The Liberation Committee of Calvados appears in October 1943. It is part of the fourteen departments of the West forming region M of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI). The Norman resistance comprises 2,000 fighters. Small resistance movements such as the Franc-tireurs et Partisans (FTP) of Champs-du-Boult or the Surcouf resistance movement have installed in the forests. But despite the parachuting of arms, their weapons are insufficient. By the end of 1943, the Norman resistance is undermined by continual repression and the arrest of some of its leaders. As late as on June 5, twelve members of the FFI were shot at Courcerault.
The main activity of the Norman resistance consists in transmitting information to the Allies. The work of the network of the Brotherhood of Notre Dame proves decisive in the selection of the landing beaches. The Centurie network manages to get a map of the kommandantur showing the German defenses between Cherbourg and Honfleur. Other military actions are carried out such as derailing German convoys on the Paris-Granville line or the sabotage of the Vezins power plant.
The Resistance is notified of the landings by personal messages from the BBC on the night of June 5 to 6, 1944. Across the country, plans prepared by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Operations (Bureau Central de Renseignements et d’Action) are triggered to cut German communications and delay to the maximum the arrival of reinforcements. The Norman resistance manages to achieve its objectives, with the exception of the Tortue plan (destruction of armored vehicles).
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