Madame Fourcade's Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Largest Spy Network Against Hitler

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was a thirty-one-year-old Frenchwoman who became the leader of Alliance, the largest spy network in occupied France during World War II. Born to privilege and known for her beauty, she was the only woman to serve as a chef de résistance during the war. The Gestapo called her network Noah's Ark because agents used animal names as aliases; Fourcade chose the name Hedgehog for herself. Alliance supplied crucial intelligence to Allied commanders, including a 55-foot-long map of the D-Day landing beaches and roads. No other French spy network lasted as long or provided as much intelligence. The Gestapo pursued the organization relentlessly, capturing, torturing, and executing hundreds of its three thousand agents, including Fourcade's lover and key spies. Fourcade, a mother of two, constantly moved her headquarters, changed her appearance, and altered her identity. She was captured twice by the Nazis but escaped both times, including once by slipping naked through jail cell bars. She maintained her network's cohesion despite repeated threats to its survival. This account examines her story against the backdrop of occupied France during World War II.