Mulé, Christophe Les douaniers dans la Bataille de France 1939-1940

1939, the year France slid into a new world war, was a black day for customs officers for the third time. After 1870 and 1914, the military customs corps was mobilised again. Like their older colleagues before them, this third generation of customs officers would do their duty and adhere to the motto honour and fatherland of their flag. These officers were to carry out military border surveillance during the Phoney War and, in the east, customs officers were to serve as guides for the Free Corps raiding in enemy territory. On 10 May 1940, under enemy pressure, the customs brigades in the east and later in the north were ordered to retreat. Some battalions managed to reach the south. Others were eventually captured without being able to use their meagre weapons. But in May and June, when their backs were against the wall, the customs associations did more than their duty. In particular, courageous officials distinguished themselves in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Calais, in the entrenched camp of Dunkirk and in the defence of the Fort du Larmont near Pontarlier... Some officers lost their lives for France, others were wounded and maimed. As a result of the armistice, the customs battalions were officially dissolved on 27 June 1940. These soldiers, who were forgotten in the post-war period, did not fail. This book traces the curious and little-known history of these military customs battalions during the dramatic period of 1939-1940.