"I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944" by Lauren Tarshis, Chapters 10

There was Marie, the young woman who had served him the cookies at the bakery. Her work at the shop made her one of the resistance’s most prized spies. She’d picked up many secrets listening while the Nazi soldiers gorged themselves on cakes and tarts.

tart

suspect

Paul would never have guessed any of these people would be in the resistance. And of course the person he’d least suspected was sitting next to him.

urgent

Mr. Leon had gathered them to discuss an urgent mission, the one that Victor had come to Le Roc to help with.

slaughter

“I don’t have to tell you what those Nebelwerfers could do to those men trying to come onto the beaches. It will be a slaughter.”

stew

Their supper—bread and stewed onions—was cold.

tailor

She was tailoring a jacket for one of her customers, a reminder that even resistance fighters still needed jobs.

quip

“We hear that Hitler is on vacation in the mountains of Germany,” Mr. Leon said.
“I’m afraid his vacation is about to be ruined,” Mrs. Bernard quipped.
They all laughed.

ammunition

Each group had been given a different assignment by the Allies. Roads to dynamite. Bridges to destroy. Ammunition warehouses to blow up.

swollen

His ankle was swollen like a melon.

sprain

It looked broken, or at least very badly sprained.

stern

“No,” Mr. Leon said sternly. “You cannot blame yourself.”

wade

They would wade ashore in the freezing water, carrying their guns and supplies.

official

The burned body was a lie, a trick. Pierre wrote up a report in the police department to make it appear official.

steep

They hiked up a steep hill, and then there they were.

dread

Excitement rose up in Paul, but it quickly turned to dread. Because now the Nazis knew that the Allies were attacking them.

blare

A siren blared.

bunker

Paul realized  he and Mr. Leon were near the entrance to an underground bunker.

sear

The gagging stench of burning metal and melting rubber seared Paul’s eyes and nose.

glint

He reminded Paul of Stroop—the animal glint in his eye, the knife-sharp edge of his voice.

slab

The Nazi reached over and roughly searched Paul’s pockets. He pulled out something small.
Paul’s blood turned to ice. The C-3—that extra slab that Mr. Leon had given him.

clamp

Paul turned to bolt, but the Nazi clamped his hand on Paul’s arm.

billowing

Paul rolled away from him as black, billowing smoke blinded him.

slink

Were the Nazis slinking away or huddled in their bunkers?

stake

The Germans had lined the beach with giant metal and wooden stakes.

mine

There were also underground bombs—mines—buried under the sand, Paul had heard.

soothe

The silence helped soothe his head, which still ached from when he got hit on the night of the invasion.

stride

“Search the castle,” Stroop ordered the men, who strode through the castle door.

muster

And with all the strength he could muster, he lifted it up, and slammed it against Stroop’s head.

piercing

With a piercing shriek it attacked the Nazi.

stagger

Stroop staggered back in terror until he hit the tower wall.

teeter

Stroop teetered on the edge.

spare

The Allies dropped thousands of bombs to try to stop the Nazi troops, to destroy their supplies and weapons. They tried to spare the people of Normandy. But by the time the Nazis finally fled, thousands of French people were dead.

stroke

“You really walked for four months, Grandpa?” Jacques would ask, stroking his grandfather’s snow-white beard.

brim

She later explained it to Paul, tears brimming in her eyes.

Create a new Word List

WORD LISTS

"I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944" by Lauren Tarshis, Chapters 10–19

WORD LISTS

"I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944" by Lauren Tarshis, Chapters 10–19

Word List Actions: