round.

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