The 25th Parachute Division (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: 25^e Division Parachutiste, 25^e D.P) was an airborne division of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

, part of the French Airborne Units. Consisting mainly of air

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

specialized in

airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

combat,

air assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind e ...

and established in 1956; the Parachute Division took principal part only in the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

Creation and different designations

* June 1, 1956 : Creation of the 25th Parachute Division * April 30, 1961: the 25th Parachute was dissolved * In 1961 : following the putsch, the 10th Parachute Division and 25th Parachute Division were dissolved and formed on May 1, 1961, with the 11th Infantry Division (french: 11^e Division d'Infanterie), the 11th Light Intervention Division, which would later become the

11th Parachute Brigade The 11th Parachute Brigade (french: 11e Brigade Parachutiste, 11e BP) is a unit of the French Army, predominantly infantry, part of the French Airborne Units and specialized in air combat and air assault. The brigade's primary vocation is to proj ...

Constitution

On June 1, 1956, the 25th Parachute Division was created in the 5th military region from the 25e DIAP and the Colonial Parachute Brigade. The division included five airborne infantry Regiments, two airborne cavalry regiments and one unit of Parachute Artillery: Organigramme 25e DP

* Command and Support Structure ** 75th Headquarters Company (75^e CGQ) ** 75th Transmission Company (75^e CT) ** French Army Light Aviation (ALAT)

Platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

** 513th Transport Group ( GT 513) ** 75th Parachute Engineer Company (75e CGAP) ** 75th Repair Division Company (75^e CRD) ** 75th Medical Company (75e CM) ** 75th SRI ** General Command Staff of the 1st Brigade ** General Command Staff of the 2nd Brigade * Airborne Infantry and artillery **

2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment The 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (french: 2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes, 2e REP) is the only airborne regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. It is one of the four infantry regiments of the 11th Parachute Brigade and part o ...

(1956-1961). **

1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment The 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment (french: 1er Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes, 1er R.C.P) is the oldest and among the most decorated airborne regiments of the French Army. Established in the French Army in 1943 and formerly part of the Fr ...

(1e RCP) ** 14th Parachute Chasseur Regiment (14e RCP) **

18th Parachute Chasseur Regiment 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

(18e RCP) **

8th Colonial Parachute Regiment 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

(8e RPC), created February 28, 1951, in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

as the

8th Colonial Parachute Battalion 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

; recreated on May 1, 1956, as the 8th Colonial Parachute Regiment; renamed on December 1, 1958, the 8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment. *

35th Parachute Artillery Regiment The 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment (french: 35e Régiment d'Artillerie Parachutiste, 35e RAP) is the only airborne artillery unit of the French Army forming the air artillery component of the 11th Parachute Brigade. It is based in Tarbes ...

(35e RAP) * Parachute Cavalry Structure **

13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment The 13e Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes ( en, 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment) or 13e RDP is a special reconnaissance regiment of the French Army. It is a unit of the French Army Special Forces Command, the latter itself being under the Spec ...

( 13^e RDP) **

1st Parachute Hussar Regiment The 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment (french: List of French paratrooper units, 1er Régiment de Hussards Parachutistes, List of French paratrooper units, 1er RHP) is an List of French paratrooper units, airborne cavalry unit in the French Army, fou ...

( 1^er RHP) During tenure, the Division witnessed changes: * On July 1, 1957, the

was reassigned and attached to the 10th Parachute Brigade. * On April 1, 1960, the

9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment The 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment (french: 9e Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes, 9e RCP) was an airborne unit of the French Army that was part of the French Airborne Units and all three histories of the 10th Parachute Division, 25th Para ...

relieved the

, part of the 10th Parachute Division. On December 1, 1958, the Colonial Parachute Regiments underwent a designation change to Marine Infantry Parachute Regiments while retaining their numerical designation.

Division Commanders

* 1956 - 1956 :

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Jean Gilles * 1956 - 1958 : General Henri Sauvagnac * 1958 - 1960 : General Ducournau * 1960 - 1961 : General Autrand

History

Battle of the Frontiers

Two of the five airborne infantry regiments of the division; mainly, the 8th Colonial Parachute Regiment and the 14th Parachute Chasseur Regiment; participated from January to May 1958 in the Battle of Frontiers. Accordingly,

Raoul Salan, superior commander in Algeria, delegated all five airborne infantry regiments to General Paul Vanuxem; commander of the zone est-constantinois (ZEC). The battle took place at both the

Morice Line The Morice Line was a defensive line that went into effect in September 1957 during the Algerian War. It was constructed by the French to prevent the rebel guerrillas of the Algerian National Liberation Front from entering Algeria, then a French c ...

and Challe Line and lasted for about 5 months.Collectif, Histoire des parachutistes français, Société de Production Littéraire, 1975.In ''Histoire des parachutistes français''(History of French Paratroopers), pages 501 to 508

Traditions

Except for the

Legionnaires The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army. It ...

of the 2^e REP that conserve the Green Beret; the remainder of the French army metropolitan and marine paratroopers forming the

wear the Red Beret. Image:Parachutiste métropolitain légion-béret.jpg, Circled Winged Armed Dextrochere of French Army Metropolitan Paratroopers File:Brevet Parachutiste.jpg,

and Foreign Legion Parachute Brevet. File:Parachutistes coloniaux-béret.jpg, Anchored Winged Armed Dextrochere of French Army Marine Infantry Paratroopers Image:Parachutiste métropolitain légion-béret.jpg, Circled Winged Armed Dextrochere of French Foreign Legion Paratroopers The Archangel Saint Michael, patron of the French paratroopers is celebrated on September 29. The ''prière du Para'' (Prayer of the Paratrooper) was written by

André Zirnheld André Louis Arthur Zirnheld (March 7, 1913 – July 27, 1942) was a French paratrooper, a member of the Free French Air Force, and a member of the French Squadron, Special Air Service during World War II. He is famous for being the first French ...

in 1938.

Insignias

Just like the paratrooper Brevet of the French Army; the Insignia of French Paratroopers was created in 1946. The French Army Insignia of metropolitan Paratroopers represents a closed "winged armed dextrochere", meaning a "right winged arm" armed with a sword pointing upwards. The Insignia makes reference to the Patron of Paratroopers. In fact, the Insignia represents "the right Arm of Saint Michael", the

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

which according to

Liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

is the "Armed Arm of God". This Insignia is the symbol of righteous combat and fidelity to superior missions. The French Army Insignia of Marine Infantry Paratroopers is backgrounded by a Marine Anchor. File:Insigne 2e régiment étranger de parachutistes.jpg, Insignia of the

File:Insigne du 9° RCP.jpg, Insignia of the

File:Insigne du 1°RCP.jpg, Insignia of

File:Insigne du 14° RCP.jpg, Insignia of 14th Parachute Chasseur Regiment File:Insigne du 18° RCP.JPG, Insignia of

File:Insigne régimentaire du 35e régiment d'artillerie parachutistes.jpg, Insignia of 35 Régiment d'Artillerie Parachutiste File:Insigne du 13e RDP.jpg, Insignia of

File:Insigne régimentaire du 1er régiment de hussards parachutistes.jpg, Insignia of 1 Régiment de Hussards Parachutistes File:Insigne régimentaire du 8° RPIMA.jpg, Insignia of 8 Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine

References

Sources and bibliography

* Collectif, ''Histoire des parachutistes français'', Société de Production Littéraire, 1975. * J. Baltzer & E. Micheletti, ''Insignes et brevets parachutistes de l'armée française'', Histoires et collections, 2001, .

External links

History of the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment, 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment, 14th Parachute Chasseur Regiment and 18th Parachute Chasseur Regiment
{{Authority control Airborne divisions of France Military units and formations established in 1956 Military units and formations disestablished in 1961 1956 establishments in France 1961 disestablishments in France