The Battle of Bull Run took place in July 1861 and although when all was said and done, its impact was relatively limited, it did have a far-reaching effect on the American Civil War itself. The psychological impact of the battle on the combatants was indeed unquestionable, particularly for the North, and increased general consciousness of the reality of war and the challenges that lay ahead. The first Battle of Manassas was special because it was the first large-scale engagement in which troops were brought to the battle area by train, which enabled the Confederates to win this battle.Author...

How did so few men manage to organize resistance networks and gather so much intelligence in such a short time despite being unceasingly hunted by the German and Vichy counterespionage services?It is thought that 70% of the information which was vital for the Allies before the Normandy landings in 1944 was sent by French agents working for the BCRA.Using very often unpublished or ignored documents, the author gives an account of General de Gaulle's secret services which, in 1940, were thought to be just a small group of amateurs but which as the war progressed, became a powerful war machine...