Maquis (World War II) of sympathy or cooperation from the local populace. In March 1944, the German army began a terror campaign throughout France. This included reprisals against civilians living in areas where the French resistance was active, such as the Oradour-sur-Glane, Maillé and Tulle massacres by SS troops. The Maquisards were later to take their revenge in the "épuration sauvage" that took place after the war's end. Most of the Maquis cells—like the Maquis du Limousin or the Maquis du Vercors—took names after the area they were operating in. The size of these cells varied from tens to thousands of men and women.
Maquis (World War II) mystique and discourse of l"e Maquis". Politically motivated anti-fascists, immigrant workers on the run, the "réfractaires" and Spanish Civil War veterans, along with the leniency of the Vichy administration's pursuit of "réfractaires", contributed to the emergence of an aggressive movement, with a combative discourse and a romantic mystique of rural revolt. The speed with which the term ‘"maquis"’ spread was astonishing, since the concept did not exist in January 1943. By June, maquis discourse made its way from south-eastern France to the plains of northern France. The Maquis eventually became the national service, due to the large influx of young