Maquis (World War II) of those bands were called "maquisards". Their image was a committed and voluntary fighter, a "combattant", as opposed to the previous "réfractaire" ("unmanageable"). The term became an honorific meaning "armed resistance fighter". The maquis came to symbolize the French Resistance. Most maquisards operated in the remote or mountainous areas of Brittany and southern France, especially in the Alps and in Limousin. They relied on guerrilla tactics to harass the Milice and German occupation troops. The Maquis also aided the escape of downed Allied airmen, Jews and others pursued by the Vichy and German authorities. Maquisards usually relied on some degree
Ceylon in World War II help of one of their guards. Several of them fled to India, where they participated in the struggle there, underscoring what had been established before the war, that India's and Sri Lanka's independence struggles were interlinked. However, a sizable contingent remained, led by Robert Gunawardena, Philip's brother. Ceylon in World War II After the outbreak of the Second World War, in the British Crown Colony of Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka), the government of Sir Don Baron Jayatilaka assured the British king and his majesty's government of its continued support. The British had occupied the coastal areas of the island since