Maquis du Mont Mouchet explained

Conflict:Battle of Mont Mouchet
Date:May 1944 – June 1944
Place:Mont Mouchet, France
Coordinates:44.9756°N 3.3728°W
Result:German victory
Combatant1: French Resistance
Combatant2:
Vichy France
Commander1: Émile Coulaudon
Commander2: Curt von Jesser
Strength1:2,700 maquisards
Strength2:3,000 german soldiers; unknown number of policemen and Milice Franc-Gardes
Casualties1:238 dead
180 wounded
Casualties2:unknown
Casualties3:100 civilians executed by the Germans

The Maquis du Mont Mouchet were a group of French resistance fighters during the Second World War that were based at Mont Mouchet.

The Germans, having discovered the maquis, 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:

These were reinforced from:

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.

In the course of the battles, the French Forces of the Interior sustained severe losses: 238 killed and 180 wounded as well as about 100 hostages executed by the Nazis.

Sources