​​Massacre of Barenton-sur-Serre​

​​In the night of 14 to 15 August 1944, three members of the French Fighting Forces, John Bonsall, Jean Delviche and Roger Cote, were parachuted with 24 containers into the Colonfay sector of the Aisne. Their mission was to get in touch with the local Resistance. After their arrival, Roger Cote, the radio operator, informed the headquarters that the dropping had gone well. On 19 August, he reported that he had succeeded in making contact with the leader of the Resistance group, and the next day a message announced that the Resistance was well-organised, with 1,100 armed and trained men and another 4,900 unarmed.

​On 21 August, the team arrived at Rugny, southeast of Soissons, where they sent other messages about targets to be bombed by Allied aircraft because of, for example, the presence of important German columns or trains. But on 25 August, the mission indicated that there were too many enemies in the area and that it was not possible to form a maquis, a guerrilla unit.

On 28 August, learning that the American tanks were heading towards Soissons, the team informed the staff of the 3rd Armoured Division about the German defences.

​On 30 August, the team was ordered to preserve the bridges from any enemy destruction for a period of 4 days. The same day, the team crossed the lines between Laon and Froidmont. They progressed in a stormy and rainy night, disguised as French civilians with false identity papers and a borrowed cart covered with straw.

After walking some twenty kilometres, they arrived at Barenton-sur-Serre, five kilometres from their destination. However, the weather had deteriorated very quickly, making visibility very poor. As a result, the three men came face to face with three German tanks stationed at a checkpoint.

​The three men were immediately shot in the head by the German troops, who must have realised that they were a group of spies on a mission.

​In the early morning, the villagers discovered the bodies and buried them. The Resistance then organised a military ceremony for them.