What group of people were the Rebels modeled after in Star Wars
?

Viet Cong

Explanation:

The Viet Cong is fully known as Viet Nam Cong San, English Vietnamese Communist, and often referred to as the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam or FNL (from the French Front National de Libération), was a political organization in South Vietnam and Cambodia with its own army – the Liberation Army of South Vietnam (LASV) considered to be Rebels with the guerrilla force and regular army units that, with the support of the North Vietnamese Army, fought against South Vietnam (late 1950s–1975) and the United States (early 1960s–1973).

Hence, according to George Lucas, the stroyline developer of STAR WARS; said that the Viet Cong served as his inspiration for the furry forest-dwelling Ewoks(Rebels), who were able to defeat a vastly superior opponent in spite of their primitive weapons.

This was later confirmed by William J. Astore in “Star Wars and History,” where he wrote that, both the Viet Cong and Ewoks were well-served by their “superior knowledge of the local terrain and an ability to blend into that terrain.”

Therefore, the group of people the Rebels were modeled after in Star Wars is VIET CONG