The 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade (french: 27 Brigade d'Infanterie de Montagne, 27 BIM) is a mountain infantry formation 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 ...
mountain warfare
Mountain warfare (also known as alpine warfare) is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. Mountain ranges are of strategic importance since they often act as a natural border, and may also be the origin of a water source (for example, ...
.
History
It is heir to the traditions of
*the 1st Alpine Division FFI, created in September 1944
*renamed the 27th Alpine Division and finally 27th Alpine Infantry Division in December 1944
*the 27th Alpine Brigade in December 1962
*the 27th Alpine Division in August 1976
*the 27th ''division d'infanterie de montagne'' (27th DIM) in July 1994.
With the end of conscription, all of the French Army's divisions were downsized and the 27th became a brigade in 1999.
After the liberation of the Combe de Savoie and the
Grésivaudan
The Grésivaudan (sometimes Graisivaudan) is a valley of the French Alps, situated mostly in the Isère. Etymologically, ''Graisivaudan'' comes from roots meaning "Grenoble" (''Gratianopolis'') and "valley".''Robert des noms propres'' It compri ...
, Colonel
Jean Vallette d'Osia
Jean Vallette d'Osia (16 August 1898 - 28 February 2000) was a French officer best known for his action in the French Resistance during World War II in Haute-Savoie, notably supervising the liberation of Lyon.
He ended his career in 1958 with the ...
became the commander of the 1st Alpine Division of the
French Forces of the Interior
The French Forces of the Interior (french: Forces françaises de l'Intérieur) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation ...
(''1ere Division alpine FFI'') in September 1944, which unified the mountain units created in the
French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
in the northern Alps. The unit, the first FFI division, was formed at the suggestion of Colonel Marcel Descour, the FFI commander in
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
Challes-les-Eaux
Challes-les-Eaux (; Arpitan: ''Chales''), known as Triviers until 1872, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 5,609. Chambéry Aerodrome is located in ...
.
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
reformed the 27th Alpine Infantry Division on 17 November 1944 under the command of General Molle. The division, which became operational in January 1945, included the 5th Alpine Demi-Brigade (''DBA'') under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Le Ray and the 7th Alpine Demi-Brigade under the command of Colonel De Galbert. Its 159th Infantry Regiment was sent to defend
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
in the same month and did not return to the Alps until March. While the 27th was reorganized, the Alpine valleys were held by the 4th Moroccan Mountain Division (4e DMM), which rejoined the 1st Army on 17 November. The ''4e DMM'' left behind its artillery, which was used to reform the 27th's 93rd Mountain Artillery Regiment (''93e RAM'').
After World War II
From 4 September 1945 the division replaced the 4th Moroccan Mountain Division in occupying Austria, under command of General Béthouart. The French occupation zone there disappeared on 26 October 1955.
From 1954 to 1962, they served in Algeria, especially in the mountains of
Kabylia
Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region
Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which ...
, led by General Faure. Some 1,000 Alpines were killed in Algeria.
In 1989 the division included the 27e Régiment de Commandement et de Soutien (27e RCS) at Grenoble; the :fr:4e régiment de chasseurs (4e RCh), Gap (36x Panhard ERC-90); the 6e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins (6e BCA), Varces-Allières-et-Risset; the 7e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins (7e BCA),
Bourg-Saint-Maurice
Bourg-Saint-Maurice (; Arpitan: ''Bôrg-Sant-Mori'' or simply ''Le Bôrg''), popularly known as Bourg, is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. Located on the Italian border south of Cham ...
; the 11e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins (11e BCA),
Barcelonnette
Barcelonnette (; oc, Barciloneta de Provença, also ; obsolete it, Barcellonetta) is a commune of France and a subprefecture in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It is located in the souther ...
; the 13e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins (13e BCA), Chambéry; the 27e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins (27e BCA), Annecy; the 159e Régiment d'Infanterie Alpine (159e RIA), Briançon; the 93e Régiment d'Artillerie de Montagne, Varces (24x towed M101), and the 7e Bataillon du Génie de division Alpine (7e BGDA), Avignon.
Later, the "Alpins" of the 27th mountain infantry brigade intervened in Lebanon, Chad, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ivory Coast and Afghanistan.
In 2016, the brigade was attached to the 1st Division.
Organisation
The brigade is now organized as:
* Operational Control
** État-Major de Brigade ''(Brigade Staff)'', in
Varces-Allières-et-Risset
Varces-Allières-et-Risset (; frp, Varse-Aliéres-et-Riosèc) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).Gap (Light Tank and Light Mechanised)
** 7éme Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins ''(7th Battalion of Alpine Chasseurs)'', in
Chambéry
Chambéry (, , ; Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the prefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The population of the commune of Chambéry was 58,917 as of 2019, while the population of the Chambér ...
(Light Mechanised)
** 27éme Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins ''(27th Battalion of Alpine Chasseurs)'', in Annecy (Light Mechanised)
** 93éme Régiment d'Artillerie de Montagne ''(93rd Mountain Artillery Regiment)'', in
Varces-Allières-et-Risset
Varces-Allières-et-Risset (; frp, Varse-Aliéres-et-Riosèc) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).Varces-Allières-et-Risset
Varces-Allières-et-Risset (; frp, Varse-Aliéres-et-Riosèc) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).Modane
Modane (; ) is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.
The commune is in the Maurienne Valley, and it also belongs to the Vanoise National Park. It was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia unti ...
** École Militaire de Haute Montagne ''(High Mountain Military School)'', in
Chamonix Mont Blanc
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had a ...
** Centre de Formation Initiale Militaire — 6éme Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins, in Gap