Maquis (World War II) advanced, the French Resistance rose against the Nazi occupation forces and their garrisons en masse. For example, Nancy Wake's group of 7,000 maquisards was involved in a pitched battle with 22,000 Germans on June 20, 1944. Some Maquis groups took no prisoners so some German soldiers preferred to surrender to Allied soldiers instead of facing maquisards. The Allied offensive was slowed and the Germans were able to counterattack in southeast France. On the Vercors Massif, the Maquis du Vercors rose up with some 4000 soldiers against the German occupiers, but was defeated with 600 casualties. When General De Gaulle dismissed
Maquis Vallier Maquis Vallier The Maquis Vallier was one of the maquis groups of resistance fighters during World War II. The maquis operated in the north of the Var département, particularly in the Verdon valley. The maquis Vallier was initially part of the "Mouvements Unis de la Résistance" (MUR) organization, before becoming the primary structure of the "Armée secrète" (AS) in its zone. In 1944, it was under the authority of the "comité départemental de libération". The maquis Vallier was led by Louis Picoche. Like many maquis in that region, the maquis Vallier did not participate directly in the liberation of its