The isolation of Morvan, the abundance of forests, wood and fallow lands, the rural depopulation, the dispersal of the settlement, the administrative puzzle, the customs of autoconsumption and relative autarky facilitated or allowed the birth, then the development and the increase of resistance movements in l943 and in 1944.

The big road and railway by-pass the massif. Inside, roads, often narrow, very sinuous, frequently in bad condition, bordered with hedges, constitute the ideal place for the ambushes.

Woods and fallow lands cover more than half of the surface of Morvan. Two very vast 1200 hectare national forests each, the forest to the Duke and the forest of Breuil-Chenue, situated in the region of Dun-les-Places, Quarré-les-Tombes and Saint Brisson, will shelter, from 1943, the “maquis Camille” and the “maquis Bernard”.

The irreversible character of the depopulation of Morvan began toward 1919-1920, even if the movement had widely begun well before. As a consequence, there is no canton where the first groups of resistance fighters cannot find refuge in an abandoned farm, an uninhabited house or an unused barn.

The density of population is always situated around 17 to 25 inhabitants in 2 km2. Any attempt of the Germans to annihilate a maquis come up against this difficulty. Even if the information allowed the occupant to know the name of the village, they shall not find easily towards which hamlet is exactly the maquis.

Morvan was always shared administratively by the limits of four departments. The resistance fighters are going to be able to change department to escape pursuits. The Germans will not manage to take of global decisions against Morvan, Kommandanturs of Nevers, Auxerre or Dijon taking their own decisions. The part of each of four departments included in Morvan is eccentric, thus distant and, consequently, difficult to control. The customs of autoconsumption and relative autarky are going to facilitate the adaptation to the life of maquis.