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
Bombing of Mannheim in World War II Bombing of Mannheim in World War II The German city of Mannheim in the state of Baden-Württemberg saw bombing during World War II from December 1940 until the end of the war. Mannheim saw over 150 air raids. Mannheim was the subject of allied air activity from the earliest days of the war. Although these early flights had reconnaissance as their aim rather than air raids. As The Times of 13 November 1939 notes, quoting a British official communique - During the Battle of France, the Royal Air Force raided Mannheim as part of a night of raid attacking Nazi