Demouzon, Laurent Savoie 1944-1945. Une longue Libération

The liberation of metropolitan France began with the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944. However, it was only after the landings in Provence that the German occupying forces began to withdraw to the east of France, on 15 August. In Savoy, the units of the 157th Reserve Division that occupied the department were ordered to move towards Italy through the valleys of Maurienne or Tarentaise. The various armed resistance groups that had been supplied with weapons thanks to the large-scale weapons airdrop at Les Saisies on 1 August 1944 tried in vain to block their path. Numerous ambushes were set up, leading to the destruction of several villages and the execution of civilians. The enemy left Aix-les-Bains, Chambéry, Montmélian, Albertville, Moûtiers and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to retreat to the Hautes-Vallées. In the Maurienne, they systematically destroyed factories and works of art. The intervention of the rifle units of the 1st French Army allowed Séez to be taken on 4 September 1944 and Modane on 14 September.
From that day on, the situation remained static. The German-Italian forces held the border and parts of the national territory. Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Modane and the surrounding villages were exposed to enemy artillery fire and were the scene of numerous patrols.
The 27th Alpine Division was set up at the end of December 1944. After a winter of reconnaissance and skirmishes, its various Alpine battalions went on the offensive in the spring. In the Tarentaise at Roc-Noir and Roc de Belleface, in the Maurienne at Mont-Froid and at the Col du Petit-Mont-Cenis.
At the beginning of May 1945, the French troops crossed the border into Italy. The liberation of Savoy was completed after more than nine months of fighting. It cost the lives of 199 FFI, 165 soldiers and 158 civilians.