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
Maquis (World War II) people in revolt against the S.T.O. This unification was due, in part, to Michel Brault, a Parisian lawyer, who headed the organization of the resisters in April 1943 and to the drafted circulars establishing the Maquis’s charter. "Within one month, 20,000 copies of the text—which did not exceed the size of a playing card—were distributed throughout the southern zone". Michel Brault, in a report sent to London on 14 February 1944, listed the various elements available for action to the Allies and described the Maquis as "youths who have rebelled against the S.T.O. as well as men of all ages