Louise de Bettignies, the “Joan of Arc” of the First World War

2024-03-06T04:15:18.483Z

Highlights: Louise de Bettignies, the “Joan of Arc” of the First World War. In a previously unpublished story, Virginie Girod tells you about the fate of ‘Joan Of Arc’ from 14-18. Back in Lille, she founded her intelligence network, the Alice network. Its members spy on the Germans to anticipate their offensives on French soil; information then transmitted to Her Majesty's services by Louise. In appearance, she resembles an ordinary peasant girl. In reality, she crosses the border with messages in her belt, reports in her rings and even carries carrier pigeons!

Also during the First World War, part of France was occupied. And already, French people have resisted the German yoke. Louise de Bettignies is one of these fighters. In a previously unpublished story, Virginie Girod tells you about the fate of “Joan of Arc” from 14-18. Louise de Bettignies comes from a penniless bourgeois family who once made their fortune in porcelain. After studying in England, she offered her services as a tutor to courses in Europe. Louise de Bettignies even knew Archduke François-Ferdinand, whose assassination tipped Europe into the First World War. As the German army swept across northern France, Louise de Bettignies was blocked in Lille, under siege. With her sister Germaine, she sets out to brave enemy fire in order to bring supplies to the French soldiers. Lille finally falls. Its inhabitants join the ranks of the two million French people who live under occupation. Deprivations, hunger, cold add to the humiliations. The occupier places the occupied territories under lockdown: it is impossible to cross into free France! Louise de Bettignies then becomes a “clandestine postwoman” to send messages across the border via the United Kingdom. This is where the British secret services offered her the opportunity to become a spy! Back in Lille, she founded her intelligence network, the Alice network. Its members spy on the Germans to anticipate their offensives on French soil; information then transmitted to Her Majesty's services by Louise. In appearance, she resembles an ordinary peasant girl. In reality, she crosses the border with messages in her belt, reports in her rings and even carries carrier pigeons! Themes: resistance, first world war, espionage