In the early hours of 31 July 1944, the enemy army surrounded the camp and surprised the maquisards, who were still asleep. The surprise effect was total, and the maquis was destroyed and burnt down. Twenty-two maquisards were killed and four were taken prisoner and deported. Marcel Lemaître and Alexandre Octave "Bauché", aged around twenty, had created the maquis a month earlier.
Head off in the direction of the St Pierre fountain, where until the middle of the 20th century, processions were held to invoke the rain. A little further on, you'll take the GR de Pays, which runs around the Morvan. This 220km long trail takes you on a journey of discovery through our granite massif, across its peaks and along the shores of its great lakes. A challenge to put on your list of hikes to do... For now, leave the GR and follow the slopes of Monts Paronciaux (574m) and Montamy (597m) to the monument to the Chaumard maquis. Here, in the early hours of 31 July 1944, the enemy army surrounded the camp and surprised the Maquis who were still asleep. The surprise effect was total, and the maquis was destroyed and burnt. Twenty-two maquisards were killed and four were taken prisoner and deported. Marcel Lemaître and Alexandre Octave "Bauché", aged around twenty, had created the maquis a month earlier.
If you continue on your way, you will come to the hamlet of Pierre Sèche, where there used to be an oil mill with a merry-go-round. The Morvan had many oil mills powered by a mill or an animal-drawn merry-go-round. Turnips (a variety of turnip) and walnuts were generally crushed and processed for cooking oil and, in earlier times, for lighting.