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) scrub growth called maquis shrubland. Although strictly speaking it means thicket, "maquis" could be roughly translated as "the bush". Historians have not established how this Corsican term arrived on the mainland of France; nevertheless, the Italian-derived word ‘"maquis"’ is commonly used to describe woods and scrubland on the island, and evokes an all-encompassing image of woods and mountains, whereas the more limited word ‘"garrigue"’ used in the south of France indicated [...] an inhospitable terrain, and the words ‘"bois"’ (wood), ‘"foret"’ (forest) and ‘"montagne"’ (mountain) were too bland. The term maquis signified both the fighters and their rural location. Members