Maquis de Saint-Marcel Maquis de Saint-Marcel The Maquis de Saint-Marcel was a force of French resistance fighters, 3000 men with 200 Free French SAS (Special Air Service), during World War II operating in Brittany, Morbihan. It was created just before the Normandy landings with the objectives of preventing German army reinforcements from reaching the coast, thus facilitating the task of the allied landing forces. The Maquis de Saint-Marcel lasted only a very short time. It had been infiltrated by German spies, allowing the Germans to attack it in an ambush on 18 June 1944. After it was dissolved, the remaining resistance fighters resumed
Maquis (World War II) the same sites for months, defying their own rules of mobility. Guerrilla warfare practiced by the Maquis “created a psychosis of fear within the enemy [...], giving an impression of numbers and strength which was more illusory than real". The Maquis de l’Ain’s effectiveness was due to the training school opened at Gorges above Mongriffon in June 1943. Captain Romans described the situation like so: "The watchwords were explicit: no large concentrations of men. No pitched battles. Guerrilla warfare only! We had a few revolvers and some hunting rifles and were reduced to making sketches in order to teach the