The Maquis du Mont Mouchet were a group of

French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

fighters during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

that were based at Mont Mouchet. The Germans, having discovered the

maquis Maquis may refer to: Resistance groups * Maquis (World War II), predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance * Spanish Maquis, guerrillas who fought against Francoist Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War * The netwo ...

, made several attacks up until May 1944 with about 3,000 men and using aviation and armoured units. The maquisards fought back fiercely. Little information is available on the German forces. Historians have identified some units: * The Jesser Brigade, formed from veterans of the eastern front (deployed in the

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Pithiviers Pithiviers () is a commune in the Loiret department, north central France. It is one of the subprefectures of Loiret. It is twinned with Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, England and Burglengenfeld in Bavaria, Germany. Its attractions incl ...

sector) * ''Sicherungs-Regiment 1000 '' * ''Aufklärungsabteilung 1000'' These were reinforced from: * Regiment 2 of the 2 '' Ost-Bataillone'' of the '' Freiwilligen-Stamm-Division'': ** The

Volga Tatar The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after ...

legion stationed at

Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its cat ...

** The

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

legion stationed at

Rodez Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of th ...

(former 804th battalion ?) * The 3rd Battalion of the SS Polizei Regiment 19 * A battery of the artillery regiment 28 (189th reserve division) * Battalion of DCA 958 * 3 motorised response detachments of the

Feldgendarmerie The ''Feldgendarmerie'' (, "field gendarmerie") were a type of military police units of the armies of the Kingdom of Saxony (from 1810), the German Empire and Nazi Germany until the conclusion of World War II in Europe. Early history From 1810 ...

* An armored reconnaissance platoon originating from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

* 2

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

squadrons from

Aulnat Aulnat () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department The following is a list of the 464 communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department of Fra ...

airbase After several days of combat, the final German attack forced the maquisards to fall back and disperse. Out of revenge for their previous losses, the Germans pillaged several of the surrounding villages, including

Clavières Clavières (; oc, Clavèiras) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. Population See also *Communes of the Cantal department The following is a list of the 246 communes of the Cantal department of France. Inte ...

. In the course of the battles, the

French Forces of the Interior The French Forces of the Interior (french: Forces françaises de l'Intérieur) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation ...

sustained severe losses: 238 killed and 180 wounded as well as about 100 hostages executed by the Nazis.

Sources

*
Mémoire de la France
National liberation armies Military history of France during World War II French Maquis Battles of World War II involving France Battles of World War II involving Germany Guerrilla warfare Military battles of Vichy France Uprisings during World War II {{France-hist-stub