Spanish Maquis by the Civil Guard, nearly wiping out the movement. The term ""maquis"" comes from the French term ""maquis"", which in turn comes from the Corsican term ""macchia"", the maquis shrubland, a type of biome found in the Mediterranean basin, mostly associated with Corsica. In France, the term was first used to refer to a group of guerrillas of the French resistance against the German occupation of France during World War II. The resistance fighters in these encampments were referred to as ""maquisards"". The anti-Franco guerrilla resistance in Spain began before the 1939 end of the Spanish Civil War. The outbreak
Maquis du Vercors Maquis du Vercors The Maquis du Vercors was a rural group of the French Forces of the Interior resistance ("maquis") that fought the 1940–1944 German occupation of France in World War II. The Maquis du Vercors used the prominent scenic plateau known as the Massif du Vercors (Vercors Plateau) as a refuge. Many members of the "maquis", known as "maquisards", died fighting in 1944 in the Vercors Plateau. From 16 to 24 April 1944 the "Milice" (a Vichy government paramilitary militia) attacked the village of Vassieux, burning several farms and shooting or deporting some of the inhabitants. Nevertheless, the local