The Guardian Angel: Michel Hollard: The Resistance Leader who stopped Hitler's Plans to destroy London

http://www.renaud-bray.com

http://www.renaud-bray.com

Recounts Michel Hollard’s heroic discovery of Hitler’s V-1 weapon, saving London from devastation.This book tells the story of an important yet little-known episode of 20th century history. Just as General de Gaulle did, Lieutenant Michel Hollard refused to accept France’s surrender in June 1940. A spirited soldier during the First World War, a disillusioned reserve officer in the Second, he worked out a bold defence strategy to counter Adolf Hitler’s barbarity and megalomaniac madness.In 1943, Michel Hollard learned that the German Army was carrying out suspicious construction work in north-western France. His enquiries led him to discover Hitler’s top-secret weapon pointing at London: the V-1. The accuracy of the intelligence that Michel Hollard revealed to the English avoided the worst for London. The launch sites were bombed before the V-1s were able to do their work of death as planned. Betrayed, he was captured by the enemy, tortured and sent to Neuengamme concentration camp, then thrown into the hold of a ship destined to be sunk. Miraculously, he survived.By saving London, Michel Hollard contributed greatly to the success of the Normandy landings and therefore the final victory.In honour of his achievements, a Eurostar train (the high-speed London-Paris service through the Channel Tunnel) was christened Michel Hollard in 2004.