Barthélémy "Rémy" Raffalli (16 March 1913 – 10 September 1952) was a

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 ...

major who fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

Early life and pre-war service

He entered the Saint-Cyr Military School on 1 October 1933 as part of the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Albert I promotion and graduated in 1935. Raffalli then chose to enter the cavalry of the French Army and studied at the Armoured Cavalry Branch Training School in Saumur. In 1936 he was posted to the 1st Regiment of Spahis in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, which he joined at

Médéa Médéa ( ber, Lemdiyyet, ar, المدية ''al-Madiya''), population 123,535 (1998 census) is the capital city of Médéa Province, Algeria. It is located roughly 68 km south of Algiers. The present-day city is situated on the site o ...

, and then the 3rd Moroccan Regiment of Spahis.

World War II service

Raffalli joined the

French Expeditionary Corps There have been several French Expeditionary Corps (French ''Corps expéditionnaire'' 'français'': * Expeditionary Corps of the Orient 'Corps expéditionnaire d'Orient'', CEO(1915), during World War I * Expeditionary Corps of the Dardanelles 'Co ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 1943 and served with distinction. On 17 March 1944, he was seriously wounded while leading a squadron of the 5th Moroccan

Spahi Spahis () were light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the indigenous populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, with personnel now ...

s Regiment.

Post War service and death

Raffalli earned his parachute badge in September 1949. After a short tour with the 3rd Foreign Parachute Battalion 3^ème BEP and

1st Foreign Parachute Battalion The 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion (french: 1er Bataillon Etranger de Parachutistes (1er BEP)) was a parachute battalion of the Foreign Legion formed from the Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment. History 1er Bataillon ...

1^et BEP, he took command of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion 2^èmeBEP on 12 September 1950 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 ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. He was promoted to Chef d'Escadrons on 1 July 1951 and led the battalion during the Battle of Nghia Lo in October 1951. He was fatally wounded on 1 September 1952 while leading his battalion; he died on 10 September 1952 in Saigon.

Honors and awards

Ribons

Decorations

Légion d'honneur 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 ...

**Knight (1944) **Officer (1951) **Commander (1951) * Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with one bronze star * Croix de guerre des Théatres d'Opérations Exterieures with one bronze star

Legacy

Posthumous homages

Camp Raffalli

Camp Raffalli, the headquarters of the

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 ...

(2^ème REP) is named in his memory.

Promotion class « Chef d'Escadrons Raffalli » École militaire interarmes ESM

The 183rd promotion of the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr chose the promotion Chef d'Escadrons Raffalli. The song of the promotion recalls the arms celebration of Chef d'Escadrons Raffalli .
Chant de la promotion Chef d'escadron Raffalli (ESM de Saint-Cyr)

Rémy Raffalli - Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raffali, Remy 1913 births 1951 deaths People from Nice French Army officers French military personnel of World War II French military personnel of the First Indochina War French military personnel killed in the First Indochina War Officers of the French Foreign Legion École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures