Maquis du Limousin Maquis du Limousin The Maquis du Limousin was one of the largest Maquis groups of French resistance fighters. The region of Limousin was an active area of resistance beginning in 1940. Edmond Michelet distributed tracts calling for continued fighting in all of Brive-la-Gaillarde's mailboxes on June 17, 1940. It is considered to be the first act of resistance of World War II in France. But the Limousin was south of the line of demarcation and the resistance was mainly a passive one against Vichy France. The Maquis du Limousin, the first in France, was formed in 1942. Its first act
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