Key Facts
- Free French paratroopers
- 178
- Maquis fighters armed
- up to 3,000
- German troops in area
- ~100,000
- Duration
- 5–18 June 1944 (13 days)
- First casualty
- Corporal Émile Bouétard, killed 5 June 1944
Strategic Narrative Overview
On the night of 5 June 1944, Captain Pierre Marienne led the first stick of 18 men into the Plumelec area, immediately engaging German forces. The unit established a base at Saint-Marcel and, reinforced by additional paratroopers and men from Operation Cooney, armed and coordinated up to 3,000 Maquis fighters. The operation ran alongside Operations Samwest and Lost. On 18 June, a German paratroop division launched a heavy assault on Saint-Marcel, forcing the SAS and Maquis to disperse.
01 / The Origins
Following the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, it was critical to delay German reinforcements from reaching the landing zones. Some 100,000 German troops in Brittany were preparing to move toward Normandy. The 4th Special Air Service, composed of Free French paratroopers under Colonel Pierre-Louis Bourgoin, was tasked with inserting into occupied southern Brittany to organize local resistance and impede German movement.
03 / The Outcome
The Saint-Marcel base was overrun and abandoned on 18 June 1944. On 12 July, Captain Marienne and 17 companions—paratroopers, resistance fighters, and local farmers—were captured near Kerihuel, Plumelec, and summarily executed at dawn. Though the base was destroyed, the operation had temporarily tied down German forces and armed significant Maquis units, contributing to the broader disruption of German logistics in Brittany.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Colonel Pierre-Louis Bourgoin, Captain Pierre Marienne.
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.