A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of Virginia Hall, WWII’s Most Dangerous Spy

In June of 1944 Virginia had traveled 200 miles to Le Chambon-sur-Lignon to inspect the local Maquis (another name for French Resistance fighters). Le Chambon was an isolated plateau with a history of harboring fugitives.

Upon arrival, she had met with Auguste Bohne, a young, Swiss schoolteacher who came to Le Chambon to help war victims. Having taken a vow of non-violence, he initially did not help her find the Maquis. However, he had second thoughts after she left and arranged for Virginia to meet with Pierre Fayol, a local leader. Virginia questioned Fayol about his unit, and he got her a car. He and two others toured possible parachute drop zones with her. Initially, she impressed Fayol and his men, although Fayol—and many others—believed that war was not a business for women. After her assessment, Virginia returned to northern France with Madame Boitier to make plans for a supply drop.

Fayol soon became impatient. In early July he sent two people to find Virginia—Jacqueline Decourdemanche and Eric Barbezat. Jacqueline found Virginia, who explained that she had sent a message to Le Chambon, but it was lost en route. Virginia had abandoned her disguise at this point, making herself more conspicuous.

Jacqueline and Virginia were on a train to Saint Étienne when an air raid siren began. They were safe from the ensuing aerial bombardment since the English—who were responsible for the bombing—knew that Virginia was on the train. When they arrived at Saint Étienne there was no car to meet her—the driver was compromised and Virginia had to find her own way to Le Chambon. After meeting a man named Eric, who had instructions to tell them not to go to the safehouse, she and Jacqueline hid in a factory owned by one of Eric’s former bosses. Virginia soon booked a hotel room and sent a transmission to London.

The next day she posed as an injured person and left the hotel on a stretcher. The ambulance took her to Le Chambon, where she moved in with Fayol and his wife. She spent several days decoding messages. After a few days, she moved into a barn in Villelonge, a nearby village. There she met a 24-year-old former sailor named Bob, who helped her train new recruits. Rumors of her presence in the area brought in new recruits, including Victor Ruelle, a farmer who volunteered 150 men. However, some of the locals disliked Virginia and refused to support her efforts. Fayol also began undermining Virginia as he contemplated his postwar position. He stoked distrust in the locals and among his own men.

During this period, Virginia’s supporters began calling her La Madone. Soon, three RAF bombers dropped their supplies by parachute. Virginia had delivered on her guarantee of a successful supply drop. There were guns, vitamins, explosives, and more, but Fayol remained defiant, only wanting to take orders from French Forces of the Interior (FFI) leadership. Virginia enlisted FFI commandant Emile Thérond to help her work with Fayol.

The Allied Command targeted Le Puy, a medieval city, for sabotage. During a daring mission in early August, one of Virginia’s small teams targeted a critical bridge that the Germans used for supply runs by train. They destroyed the bridge, commandeered the train, and then drove it into the hole left by the explosions. Other successful sabotage missions followed, and Virginia was promoted to first lieutenant.

The Nazis killed in a frenzy as the war turned against them. Barbie murdered hundreds of prisoners. Virginia learned that her “nephews” have been sent to a death camp. She grew weary and homesick but never slackened the pace of her work. Soon, with Virginia’s help, the French fighters cleared the area of Germans. Her work made it possible for the Allies to regain Paris.

On September 4, 1944, Virginia waited to meet two American OSS agents: Henry Riley and Paul Goillot. Their plane landed 20 miles away from Le Chambon due to turbulence, but they were able to eventually make their way to Virginia to serve as her organizer and weapons instructor. They were both unsure about serving under a woman, but Virginia quickly won their confidence.

Goillot flirted with Virginia, and his lighthearted presence was welcome after months of fear and gloom. Like Virginia, the new agents were also unhappy with the French political maneuvering as they watched Resistance leaders like Fayol position themselves for postwar glory and leadership roles.

In the summer of 1944, Virginia had received new orders to start a guerilla force to actively engage with Germans during sabotage raids. Soon she had 19 volunteers and was cleared to participate in the combat herself. Henry and Paul trained the men in guerilla tactics and marksmanship. The group was known as the Diane Irregulars.

On September 13, their convoy headed towards the village of Roanne. Virginia rode with Paul during the 150-mile trip. Virginia and her men stayed at a lakeside chateau and waited for orders from Allied Command. London rejected her offer to help with any missions in the area, and The Diane Irregulars disbanded. During their stay at the chateau, Paul and Virginia became romantically involved.

Virginia, Paul, Henry, and Bob went to Paris on September 22. Paul visited his father and sister only to learn that his father died of cancer months earlier. He then joined Virginia in London, where she was trying without success to acquire a new mission.

In Paris, Lieutenant Colonel van der Stricht began lobbying for Virginia to receive the Distinguished Service Cross, America’s “second-highest military honor” (269). OSS officials questioned Fayol for his opinion about Virginia’s fitness. Having reversed his former opinions about Virginia and her leadership, Fayol gave a glowing report to OSS. He would later spend 10 years studying Virginia and trying to give her story and contributions to the war greater visibility. On March 16, 1946, France would award Virginia the Croix de Guerre.

In the fall of 1944, Bill Donovan, the OSS Director, selected Virginia for a potential mission called Operation Crocus. The mission required Virginia and Paul to infiltrate the Austrian Tyrol area—a region with many Nazi supporters—and form a Resistance network. That December Virginia and Paul went to OSS Central European headquarters for training in garroting, hand-to-hand combat, and dagger work. They were frustrated as the war progressed and they were not on the front line.

On April 31, 1945, Hitler killed himself with a pistol. Germany surrendered on May 7. Shortly after, Donovan suggested that President Truman award Virginia the Distinguished Service Cross. She rejected the offer, stating that a secret agent should not be given a public award. She then returned to Lyon with Paul, where she visited Germaine and Dr. Rousset. Rousset told her about his experiences at Buchenwald and informed her that the “nephews” had been executed. Virginia reported to OSS and said that capturing Alesch must be prioritized.

By this point, the Belgians had given Alesch sanctuary under the guise of an abbé. He fled to Luxembourg when his employers learned that he was being hunted. On July 2, he turned himself in to the Americans under the name of René Martin, hoping to save his life by informing.

When the war ended, Virginia went to America with Paul. She hoped that she would be able to rest and create a satisfying future with him, but she was unsure of how she would fare in peacetime.

Barbara quickly complicated Virginia’s postwar life in America. She disapproved of Paul, who she believed indulged Virginia’s “bossiness” (288). To avoid friction with her mother, Virginia resolved to keep their relationship a secret. Barbara accompanied Virginia when she received the Distinguished Service Cross in a private ceremony in Donovan’s office.

On October 1, Truman ended the OSS, leaving thousands of agency workers without jobs. It was often difficult for these former agents to find work because they weren’t allowed to discuss their classified military history as job experience. However, realizing that his dismantling of the OSS was premature, Truman created the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as the reality of the impending Cold War set in. Virginia was one of the first women to join the agency. Because of her Italian language skills, she received an assignment in Venice as a deskbound analyst, which she disliked. She resigned in July of 1948.

On May 25, 1948, Robert Alesch appeared before a Paris court on charges of providing intelligence to the Nazis. On February 25, 1949, a firing squad executed him.

In early 1950, Virginia moved to New York to live with Paul. They had been living apart to escape Barbara’s judgment. In New York, they drank heavily and Virginia’s moods improved. The CIA offered her an assignment as an administrative assistant preparing broadcasts for Radio Free Europe. The repetitive nature of the job bored her, and in 1951 she applied for a new assignment. Each time she applied for an assignment, the lengthy security process frustrated her; her experiences in World War II had not bought her any credibility in the CIA.

Virginia and Paul moved to Washington when she received a covert assignment near the end of 1951. Her job was to continue to recruit Resistance fighters in Europe whom the US could use to aid NATO forces if the Soviet Union ever attacked America’s allies. Virginia enjoyed the work, which helped fill the void that she and Paul felt over not having children.

Virginia’s health deteriorated over the next several years, which she attributed to the number of pills she took during the war. Benzedrine can cause heart problems, and her prosthetic, which she called “Cuthbert,” grew more uncomfortable for her each year. She began opting out of overseas assignments, which worked against her; she could no longer refer to recent, relevant experience in the field when applying for assignments.

Paul became the co-owner of a French restaurant. Having decided that they no longer cared about Barbara’s opinions, he and Virginia married on April 15, 1957. Over the next several years, Virginia continued to receive assignments below her rank. She retired in 1966, shortly after her 60th birthday. Her supporters in the CIA were appalled at how poorly the agency used her abilities. Virginia’s health continued to worsen after her retirement, and she stopped using Cuthbert. Paul had a severe stroke in his sixties. Virginia died on July 8, 1982 at age 76. Her death created a surge in interest in her life and work.

The author gives an overview of Virginia’s legacy; among other things, France has recognized her as an “American friend” (309), and the CIA has named a building after her. Purnell also provides updates on most of the book’s major figures. For example, Barbie initially escaped to Bolivia but was eventually extradited and sentenced to life imprisonment, Alain died in a concentration camp shortly before the war ended, and Paul survived Virginia by five years.