"War was declared on 3 September 1939, setting in motion the general mobilisation of all eligible men from 20 to 48 years old, as well the requisition of vehicles and horses. The Government was decentralised from Paris to the regions. The Touraine was not at the heart of the combat and became a zone for supply, and for the transit of refugees fleeing the bombing and the advancing Germans in the north of France.
In Loches the town prepared itself simultaneously to go to war and to suffer aerial attacks. Shelters in the troglodyte caves were allocated by neighbourhood and 500 gas masks were bought. Place de Verdun saw a series of barracks erected to house the Ministry of Agriculture. As the months passed the tension and anxiety reduced as they faced the 'phoney war'.
After the defeat of June 1940 France was divided into several zones, separated by a Demarcation Line. To the north of this Line was the zone occupied by the Germans and in the south was the 'Free Zone'. In the county of Indre et Loire, cut in two, Loches was one of the most northerly towns in the 'Free Zone'. As well, the area around Loches was a favoured transit route for refugees."
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This poster is part of an exhibition in the Chancellerie on 'Loches in 1944' https://www.ville-loches.fr/expositions-article-3-10-56.html
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