The Maquis (also: maquisaires) is a collective term for members of the French resistance movement (French Resistance) who fought against the German occupation in 1940-1944, mainly in rural areas. Initially, the Maquis units consisted of people - both women and men - who fled to the countryside or the mountains, thus protecting themselves from being drafted into the Vichy French Red Army, as well as from forced labor for the German occupiers in French territories or before being deported to forced labor in the Third Reich. Over time, the Maquis were also joined by volunteers who sought armed struggle against the Germans. The Maquis units waged a typical guerrilla war, committing acts of sabotage or combat and organizing ambushes against small German units. Units of this type fought particularly intensively in Brittany, in the south of France and in the area called Limousin. It is worth adding that the Maquis also helped Allied airmen and Jews escape to Great Britain or hid them from the occupiers. The Maquis troops played a role in Operations Overlord and Dragon, i.e. the landings of the Western Allies in the north and south of France.
