The term " maquis " signified both the group of fighters and their rural location . Members 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 . The title Maquis is a very broad term that was used to describe a wide variety of different resistance groups throughout France . The Term Maquis describes resistance groups that fought in France before the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944 . Once the Allies had secured a foothold in France the government of Free France attempted to unite the separate groups of Maquis under the banner of the FFI . 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 of sympathy or cooperation from the local populace . In March 1944 , the German army began a terror campaign throughout France . This included reprisals against civilians living in areas where the French resistance was active , such as the Oradour-sur-Glane , Maillé and Tulle massacres by SS troops . The Maquisards were later to take their revenge in the '' épuration sauvage '' that took place after the war 's end
Tulle
Tulle massacre
Maquis (World War II)