about 20 soldiers. An officer would conduct a drill every morning in the square out front. The officers were quartered in private houses and met up at the Kommandantur, an office which changed premises several times eventually remaining at number 3 Grande Rue. Écouché housed a cavalry unit; stables and horses had also been requisitioned from the locals. It consisted of about 100 men aged between 18 and 45 years. The German Army depended enormously on horse drawn transportation. Officially there was no interaction between residents of Ecouché and the occupiers. Citizens kept their doors and shutters closed when soldiers marched by in goose-step. Nevertheless, at the hotel, relationships developed. Apart from patrol duties, the soldiers spent a lot of time making music, even giving concerts from time to time. "There was not a single shot fired, ever." Daily life From sunset to dawn a curfew was enforced. No lights were supposed to be visible. Windows which couldn’t be obscured with thick double curtains or full shutters, had to be blacked out. During the daytime, certain vehicles, such as doctors’ cars were allowed on the roads, but fuel was scarce. Some shop-keepers used vans running on gasogene to transport supplies, but the engines were weak. Even horses for wagons and carriages were difficult to find, as many had been requisitioned for use by the German Army. There were steam trains in limited circulation. People walked or used bicycles with solid tyres, since it was impossible to find any inner tubes. Therefore, there was, very little traffic on the roads. Even walking posed problems, as shoes were rationed. However, anyone could get hold of shoes with wooden soles without using a ration ticket. These were uncomfortable, fragile and certainly not waterproof. A shortage of fabrics made prices soar. Clothes were patched up. Knitting was unpicked to reknit other garments. A red sweater became two or three pairs of long red socks. Reduced wardrobes meant people rarely changed clothes, but those aspiring to elegance painted false stockings on their legs with liquid chicory. Washing clothes was not easy. Washing powder was eventually replaced by ashes or by using infusions of plants such as soapwort, which lathers like soap. Ivy was used for black garments, worn by the numerous women in mourning. The tubes taken from redundant bicycle pumps were used as moulds for the manufacture of candles made with lard, the wicks