Maquis (World War II) of those bands were called "maquisards". Their image was a committed and voluntary fighter, a "combattant", as opposed to the previous "réfractaire" ("unmanageable"). The term became an honorific meaning "armed resistance fighter". The maquis came to symbolize the French Resistance. Most maquisards operated in the remote or mountainous areas of Brittany and southern France, especially in the Alps and in Limousin. They relied on guerrilla tactics to harass the Milice and German occupation troops. The Maquis also aided the escape of downed Allied airmen, Jews and others pursued by the Vichy and German authorities. Maquisards usually relied on some degree
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