Maquis (World War II) MP 40 submachine gun being very common. It was standard practice among the Maquis to identify members by wearing a Basque beret because it was common enough not to arouse suspicion but distinctive enough to be effective. Maquis (World War II) The Maquis () were rural guerrilla bands of French Resistance fighters, called "maquisards", during the Nazi Occupation of France in World War II. Initially, they were composed of men and women who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's "Service du travail obligatoire" ("Compulsory Work Service" or "STO") to provide forced labor for Germany. To
Maquis du Limousin the military operations and Gontran Royer for the Mouvements unis de la Résistance, the best known figures in the Maquis du Limousin were Edmond Michelet and André Malraux —who later both became ministers of Charles de Gaulle—, Roger Lescure, Louis Lemoigne, René Vaujour and Marius Guedin. Jacques Renouvin, André Delon, Martial Brigouleix, Raymond Farro and Florentin Gourmelen, also prominent maquisards in Limousin, were killed during the war. The Maquis du Limousin was led from Brive-la-Gaillarde and Limoges. The maquis was split into several main sectors: Maquis du Limousin The Maquis du Limousin was one of the largest Maquis groups of