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Encyclopedia > Maquis (World War II)
Members of the Maquis in La Tresorerie
Members of the Maquis in La Tresorerie

The Maquis (IPA: [ma'ki]) were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of French Resistance. Image File history File links Members_of_the_Maquis_in_La_Tresorerie. ... Image File history File links Members_of_the_Maquis_in_La_Tresorerie. ... The term maquis may refer to: The Cameroonian maquis, guerrillas from the outlawed Union des Populations Camerounaises political party; The Corsican maquis democracy of the 18th century; The maquis shrublands found in France, Corsica, and elsewhere around the Mediterranean Sea; The French maquis, who resisted the Nazis during World War... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... “Guerrilla” redirects here. ... The Croix de Lorraine, the symbol of the resistance chosen by de Gaulle French Resistance is the name used for resistance movements during World War II which fought the Nazi German occupation of France and the collaborationist Vichy regime. ...

Contents

Meaning

Originally the word comes from a type of high ground in southeastern France covered with scrub growth. It is the kind of terrain in which the armed resistance groups hid. Members of those bands were called maquisards. Eventually the term became an honorific that meant “armed resistance fighter.” The Maquis have come to symbolize the French Resistance. Maquis is a biota in Mediterranean countries, typically consisting of densely-growing evergreen shrubs such as sage, juniper and myrtle. ...


Operations

Most maquisards operated in the mountainous areas of Brittany and southern France. They relied on guerrilla tactics to harass the Milice and German occupation troops. The Maquis also aided the escape of downed Allied airmen, Jews and others pursued by the Vichy and German authorities. Some maquisards did commit atrocities, and raid villages as well, but usually they could rely on some degree of sympathy or cooperation from the local populace. In March 1944, the German Army began a terror campaign throughout France. This included reprisals against civilians living in areas where the French Resistance was active. Historical province of Brittany, showing the main areas with their name in Breton language The traditional flag of Brittany (the Gwenn-ha-du), formerly a Breton nationalist symbol but today used as a general civic flag in the region. ... A recruitment poster for the Milice. ... This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ... Motto Travail, famille, patrie French: Unoccupied zone of Vichy France (until November 1942) Capital Vichy Capital-in-exile Sigmaringen (1944-1945) Language(s) French Religion Roman Catholic Government Dictatorship Chief of state  - 1940 — 1944 Philippe Pétain President of the Council  - 1940 — 1942 Philippe Pétain  - 1942 — 1944 Pierre Laval...


Most of the Maquis cells - like the Vercors - took names after the area they were operating in. The size of these cells varied from tens to thousands of men and women. Categories: France geography stubs | Geography of France | Plateaus ...


In French Indochina, the local resistance fighting the Japanese since 1941 was backed up by a Special Forces airborne commandos unit created by de Gaulle in 1943, and known as the Corps Léger d'Intervention (CLI). They were supplied by airlifts of the British Force 136. Flag Capital Hanoi Language(s) French Political structure Federation Historical era New Imperialism  - Established 1887  - Addition of Laos 1893  - Vietnam Declaration of Independence September 2, 1945  - Independence of Laos July 19, 1949  - Independence of Cambodia November 9, 1953  - Disestablished 1954 Area  - 1945 750,000 km2 289,577 sq mi Currency...


Politics in Maquis

Politically, maquis were very diverse - from right-wing nationalists to communists and anarchists. Some Maquis bands that operated in southwest France were composed entirely of left-wing Spanish veterans of the Spanish Civil War. In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. ... Not to be confused with the Spanish Civil War of 1820-1823. ...


When Germans began a forced labor draft (Service du Travail Obligatoire, STO) in France in the beginning of 1943, thousands of young men fled and joined the Maquis. The British Special Operations Executive (SOE) helped with supplies and agents. The American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) also began to send its own agents to France in cooperation with the SOE and the French BCRA agents in Operation Jedburgh. The Special Operations Executive (SOE), sometimes referred to as the Baker Street Irregulars after Sherlock Holmess fictional group of spies, was a World War II organization initiated by Winston Churchill and Hugh Dalton in July 1940 as a mechanism for conducting warfare by means other than direct military engagement. ... The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency and was the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Special Forces, and Navy SEALs. ... BCRA is an acronym that can represent: Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act Bureau Central de Renseignement et dAction Banco Central de la República Argentina (Central Bank of Argentina) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Jedburgh was an operation in World War II in which men from the Office of Strategic Services and the British Special Operations Executive parachuted into Nazi occupied France to conduct sabotage and guerilla warfare, and to lead French Maquis forces against the Germans. ...


The British government also helped and supplied Charles de Gaulle to unify the Free French, resistance movement included. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Free French Forces under review during the Battle of Normandy. ...


Role

During the Allied invasion of Normandy, the Maquis and other groups played some role in delaying the German mobilization. The French Resistance (FFI Force Francaises de l'Interieur for "French Forces of the Interior") blew up railroad tracks and repeatedly attacked German Army equipment and garrison trains on their way to the Atlantic coast. Thanks to coded messages transmitted over the BBC radio, each Maquis group was alerted of the impending D-Day by listening for seemingly meaningless messages such as "the crow will sing three times in the morning" or any other pre-arranged messages read in a continuous flow over the British airwaves. As Allied troops advanced, the French Resistance rose against the Nazi occupation forces and their garrisons en masse. For example, Nancy Wake's group of 7,000 maquisards was involved in a pitched battle with 22,000 Germans on June 20, 1944. Some Maquis groups took no prisoners and some German soldiers preferred to surrender to Allied soldiers instead of facing maquisards. Captured Maquis faced torture and being shot or sent to concentration camps, where few survived. The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ... The French Forces of the Interior (Fr. ... Belligerent military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory belonging to a state passes to a hostile army. ... 1945 Studio portrait of Nancy Wake (AWM P00885. ... A concentration camp is a large detention centre created for political opponents, aliens, specific ethnic or religious groups, civilians of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, often during a war. ...


The Allied offensive was slowed and the Germans were able to counterattack in southeast France. On the Vercors plateau, a Maquis group fought about 8000 soldiers under general Karl Pflaum and was defeated with 600 casualties. Categories: France geography stubs | Geography of France | Plateaus ...


When De Gaulle dismissed resistance organizations after the liberation of Paris, many Maquis returned to their homes. Many also joined the new French army to continue the fight. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...


Customs

It was standard practice among the Maquis to identify members by wearing a Basque beret because it was common enough to not arouse suspicion but distinctive enough to be effective. Basque style Beret Black beret with military emblem A beret (pronounced in English, except in North America where it is pronounced ) is a soft round cap, usually of wool felt, with a flat crown, which is worn by both men and women. ...


Notable maquis

  • Maquis du Vercors in the French Alps
  • Maquis des Glières in the French Alps
  • Maquis du Grésivaudan in the French Alps
  • Maquis de Saint-Marcel in Brittany
  • Maquis du Mont-Mouchet en Auvergne
  • Maquis du Limousin in Massif central
  • Maquis de l'Ain et du Haut-Jura
  • Maquis de Vabre
  • Maquis de Corrèze
  • Maquis de Fontjun in the Hérault
  • Maquis La Tourette in the Hérault created by Jean Bène
  • Maquis de Lozère directed by the German antifascist Otto Kühne
  • Corps Franc du Sidobre (Tarn)

The Maquis du Vercors was a maquis used as a refuge and a sanctuary for the French Resistance against the 1940-1944 German occupation of France in World War II. Many members of a the maquis, called maquisards died fighting in 1944 in the Vercors Plateau. ... The French Alps are simply those parts of the Alps mountain range which lie in France. ... At the end of 1943, to harass the enemy at the time of the expected Allied assault, the French Resistance in the French Alps of Haute-Savoie badly needed arms. ... Historical province of Brittany, showing the main areas with their name in Breton language The traditional flag of Brittany (the Gwenn-ha-du), formerly a Breton nationalist symbol but today used as a general civic flag in the region. ... (Region flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Clermont-Ferrand Regional President René Souchon (PS) (since 2006) Departments Allier Cantal Haute-Loire Puy-de-Dôme Arrondissements 14 Cantons 158 Communes 1,310 Statistics Land area1 26,013 km² Population (Ranked 19th)  - January 1, 2006 est. ... France, viewed from the NASA Shuttle Topography Radar Mission. ... This article is about the French department. ... For other uses, see Tarn (disambiguation). ...

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