The 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment (french: 9^e Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes, 9^e RCP) was an airborne unit 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 ...

that was part of the French Airborne Units and all three histories of the 10th Parachute Division, 25th Parachute Division and 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 ...

. It was formed during the Algerian War and fought its most notable engagement at the Battle of Frontiers in 1958 at

Souk Ahras Souk Ahras ( Berber: ''Tagast''; ancient name: ''Thagast''; ar, سوق أهراس) is a municipality in Algeria. It is the capital of Souk Ahras Province. The Numidian city of Thagaste (or Tagaste), on whose ruins Souk Ahras was built, was the bi ...

during which the sacrifice of Captain's Beaumont 3rd

combat Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

company earned naming the garrison of the 9th Parachute Chasseur in his honor. During the Algerian War, the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment relieved the

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 ...

( 1^er RCP) and became part of the 25th Parachute Division. The regiment didn't take part in the 1961 Algiers Putsch. The regiment took part in numerous overseas operations before merging in 1999. The regiment was the heir to the traditions, battle honours and decorations of the 9th Infantry Regiment (french: 9^e Régiment d'Infanterie, 9^e RI) created during the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

History since 1956

The 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment was created on 1 June 1956 in Algeria from the 4th Battalion of the 18th Choc Parachute Chasseur Regiment 18^e RIPC and received the standard from Division Commander

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 ...

Henri Sauvagnac (1956-1958) in Batna on 11 November. The parachute regiment didn't take part in the 1961 Algiers putsch and after the end of the Algerian War, the regiment moved to Toulouse on mainland France. The regiment later took part in numerous operations in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. The parachute regiment served extensively within the

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...

(UNIFL)United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
Peacekeeping in between the Blue Line and the

Multinational Force A Multinational force is a multinational operation which may be defensive, offensive, or for peacekeeping purposes. In multinational operations, many countries form an alliance to carry them out. Multinational forces include: * Supreme Headquart ...

in 1983 where the regiment lost 3 paratroopers during the

1983 Beirut barracks bombing Early on a Sunday morning, October 23, 1983, two truck bombs struck buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, housing American and French service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF), a military peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese ...

.
Official Website of the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment (1er RCP); list of fallen and injured paratroopers by rank and regiment including 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment (9^e RCP disbanded 1999 and merged with 1er RCP) Three years later, the parachute regiment was quick to take part again in the United Nations Interim Force Lebanon in 1986 and 1998-1999 while also participating in other foreign operations. The 9th parachute regiment merged in 1999 as part of a restructuring of the

of the French Army.

Timeline

* 1956 : Regiment was created on June 1 as the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment from the 18th Choc Parachute Chasseur Regiment ( List of French paratrooper units, 18^e RIPC) in Algeria. * 1968 : the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment based in

Saint-Sulpice-la-Pointe Saint-Sulpice-la-Pointe (, before 2013: ''Saint-Sulpice''; Languedocien: ''Sant Somplesi'') ...

deployed in a formed battalion to

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

. *1979 : Reconnaissance and Support Company of the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment deployed to

Southern Lebanon Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa Districts, the southernmost distric ...

on a peacekeeping mission under the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Force Protection (UNIFIL) for a period of 6 months. *1981 : Installation of the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment at base quartier Capitaine-Beaumont in

Pamiers Pamiers (; oc, Pàmias ) is a commune and largest city in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the most populous commune in the Ariège department, although it ...

*1983 : The 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment participated in maintaining peace order in Southern

and particularly in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. Three paratroopers died in the

1983 Beirut barracks bombings Early on a Sunday morning, October 23, 1983, two truck bombs struck buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, housing American and French service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF), a military peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese ...

. *1986 : Within the battle contingent forming the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon under the

; the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment under command orders of Colonel Godinot engaged in several battle clashes against armed groups. *1987-1999 : The 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment deployed to the four corners of the globe engaged in numerous foreign military operations -

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

Central Africa Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of the ...

Tchad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic t ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, Ex-

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Irak Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

as much as in the

Overseas departments and territories of France Overseas France (french: France d'outre-mer) consists of 13 French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that chose to remain a part of the French state under various statuses after decolon ...

. *1993 : The 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment deployed to

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. *1994 : The 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment under command orders of Colonel Oberto under BATINF 2 engaged in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

under mandate

Force Protection. *1998 - 1999 : The 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment engaged the regiment's Reconnaissance and Support Company one more time in maintaining order in Southern Lebanon in

(UNIFIL). *1999 : The 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment merged with the

part of the restructuring of the

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 1er REG, 2^e REG, 2^e REP that continue to wear the

Green Beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...

; the remainder of the French army metropolitan and marine paratroopers forming the 11th Parachute Brigade wear the Red Beret. File:Insigne de la 25e division parachutiste.jpg, Shoulder Arm Insignia of the 25th Parachute Division of France File:Brevet Parachutiste.jpg, French Parachute Brevet. 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. The paratroopers of the regiment wear the red berets with the

Fourragère The ''fourragère'' () is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole, in the form of a braided cord. The award was first adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Luxembourg. Fou ...

with colors of the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

. File:Insigne du 9° RCP.jpg, Insignia of the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment File:Insigne de la 10e division parachutiste.jpg, Shoulder Arm Insignia of the 10th Parachute Division of France

Regimental Colors

Regimental Song

The regimental song is "En avant Normandie". File:9e R .C .P ( AG ) à Laval 2012.JPG, the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment at

Laval, Mayenne Laval () is a town in western France, about west-southwest of Paris, and the capital of the Mayenne department. Its inhabitants are called ''Lavallois''. The commune of Laval proper, without the metropolitan area, is the 7th most populous in ...

for the general assembly in March 2012. File:Porte drapeau du 9e R.C.P devant le monument aux morts de Laval mars 2012..jpg, Ancien Flag honors at a Ceremony File:Cérémonie des anciens du 9e R.C.P à Laval..jpg, Ceremony held by the old combatants of the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment at Laval in March 2012 File:Anciens du 9e R.C.P - 2012 à Laval..jpg, Ceremony held by the old combatants of the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment at Laval in March 2012

Decorations

Croix de guerre 1914–1918 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

with three palms, one vermeil star and one argent star *

Gold Medal of the City of Milan The Gold Medal of the City of Milan was a French medal issued in 1909 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of France's 1859 Italian campaign, an intervention in the Second Italian War of Independence. Regiment recipients

* 9th Hussar Regim ...

File:Croix de Guerre 1914 1918.jpg, Image:Médaille d'or de la ville de milan.jpg,

Honours

Battle honours

;9th Infantry Regiment * Austerlitz 1805 * Wagram 1809 * La Moskova 1812 * Sebastopol 1856 * Verdun 1916 * Soissonnais 1918 *L’Ailette 1918 ;9th Parachute Regiment * AFN 1952–1962

Regimental Commanders

References

External links

History of the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment and 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parachute Chasseur Regiment, 9th Parachute infantry regiments of France Military units and formations established in 1956 Military units and formations disestablished in 1999