The Maquis du Vercors was a rural group of the French Forces of the Interior (FFI) (maquis) that resisted the 1940-1944 German occupation of France in World War II. The Maquis du Vercors used the prominent scenic plateau known as the Massif du Vercors (Vercors Plateau) as a refuge. Initially the maquis carried out only sabotage and partisan operations against the Germans, but after the Normandy Invasion on 6 June 1944, the leadership of an army of about 4,000 maquis declared the Free Republic of Vercors, raised the French flag, and attempted to create a conventional army to oppose the German occupation.