The Maquis de Saffré was one of the maquis

Maquis (World War II)

The Maquis were the predominantly rural guerrilla bands of the French Resistance. Initially they were composed of men who had escaped into the mountains to avoid conscription into Vichy France's Service du travail obligatoire to provide forced labour for Germany...

 groups of French resistance

French Resistance

The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...

 fighters active in the Loire-Atlantique

Loire-Atlantique

Loire-Atlantique is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean.-History:...

 region, in the triangle formed by the communes of Héric

Héric

Héric is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.-See also:*Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department...

, Nort-sur-Erdre

Nort-sur-Erdre

Nort-sur-Erdre is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.-See also:*Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department...

 et Saffré

Saffré

Saffré is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.-See also:*Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department...

.

One of Germany's last operations, in June 1944, was the destruction of this maquis, where 350 poorly-equipped young resistance fighters ("maquisards") stood up to 2,500 Germans, before dispersing. 27 captured maquisards were shot on the 29th June at La Bouvardière château.