Escape and evasion lines (World War II) facts for kids

The routes used by the Pat, Comet, and Shelburne escape lines to smuggle airmen out of occupied Europe.

During World War II, special secret networks called escape and evasion lines helped people get away from countries controlled by Nazi Germany. These lines mostly focused on helping British and American airmen. These airmen had been shot down over Europe. The goal was to help them avoid being caught and escape to safe countries like Spain or Sweden. From there, they could return to the United Kingdom.

Sometimes, people talked about "escapers" and "evaders." Escapers were soldiers or airmen who had been caught by the Germans but then managed to get away. Evaders were those who were in enemy territory but avoided being captured in the first place. Most people helped by these lines were evaders.

Some escape lines, like the Shelburne Line, were set up by the Allied forces. They were made specifically to help their soldiers and airmen stuck behind enemy lines. Other lines were a mix of Allied military people and local citizens. An example is the Pat O'Leary Line.

Many escape lines were started by ordinary people, like the Comet Line, Dutch-Paris, or Service EVA. These groups helped more than just military personnel. They also helped spies, people resisting the Nazis, men trying to avoid forced labor, and even Jews fleeing danger.

Around 7,000 airmen and soldiers, mostly from Britain and America, were helped to escape German capture in Western Europe. They successfully returned to the United Kingdom during the war. Many of these escape lines received money from MI9, a British intelligence group, and other Allied organizations. Helping with these escape networks was very dangerous. Young women, some still teenagers, often took the riskiest jobs. They would guide servicemen hundreds of miles across enemy land to Spain.

How Escape Lines Worked

The work of escape lines needed a lot of effort and many people. Here is how it usually happened:

• First, downed airmen were found.
• Then, volunteers would feed them, give them clothes, and provide fake identity papers.
• They would hide the airmen in safe places like attics, cellars, or people's homes.
• After that, other volunteers called guides would take the airmen to neutral countries.

The most common routes went from Belgium and northern France into Spain. People usually traveled through occupied France by train. Then, they would cross the Pyrenees mountains into Spain on foot. A local guide, often paid, would lead them. Once in Spain, British diplomats helped the airmen travel to Gibraltar. From Gibraltar, they were flown back to the United Kingdom. Another way to escape was by small boat from the coast of Brittany to England.

Later in the war, especially after the Normandy Invasion in June 1944, escape lines changed their focus. Instead of helping airmen escape Europe, they often hid them in safe spots or forest camps. The airmen would then wait for the Allied armies to arrive. Operation Marathon is an example of these forest camps.

Who Was Helped and Who Helped?

About 2,000 British soldiers and 5,000 British and American airmen avoided German capture or escaped from German prisons during the war. Most of the soldiers were helped after being left behind in France following the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. Most airmen were helped between 1942 and 1944. This was when the air war over Europe became very intense.

Many different escape lines helped them. Some were large and well-organized, while others were small and temporary. The Royal Air Forces Escaping Society guessed that 14,000 volunteers worked with these lines. Many others helped now and then. The total number of people who helped airmen might have reached 100,000. About half of these helpers were women, often young women or even teenagers. Several important escape lines were even led by women.

Helping with escape lines was very dangerous. Because there were so many helpers spread out, it was easy for Germans to find and join these groups to spy on them. Thousands of helpers were arrested. More than 500 died in prison camps or were killed. Leaders of the escape lines faced even higher risks. For example, in March 1943, only one leader, 61-year-old Marie-Louise Dissard, was still free to restart the Pat O'Leary Line. By March 1944, only three of about a dozen leaders of the Comet Line, one of the largest lines, were still alive and not in prison.

At first, escape lines paid for themselves with money from people in occupied countries. But later, two secret UK groups, MI9 and Section DF of the Special Operations Executive (SOE), helped pay for the larger escape lines. A US secret group called MIS-X also helped prisoners of war (POWs) escape from German prison camps.

People working for these escape lines usually did not carry weapons. They did not take part in violent actions against the German occupation. The Comet Line's motto was "Pugna Quin Percutias," which means "fight without arms." To stay safe, escape lines usually avoided contact with armed resistance groups.

Where Escape Lines Operated

Organized escape and evasion lines worked in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The number of airmen who avoided capture was small compared to those who were killed or taken prisoner. For example, about 22,000 British and American airmen were killed or captured when shot down in France. But only about 3,000 managed to avoid capture. The percentage of airmen who escaped in France was higher than in other countries. This was because France was close to the Spanish border and had short ocean passages to England. Almost all airmen shot down in Germany were killed or captured. However, a few escaped from prisoner of war camps and were helped by escape lines to avoid being caught again. There were also lesser-known escape lines in Eastern Europe. These mainly helped Polish or Czech soldiers reach the Allies through the Baltic Sea or Italy. They also helped Jews escape through the Balkans.

Some Escape Lines

• Belgian National Movement
• Bordeaux-Loupiac Escape Network
• Bourgogne (Burgundy) Line
• Chauny Line
• Comet Line
• Denmark Escape Line
• Dutch-Paris Line
• Groupe Hoornaert-Dirix
• Hornoy-le-Bourg Line
• Francois Line
• Françoise Line
• Marie Claire Line
• Marie-Odile Line
• Oaktree Line
• Operation Marathon
• Operation Pegasus
• Operation Sherwood
• Pat O'Leary Line (Pat Line, O'Leary Line, PAO Line)
• Possum Line
• Service EVA
• Smit-Van der Heijden Line
• Shelburne Line
• VAR line
• Vic Line

Notable People Who Helped