Les Fréchots, a small hamlet situated in the commune of Larochemillay at an altitude of 446 m., nestled at the bottom of the wooded hillside of deciduous trees; it was reached by a dirt road just wide enough to allow the passage of wagons, carts and four-wheeled bench cars. The entrance to the road was barely visible from the road as the dense forest partially concealed it.
After staying for about 15 days in "en Meu" - commune of Poil - (a difficult site to defend), it was at Les Fréchots that a dozen men, including Paul Sarrette (known as "Captain Louis") and Kenneth Mackenezie (known as "Captain Baptiste"), arrived on 20 June 1944 to form what was to become the "Louis W.O. Maquis", with a strength of about 1,150 men, the main objective of which was to slow down the retreat of the Germans. The Maquis personnel were divided between the hamlet of Les Fréchots (Louis' headquarters) and advanced posts located at Les Grands Bois, Le Foudon, Chiddes, Haut de l'Arche...
A signposting of the organisation of this camp (map and signs) will allow you, by following the footpaths, to discover or rediscover the life of a maquis of the Second World War.
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