Georges Aujaud alias YVES

I was very young when I contacted the Resistance members from the Great War (1914), in particular one of my uncles who had been injured in a gas attack. I also found the Marseillaise moving and I was determined to defend France from the enemy.

With two refugees, one from Brittany and one from Lorraine, we decided to go to Switzerland, to join England so that we could help the France Libre. The refugee from Brittany knew how to get through to Switzerland. This was in April 1943 and I was 18 years old. Unfortunately the network was dismantled before we could do anything. The leader was Simon de Savernes.

We continued to the Upper Savoy and contacted Roy at Cionze. We formed a maquis group above Reposoir near Grand Bornand, and we were about 50 people altogether.
After a while, since we had not given up the idea of getting to Switzerland, we decided with a few others, about 20 in all, to take our chances. On the way, the group was decimated by the militia at Montsaxonais and I met up again with two other friends near Hyeres. We contacted a friend who lived in Annemasse who warned us that the passage to Switzerland was impossible because of the occupation.

We then took the road south and after meeting with a captain of the gendarmerie at Forcalquier who gave us some friendly advice to the effect that it was very risky, I decided to go back home at Limoux.
Having nothing to do and not wanting to work for the Germans, I decided to join the maquis of Villebazy. I left together with Albert Subias and a Belgian.

The maquis was an AS (Secret Army) maquis, called Miquel and was commanded by a certain Jacques.
Since I did not get along very well with Jacques, jI took advantage of the visit of Riffaut and along with another twenty of my friends, we joined the maquis FTP Faïta and left for Courtauly.
The maquis then withdrew Salvezines.

With Gaby and two German deserters I participated in the destruction of a train at the station of Quillan.
Gaby was the leader of the operation and I was in charge of taking over the station and cutting off the phone lines.

I entered the hall and armed with my machine gun held 7 or 8 people at gunpoint before cutting the wires. In the meantime, Gaby and the train driver were driving the train at speed into the tunnel against other wagons thus causing their derailment and blocking the railway track and the road.
We could have lived there without being disturbed.

There was also an operation to recover flour, on the road of Saint Polycarpe.

When the Americans arrived at the camp, I saw them in the morning. They were in a bad mood because they were unable to make radio contact with Algiers, but in the afternoon, things improved. They were extremely nice and they taught us how to use new weapons and laughed at our surprise at the firing rate of the automatic weapons and their recoil.

When they arrived in Quillan, they sang “Alouette, gentille alouette”, it was very touching.

I went with everybody to Carcassonne.