The Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers-Marins or ( RBFM) was an armored

naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

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 marine i ...

regiment of the French 2nd Armored Division. The regiment belonged to the units of the French Fusiliers Marins which are units of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

whose ships were either immobilized or destroyed.

History

In November 1942, Anglo-American troops invaded North Africa and were joined by a group of Fusiliers-Marins (45 Fusiliers-Marins and 333 Officiers Mariniers, Able Seamen and Sailors) who volunteered to serve alongside Allied forces. These volunteers were armed with U.S. equipment and served as reconnaissance troops, becoming known as the Bizerte Battalion.

Organisation

On 19 September 1943, the Bizerte Battalion was redesignated the Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers-Marins. They were then moved to

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

, Morocco where they were joined by other volunteers who replaced those Marines who had returned to naval service. At

Berkane Berkane ( ber, translit=Berkane, ⴱⴻⵔⴽⴰⵏ) is a city in northeastern Morocco, in the tribal area of Aït Iznasen, limited by the Mediterranean to the north, the Kis river (Moroccan-Algerian border) and Oujda Province in the east, Nador ...

, Morocco, they underwent training on the

M10 tank destroyer The M10 tank destroyer was an American tank destroyer of World War II. After US entry into World War II and the formation of the Tank Destroyer Force, a suitable vehicle was needed to equip the new battalions. By November 1941, the Army requeste ...

, alongside the 11th African Chasseur Regiment. Under the command of

Naval A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

Ship-of-the-line captain Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

Maggiar, assisted by

capitaine de corvette Corvette captain is a rank in many navies which theoretically corresponds to command of a corvette (small warship). The equivalent rank in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth, and United States is lieutenant commander. The Royal Canadian Navy use ...

Martinet, the RBFM was equipped with 36 M10s, 25

M3 Scout Car The M3 Scout Car (known as the White Scout Car in British Commonwealth service) was an American-produced armored car. The original M3 Scout Car was produced in limited numbers, while the improved M3A1 Scout Car saw wide service during World War ...

s, 6 M2 half-tracks, 3

M3 Half-track The M3 half-track was an American armored personnel carrier half-track widely used by the Allies during World War II and in the Cold War. Derived from the M2 half-track car, the M3 was extensively produced, with about 15,000 standard M3s and mor ...

s and other vehicles and were integrated into the French 2nd Armored Division. The RBFM was organised into 5 squadrons: * Headquarters staff squadron * 1st Squadron commanded by a

Lieutenant de Vaisseau (LV) * 2nd Squadron commanded by a Naval Lieutenant de Vaisseau * 3rd Squadron commanded by a Naval Lieutenant de Vaisseau * 4th Squadron commanded by a Naval Lieutenant de Vaisseau In addition a female ambulance platoon, the ''Marinettes'', part of the 13th Medical Battalion, commanded by a female

Enseigne de vaisseau Ensign (; Late Middle English, from Old French (), from Latin (plural)) is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was trad ...

was attached to the Regiment.

Campaigns

Arrival in Normandy

The 2nd Armored Division began disembarking on French soil at 01:30 on 3 August 1944, at Saint Martin de Varreville, the coast of

Utah Beach Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...

. On 6 August the 2nd Armored Division began its advance in the direction of

Coutances Coutances () is a Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. History Capital of the Unelli, a Gauls, Gaulish tribe, the town was given the n ...

, La Haye-Fresnel,

Avranches Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History By the end of the Roman period, t ...

Ducey Ducey () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Ducey-Les Chéris. It is noted for its old bridge dating from 1613, which allowed pilgrims to cross the Sélu ...

and Saint-Laurent-de-Terregate.

Liberation of Paris

The RBFM played an active role in the liberation of Paris by penetrating the city in three places as follows: * the 4th Squadron attacked towards the

Pont de Sèvres The pont de Sèvres is a bridge above the Seine that links the cities of Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres, in France. The current bridge was put in service in 1963. The bridge is also above the RD 1 and RD 7 roads, and the Île-de-France tramway ...

, which was reached on the night of 24 July, despite strong resistance * the 3rd squadron proceeded through

Arpajon Arpajon () is a commune in the Essonne department in the Île-de-France region of northern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arpajonnais'' or ''Arpajonnaises''. The commune has been awarded three flowers by the ''National C ...

Longjumeau Longjumeau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Inhabitants of Longjumeau are known as ''Longjumellois'' (). History Longjumeau Party School In 1911, Lenin founded the Longjumeau ...

, Antony, Sceaux, to arrive by the

Porte d'Orléans The Porte d'Orléans is one of 17 ''portes'' (city gates of Paris) in the Thiers wall, a defensive wall constructed in the mid-nineteenth century to protect Paris. The wall was demolished after the First World War, creating an open space that wa ...

, Porte de Gentilly and

Porte d'Italie Porte d'Italie is one of the city gates of Paris, located in the 13th arrondissement, at the intersection of Avenue d'Italie, Boulevard Massena, Avenue de la Porte d'Italie and street Kellermann, facing the Kremlin-Bicetre. The "gate of Italy" i ...

while progressing in the direction of Hötel de Ville to finish at the

Hotel Meurice Le Meurice () is a Brunei-owned five-star luxury hotel in the 1st arrondissement of Paris opposite the Tuileries Garden, between Place de la Concorde and the Musée du Louvre on the Rue de Rivoli. From the Rue de Rivoli, it stretches to the Rue ...

* 1st and 2nd Squadrons along with the Regimental command post proceeded through

Trappes Trappes () is a commune in the Yvelines department, region of Île-de-France, north-central France. It is a banlieue located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris, in the new town of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. Transport T ...

and

Voisins-le-Bretonneux Voisins-le-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris from the centre in the new town of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. Population ...

where one of the M10 tank destroyers fired on the bell tower of the church, which was being used as a German observation post. Later the 1st and 2nd squadrons were positioned at the

Hippodrome de Longchamp The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tr ...

, the 3rd squadron at

Le Bourget Le Bourget () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero#France, center of Paris. The commune features Paris - Le Bourget Airport, Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hos ...

, while the 4th squadron was positioned at the Fort de Briche, at Saint Denis. Since Normandy, the regiment destroyed some 60 German tanks for the loss of 10 M10 tank destroyers.

Dompaire

The 2nd Armor Division advanced into

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

and at

Dompaire Dompaire () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department in Grand Est in northeastern France. In September 1944 during World War II a detachment of General Philippe Leclerc's French 2nd Arm ...

, the regiment's M10 tank destroyers accompanied by U.S. Thunderbolts destroyed an entire panzer brigade.

Liberation of Strasbourg

Units of the RBFM regrouped for an assault on

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 ...

. The regiment attacked at

Baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...

and

Phalsbourg Phalsbourg (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Phalsburch'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, with a population of about 5,000. It lies high on the west slopes of the Vosges, northwest of Strasbourg by rail. I ...

, ending their assault at Pont de Kehl.

Notable members

Philippe de Gaulle Philippe Henri Xavier Antoine de Gaulle (born 28 December 1921) is a French retired admiral and senator. He is the eldest child and only son of General Charles de Gaulle, the first president of the French Fifth Republic, and his wife Yvonne. He is ...

* Jean-Alexis Moncorgé

Distinctions

The RBFM was not a unit of the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

nor was it part of the

Free French Naval Forces The Free French Naval Forces (french: Forces Navales Françaises Libres, or FNFL) were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Émile Muselier. History In the wake of the Armistice a ...

, accordingly, their members couldn't wear the insignia of the Free French. The Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers-Marins was decorated 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 ...

de la Légion d'Honneur des Fusiliers Marins de Dixmude, awarded in May 1944.

Reconstitution

Dissolved, the regiment was reconstituted as a Marine Amphibious Regiment in the

French Far East Expeditionary Corps The French Far East Expeditionary Corps (french: Corps Expéditionnaire Français en Extrême-Orient, CEFEO) was a colonial expeditionary force of the French Union Army that was initially formed in French Indochina in 1945 during the Pacific Wa ...

References

Notes

External links

Le RBFM
consulté le 15 juin 2012

Les chars-français 1944 RBFM consulté le 16/06/2012

Le RBFM de la 2e DB dans les Vosges
consulté le 16/06/2012
Bachis et Guêtres

Musée des fusiliers marins et commandos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers-Marins Military history of France during World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 20th-century regiments of France