Léon Borel

On March 18, 1944 in Saint Julien en Vercors, German occupation troops conduct an offensive. Some twenty trucks loaded with around 150 soldiers, a coach and a self-propelled gun from Grenoble surround the village and head for the ferme de la Matrassière. After combat 3 officersand 3 cavalrymen of the Secret Army are killed and the farm set on fire.
Then the Wehrmacht searches the village. At the hamlet of Domarières in Ferme Borel, they find a pistol. Léon Borel is executed in front of his family. The STO draft dodger, who had been hiding in the barn, dies in the farmhouse fire. This March 18 is a pivotal date in the combats of the Vercors.

Contribution and photo credit Bernard PERRIN

On March 18, 1944 in Saint Julien en Vercors, German occupation troops conduct an offensive. Some twenty trucks loaded with around 150 soldiers, a coach and a self-propelled gun from Grenoble surround the village and head for the ferme de la Matrassière. After combat 3 officersand 3 cavalrymen of the Secret Army are killed and the farm set on fire. Then the Wehrmacht searches the village. At the hamlet of Domarières in Ferme Borel, they find a pistol. Léon Borel is executed in front of his family. The STO draft dodger, who had been hiding in the barn, dies in the farmhouse fire. This March 18 is a pivotal date in the combats of the Vercors.Contribution and photo credit Bernard PERRIN