Guy de Combaud's SAS Epic
Guy de Combaud and his epic in SAS jeeps across occupied France.
Guy de Combaud-Roquebrune studied to enter the Saint-Cyr military academy, but a serious accident prevented it. He therefore took over a family printing works in Marseille, where he notably created social welfare schemes for his workers. Despite his responsibilities and family duties — he was the father of six children — he showed his determination to resist as early as 1940. In 1943 he reached England after a gruelling passage through Spanish prisons. In London, as a reserve officer, he joined the staff of the Free French Forces and then, despite being 37, asked to undergo parachute training.
With the rank of lieutenant, he took command of a squadron of the 3rd SAS equipped with 19 jeeps, each armed with four machine guns. He landed on 16 August 1944 near Courseulles-sur-Mer in Normandy, for lack of air transport to be dropped directly onto his area of operations. The aim of Operation "Newton": to infiltrate through the German lines to reinforce the various maquis areas.
After advancing with an American column, on 17 August at Évron near Laval he decided to split his squadron: 11 jeeps towards the Nantes region and the Vienne, and 8 jeeps under his own command towards the Saône. Advancing with all lights out by night along minor roads, fording the Loire, repeatedly engaged by the enemy, he carried out a raid worthy of the British SAS in Libya in 1942. He passed through the regions of Orléans and Montargis. South of Auxerre, with the German army increasingly present, he split his detachment again: 4 jeeps through the Morvan, commanded by 2nd Lt Picard, and the other 4 with him along a route on the border between the Nièvre and the Yonne. North of Blanzy, near the hamlet of la Croix des Mâts, he lost a man while forcing a level crossing guarded by the Germans.
On 24 August, with 8 jeeps, he finally reached his goal: La Vineuse, north-west of Cluny, headquarters of the Resistance in Saône-et-Loire. After receiving his orders from his SAS unit commander, Major Château-Jobert known as "Conan", on 28 August he set up his command post at Tallant, a village next to the Corlay Maquis, which he reinforced with 4 jeeps, the other 4 being left at Conan's disposal.
There he met André Jarrot again and a parachuted SAS detachment, then visited his cousins, the Thénard family living at La Ferté, the estate where he had spent his holidays as a young man. Each day he carried out skirmishes against the retreating German forces — at Saint-Ambreuil, Dracy-le-Fort and Charrecey. On 30 August his detachment took part in a major ambush on a bridge between Sénozan and St-Jean-le-Priche, inflicting very heavy losses.
On 4 September, still leading his detachment of 4 jeeps, he was the spearhead of the battle of Sennecey-le-Grand. His machine guns had a devastating effect but, once the surprise had worn off, he was killed along with 9 of his SAS men.
He was buried at the La Ferté chapel, then at the Château de Talmay in the Côte-d'Or. He was mentioned in dispatches of the Air Army (Official Journal of 11 February 1945) and promoted captain posthumously. A memorial stele was raised at the place of his death.
Sources: Le Maquis de Corlay, André Montaron, Éditions Hérode · Paras de la France Libre, Roger Flamand, Presses de la Cité · Histoire de la Résistance en Saône-et-Loire, Patrick Veyret, éditions La Taillanderie.
