Corps Franc du Sidobre

On August 12, 1944, a skirmish took place at Le Rialet between men of the Corps Franc and two German platoons. The maquisards attacked the German detachment, which was forced to flee, leaving behind a wounded German soldier. This soldier, wounded in the arm, was cared for by the inhabitants of Le Rialet.

It was while trying to recover this wounded soldier that Germans dispatched the same day from Mazamet were attacked in their turn, resulting in one dead and several wounded.

Averted to this second attack on the same day, the German command post in Mazamet dispatched a military detachment made up of several small armored vehicles. The entire village of Le Rialet was evacuated of its inhabitants to be set on fire, in retaliation for these attacks. Eventually the Germans relented, at the insistence of Le Rialet's mayor and parish priest, who argued that decent treatment had been given to the wounded. [Source Wikipedia]