Alias Caracalla

Daniel Cordier (1920–2020) was a French Resistance fighter and historian. In his youth he was a member of the far-right organization Camelots du Roi, and yet later engaged with the Free France resistance in June 1940 that fought the Nazi Occupation and the collaborationist Vichy regime. After the war he became a prominent art dealer, historian, and advocate for gay rights. Rupert Swyer is an independent scholar, translator, and journalist. He lives in Paris.

• NoticeForeword by Rupert SwyerP R E L U D E I. FROM PAU TO BAYONNEI. Pétain betrays hope, June 17-21, 1940I I. LONDONII. We shall never be slaves—June 12-July 2, 1940III. Olympia Hall, July 2-10, 1940IV. Delville Camp, 11 juillet-26 septembre 1940V. Camberley, September 26-October 30, 1940VI. Old Dean, October 31, 940-August 14, 1941VII. BCRA volunteers, August 10, 1941-June 17, 1942I I I. L Y O NIX. *Rex, my boss, July 26 -August 17, 1942X. The chiefs and their Resistance, August 18 -September 28, 1942XII. De Gaulle, the end? November 6 -December 13, 1942XIII. The battle for the Conseil de la Résistance, December 14, 1942-February 12, 1943XIV. *Bip.W on his own, February 14 -March 24, 1943I V. P A R I SXV. Snake dance, March 24-April 12, 1943XVI. The National Resistance Council, at last, April 15-May 30, 1943V. C A L U IR EXVII. *Rex alone against all, June 1-23, 1943AftermathNoms de guerre and their corresponding namesNames of individuals and their noms de guerreAcknowledgements

"This is one of the most gripping memoirs ever written. Parachuted into France in 1942 by the secret service of General de Gaulle, the young Daniel Cordier was in close daily proximity to the legendary Jean Moulin, the unifier of the French Resistance. Cordier found himself in the crossfire of the violent conflicts between the leaders of the Resistance in France and General de Gaulle in London. In a book that reads like a thriller, Cordier conveys the fear, the drama, and the intensity of the life of a secret agent in France. It is also a deeply moving portrait of Moulin. The book was a sensation when first published in France. Now Anglophone readers will have the chance to read this extraordinary story."