The French Resistance 'Chorus' That Doomed German Reinforcements

Jean-Baptiste Biaggi, a French schoolteacher and resistance member, memorized the names of every German officer in the Cherbourg area and their daily routines. He smuggled this intelligence to the British using invisible ink written on children's exercise books. On D-Day, he personally sabotaged three telephone lines connecting Cherbourg to the front, using a bicycle and wire-cutters. The Germans were forced to send messengers by road — all of which were intercepted by the Maquis. Biaggi survived the war but was nearly forgotten.