Maquis de Saint-Marcel contact without forming a new maquis. Maquis de Saint-Marcel The Maquis de Saint-Marcel was a force of French resistance fighters, 3000 men with 200 Free French SAS (Special Air Service), during World War II operating in Brittany, Morbihan. It was created just before the Normandy landings with the objectives of preventing German army reinforcements from reaching the coast, thus facilitating the task of the allied landing forces. The Maquis de Saint-Marcel lasted only a very short time. It had been infiltrated by German spies, allowing the Germans to attack it in an ambush on 18 June 1944. After it was
Horses in World War II onset of World War II France mobilized over half a million horses, arguably draining the resources that should rather have been invested into true mechanized and tank formations. The compelled the French to reconsider the effectiveness of their light cavalry and move it to what seemed to be a more appropriate ground, the Ardennes. But there too they were soon crushed by the decisive German offensive.By 1945 the only French mounted troops retaining an operational role were several squadrons of Moroccan and Algerian spahis serving in North Africa and in France itself. The German Army entered World War II with