The 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade (french: 27 Brigade d'Infanterie de Montagne, 27 BIM) is a mountain infantry formation of the
French Army
History
Early history
The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...
. The brigade is subordinated to the
1st Armored Division and specializes in
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 compris ...
, Colonel
Jean Vallette d'Osia 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 ...
, and approved by General
Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French général d'armée during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952.
As ...
. Vallette d'Osia located his headquarters in
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 t ...
.
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 Governm ...
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 ...
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 First Army may refer to:
China
* New 1st Army, Republic of China
* First Field Army, a Communist Party of China unit in the Chinese Civil War
* 1st Group Army, People's Republic of China
Germany
* 1st Army (German Empire), a World War I field Arm ...
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 in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of ...
, 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; 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, and element at the Grenoble Mountain Troops Hotel
** 4éme Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval ''(4th Regiment of Mounted Chasseurs)'', in
Gap (Light Tank and Light Mechanised)
**
7éme Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins ''(7th Battalion of Alpine Chasseurs)'', in
Varces-Allières-et-Risset (Light Mechanised/High Mountain Armoured)
**
2éme Régiment Étranger de Génie ''(2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment)'', in
Saint-Christol (Mountain Engineering)
**
13éme Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins ''(13th 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 Chamb ...
(Light Mechanised)
**
27éme Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins ''(27th Battalion of Alpine Chasseurs)'', in
Annecy
Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nickname ...
(Light Mechanised)
** 93éme Régiment d'Artillerie de Montagne ''(93rd Mountain Artillery Regiment)'', in
Varces-Allières-et-Risset (Mobile Artillery)
** 27éme Compagnie de Commandement et de Transmissions de Montagne ''(27th Company of Command and of Communications of Mountain)'', in
Varces-Allières-et-Risset
* Administrative Control
** Groupement de Commandos de Montagne (GCM, Group of Commandos of the Mountain), in
Modane
** École Militaire de Haute Montagne ''(High Mountain Military School)'', in
Chamonix Mont Blanc
** Centre de Formation Initiale Militaire — 6éme Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins, in
Gap
External links
*
Official page
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
Brigades of France
Mountain infantry brigades
Military units and formations established in 1888
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