The Battle of Vercors in July and August 1944 was between a rural group of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) [maquis] and the armed forces of Nazi Germany which had occupied France since 1940 in the Second World War. The maquis used the prominent scenic plateau known as the (Vercors Plateau) as a refuge. Initially, the maquis carried out only sabotage and partisan operations against the Germans. However, after the Normandy Invasion of 6 June 1944, the leadership of an army of about 4,000 maquis declared the Free Republic of Vercors and attempted to create a conventional army to oppose the German occupation. The allies supported the maquis with parachute drops of weapons and by supplying teams of advisors and trainers but the uprising was premature. In July 1944, as many as 10,000 German soldiers invaded the massif and killed more than 600 of the maquisards and 200 civilians. It was Germany's largest anti-partisan operation in Western Europe of the war. In August 1944, shortly after the battle for the Vercors, the area was liberated from German control by the American Army and the FFI. Geography The Vercors Massif is a roughly triangular-shaped plateau with a maximum north–south length of and a maximum width of . The area is . The lowlands surrounding the steep-sided plateau average about in elevation above sea level while the top of the massif has an average elevation of about with a maximum elevation of at Grand Veymont. Unlike a flat-topped mesa, three ridges run along the top of the massif from north to south. Only a few roads climb the steep slopes to the massif and the population lives in a few small villages. The porous limestone rocks and karst terrain result in an extensive system of caves, caverns and a scarcity of surface water in the form of streams, springs and shallow wells. These characteristics would be important during the battle as the Germans took control of the water sources and ambushed maquis seeking water. The city of Grenoble, which had a large German military garrison, is situated at the foot of the steep cliffs of the Vercors Massif at its northeastern edge. An important base was located at Chabeuil, just below the south-western rim of the Vercors. Background {{quote box | align=right | width=35% | quote=by the early months of 1943, the forest and fastnesses of places like the Vercors