In the first few months of 1944, German forces tried to gain access through the southern Alps. Stopping them would not be easy and it was left to a various resistance groups. Of these, the Maquisards and trained mountain combatants known as Les Chasseurs Alpines were the largest parties. In London, British Intelligence along with Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French understood the morale boosting importance of stopping the Nazis after four years of occupation. SOE agreed to help but it needed a man of exceptional ability and versatility to carry out this very dangerous assignment. Jonny Munroe, decided that it was a worthy cause, although he wrestled with his conscience over leaving his wife Connie, knowing that he may never return.