Maquis des Vosges 5 September Heinrich Himmler made a short visit to Gerardmer to give orders to the officials of the Wehrmacht and the SS and especially to intensify the campaign against the Maquis. This most probably explains the targeted operations against the Maquis thereafter. The Vosges Maquis whose histories have been particularly well documented were the Maquis de Charmes, the Maquis Viombois, the Maquis Noiregotte, and the Maquis de la Piquante Pierre. Maquis des Vosges The Maquis des Vosges were groups of French resistance fighters in the Department of the Vosges during the Second World War. They were associated through an amalgamation
Maquis (World War II) who have given up trying to live a normal life[...]. They totalled about 48,000". A popular maquis band, the "Maquis de l'Ain", was captained by Henri Petit (alias Romans), who organized a network of camps in the dense forests in the mountainous regions of "le Bugey" and the lower regions of "la Bresse", without creating a fixed camp. This gave “primacy to isolation from all habitation, but also to sites which permitted hasty retreats”. The enemy would not be able to surprise the maquis because the views from the hills were extensive, but some enjoyed this advantage and stayed in