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The ''chasseurs alpins'' ( en, Alpine
Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
) are the elite
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
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 m ...
force 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 Force ...
. They are trained to operate in mountainous terrain and in
urban warfare Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and city, cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban war ...
.


History

France created its own mountain corps in the late 19th century in order to oppose any Italian invasion through the Alps. In 1859–70 Italy became unified, forming a powerful state. The French army saw this geopolitical change as a potential threat to their Alpine border, especially as the Italian army was already creating troops specialized in mountain warfare (the ''
Alpini The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operatio ...
''). On December 24, 1888, the first ''troupes de montagne'' ("mountain troops") corps were created from 12 of the 31 existing '' Chasseurs à pied'' ("Hunters on Foot'"/"Foot Rifles'") battalions. Initially these units were named ''bataillons alpins de chasseurs à pied'' ("Alpine Battalions of Hunters on Foot"/"Alpine Foot Rifle Battalions"). Later this was shortened to ''bataillons de chasseurs alpins'' ("Alpine Hunter Battalions"/"Alpine Rifle Battalions"). From their establishment the ''chasseurs Alpins'' wore a plain and practical uniform designed to be suitable for mountain service. This comprised a loose-fitting dark blue jacket and blue-grey breeches, together with a large
beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret remai ...
carrying the yellow (daffodil) hunting horn insignia of the Chasseur branch. They are believed to have been the first regular military unit to have worn this form of headdress. The 47e BCA was reformed at Bourg-Saint-Maurice in 1979, and dissolved on 1 July 1985.


Modern unit

Since 1999 they have been (with other units) part of the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade (''Brigade d'Infanterie de Montagne''), and are currently organised into three
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
s: * 7th Battalion, Varces (
Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
) * 13th Battalion,
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 ...
* 27th Battalion,
Cran-Gevrier Cran-Grevier is a former commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the commune Annecy. Geography Cran-Gevrier is in the west of Annecy. Part of the ...
( Annecy) All three battalions are based in cities in the
French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...
, thus the name of the units. Training includes climbing,
Ski mountaineering Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipmen ...
, plus winter and summer mountain leadership and mountain guiding skills completed at the High Mountain Military School. Traditional training included mountain survival skills such as to build an
igloo An igloo (Inuit languages: , Inuktitut syllabics (plural: )), also known as a snow house or snow hut, is a type of shelter built of suitable snow. Although igloos are often associated with all Inuit, they were traditionally used only ...
shelter and to sleep in temperatures around 0 °C. Modern troops may be transported in all-terrain VMBs, VACs, (
Bandvagn 206 Bandvagn 206 (Bv 206) (meaning ''"Tracked Vehicle 206"'' in English) is a Tracked articulated vehicle, tracked articulated, all-terrain carrier developed by Hägglunds (now part of BAE Systems Platforms & Services) for the Swedish Army. It consis ...
) or untracked VAB personnel carriers. Personal weaponry includes the
FAMAS The FAMAS (''Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne'', "Assault Rifle from the Saint-Étienne Weapon Factory") is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in France by MAS in 1978, a year after the Austrian Steyr A ...
assault rifle, Minimi
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifl ...
, FRF-2
sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a ...
,
PGM Hécate II The Hécate II is the standard heavy sniper rifle and anti-materiel rifle of the French Army, sometimes known as the FR-12.7 (french: Fusil à Répétition de calibre 12.7 mm or "12.7 mm calibre repeating rifle"). It is manufactured by PGM Pr ...
heavy sniper rifle, and LGI light mortar, while group weapons included the
M2 machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, ...
, LLR 81mm mortar, and vehicle-mounted 20 mm
autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bulle ...
, plus AT4, Eryx and
MILAN Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
anti-tank missiles. The ''chasseurs'' are easily recognised by their wide beret (when not in battle uniform), named the ''tarte des Alpes'' (after a type traditional alpine hat). Note though that this is also worn by other mountain troops, such as the Alpine infantry, cavalry, artillery, and signals except for the 2ème REG engineers who wear the green beret. The 16th battalion of chasseurs are not mountain troops and wear the standard French Army blue beret with the chasseur cap badge. Current winter uniform consists o
'Tundra'
camouflage made in 50/50 ripstop. It was specifically created for the Chasseurs & has later been adopted by other French units such as the GCM for winter exercises.


Various traditions

Chasseurs do not say ''rouge'' (red) but ''bleu-cerise'' (cherry blue - The color of blood on their blue uniforms), except when speaking of the color of the lips of a beloved, the red in the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
's insignia (including its
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. Fo ...
which is called ''la rouge''), and the red of the French flag. This stems from the days when
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...
tried to impose the wearing of the scarlet ''pantalons garance''. The mountain troops objected, and no longer use the word 'red' as a result. The chasseurs have a few other typicalities in what they say: * not ''jaune'' (yellow), but ''jonquille'' (daffodil); * not ''uniforme'' (uniform), but ''tenue'' (outfit, or dress), like in the Royale; * not ''la musique'' (the music), but ''la fanfare'' (the band); * the band does not ''joue'' (play), but ''sonne'' (the band sounds); * not '' tambour'' (drum), but ''caisse claire'' (snare drum); * and not ''caserne'' (barracks), but ''quartier'' (neighborhood, barracks, or quarters). The chasseurs are said to have green blood, after the pun:'' "Le sang vert, c'est pour la France; Le sang versé pour la France"'' ("Green blood is for France'; Blood shed, 'poured out', for France"). Note that these traditions are also shared by the 16th battalion of chasseurs, who are not chasseurs alpins. When marching with the band and horns, the marching pace is 140 steps a minute - faster than most other armed forces units, with the exception of the Italian Bersaglieri, whose pace is 180 steps per minute. The chasseurs alpins are informally known as ''Les diables bleus'' (Eng: The Blue Devils). Monuments and memorials to the unit, such as Memorial to the Chasseur Alpins are marked ''Aux Diables Bleus'' (Eng: To the Blue Devils).


Choruses and Ringin

A chasseur salutes when he hears the chorus of his battalion, or '' Les Allobroges'' (the anthem of Savoie). Each battalion has a different chorus, and a chasseur must learn all of them: * 1 bataillon « Si l'septième de ligne a des couilles au cul, C'est qu'le Premier Chasseurs les lui a foutues ! » * 2 bataillon « Le Commandant a mal aux dents, mes enfants ! » (bis) * 3 bataillon « V'la l'troisième, v'la l'troisième, qui rapplique au galop, V'la l'troisième, v'la l'troisième, qui rapplique sac au dos ! » * 4 bataillon « Quatrième bataillon, Commandant Clinchant, Toujours en avant ! » * 5 bataillon « Cinquième Bataillon ventre à terre, Commandé par Certain Canrobert, en avant ! » * 6 bataillon « Le sixième est là, il est un peu là ! » * 7 bataillon « Bataillon, Bataillon, Bataillon de fer, Bataillon, Bataillon, Bataillon d'acier ». * 8 bataillon « T'as beau courir, tu ne m'rattraperas pas ! » (bis) * 9 bataillon « Marie, j'ai vu ton cul tout nu, Cochon, pourquoi le regardes-tu ? » * 10 bataillon « Dixième Bataillon, Commandant Mac-Mahon, N'a pas peur du canon nom de nom » * 11 bataillon « Onzième Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins, Onzième Bataillon d'lapins » * 12 bataillon « Ah c'qu'il est con, c'qu’il est con l'Douzième, Ah c'qu’il est con, c'qu’il est con c'con là ! » * 13 bataillon « Sans pain, sans fricot, au treizième on n'boit que d'l'eau ! » * 14 bataillon « La peau de mes roulettes pour une casquette, La peau de mes rouleaux pour un shako ! » * 15 bataillon « Je fumerais bien une pipe, Mais je n’ai pas de tabac ! » * 16 bataillon « Seizième Bataillon d'Chasseurs à pied, Seizième Bataillon d'Acier ! » * 17 bataillon « Cré nom d'un chien, nous voilà bien partis, Cré nom d'un chien, nous voilà bien ! » * 18 bataillon « Encore un biffin d'enfilé, rompez, Encore un biffin d'enfilé ! » * 19 bataillon « Trou du cul, trou du cul plein de poils sales, Trou du cul, trou du cul poilu ! » * 20 bataillon « Vingtième Bataillon, Commandant Cambriels, Les Chasseurs à pied ont des ailes ! » * 21 bataillon « En voulez-vous des kilomètres ? En voilà ! » * 22 bataillon « Encore un biffin de tombé dans la merde, Encore un biffin d'emmerdé ! » * 23 bataillon « V'la le vingt-troisième, nom de Dieu, ça va barder ! » * 24 bataillon « Tout le long du bois, j'ai baisé Jeannette, Tout le long du bois, j'l'ai baisé trois fois ! » * 25 bataillon « Pas plus con qu'un autre nom de nom, Mais toujours autant ! » (ou content) * 26 bataillon « Tu m'emmerdes et tu m'fais chier, tu m'dis ça c'est pour blaguer ! » * 27 bataillon « Si vous avez des couilles, il faudra le montrer ! » * 28 bataillon « Saut'Putten ; t'auras d'la saucisse, Saut'Putten, t'auras du boudin ! » * 29 bataillon « C'est le Vingt-neuvième, qui n'a pas d'pain, Qui crève de faim, qui marche quand même ! » * 30 bataillon « Il était un p'tit homme, Tout habillé de bleu, nom de Dieu ! » (ou sacrebleu) * 31 bataillon « Trente-et-unième, l'dernier v'nu, Pas l'plus mal foutu ! » * 32 bataillon « Si j'avais du pinard, j'en boirais bien une goutte, si j'avais du pinard j'en boirai bien un quart ! » * 40 bataillon « Trou du cul de la reine des Hovas »


Colours

There is a single
colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
for all the battalions of chasseurs; the colours are held at the Fort Neuf de Vincennes. The colour guard is divided between the 7th, 13th and 27th battalion, and with the 16th battalion which is a mechanized unit.


Ranks


Enlisted & NCO

* ''Chasseur'' (Hunter/ Private) * ''Chasseur de 1ère Classe'' (1st class Hunter/ Private 1st class) * ''Caporal'' (
Lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually eq ...
) * ''Caporal-Chef'' (
Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...
) * ''Caporal-Chef de 1ère Classe'' ( Corporal 1st class) * ''Sergent'' ( Sergeant) * ''Sergent-Chef'' (
Staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supe ...
) * ''Adjudant'' ( Warrant Officer 2nd class) * ''Adjudant-Chef'' ( Warrant Officer 1st class) * ''Major'' (
Conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...
or
Sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in t ...
)


Officers

* ''Aspirant'' (
Cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...
/
Aspirant Aspirant is a rank in the Royal Canadian Navy, Estonian Defence Forces, French military, Brazilian military, Portuguese military, Swiss military, Italian Air Force, Argentinian Armed Forces, Romanian Navy, Polish Policja and Państwowa Straż ...
) * ''Sous-Lieutenant'' (
Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...
) * ''Lieutenant'' (
First lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...
) * ''Capitaine'' (
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
) * ''Commandant '', also called ''Chef de bataillon'' ( Major) * ''Lieutenant-Colonel'' ( Lieutenant colonel) * ''Colonel'' (
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...
) Note: the NCO ranks ''
Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
'' and '' Maréchal-des-logis'' are not used in the chasseurs alpins corps since they belong to the infantry (and those ranks are not used within the infantry).


Famous members

* Albert Severin Roche * Yves Godard * André Lalande


Gallery

File:Bluedevilportrait.jpg, Portrait of chasseurs alpins soldier in
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
File:Soutiras.jpg, Commandant Soutiras, Officer of the chasseurs alpins File:Mai 70 Barcelo drap chasseurs 0001.jpg, Flag guard of the chasseurs alpins (1970) Image:Chasseur alpin p1040864.jpg, Dress uniform File:Fanfare 27BCA 02.JPG, Soldiers in Winter uniform File:Fanfare 27BCA 01.JPG, The band of the chasseurs alpins uses Alphorns


See also

* List of mountain warfare forces * Ski warfare *
French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the French Army, Army, the French Navy, Navy, the French Air and Space Force, Air and Space Force and the National Gendarmerie, Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The Preside ...
* Argentina: Cazadores de Montaña (Argentine Army) * Germany:
Gebirgsjäger ''Gebirgsjäger'' () are the light infantry part of the alpine or mountain troops (''Gebirgstruppe'') of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The word '' Jäger'' (meaning "hunter" or "huntsman") is a characteristic term used for light infantry in ...
* Italy:
Alpini The Alpini are the Italian Army's specialist mountain infantry. Part of the army's infantry corps, the speciality distinguished itself in combat during World War I and World War II. Currently the active Alpini units are organized in two operatio ...
* Poland: Podhale rifles * Romania:
Vânători de munte Vânători may refer to several places: Romania * Vânători, Galați, a commune in Galați County * Vânători, Iași, a commune in Iaşi County * Vânători, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi County * Vânători, Mureș, a commune in Mureș ...
*
Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associati ...
, American college sports teams named after the chasseurs alpins


References


Further reading

*


External links


7 bataillon de chasseurs alpins

13 bataillon de chasseurs alpins

27{{sup, e bataillon de chasseurs alpins
Infantry units and formations of France Mountain units and formations