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

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

major who fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

Early life and pre-war service

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

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Albert I promotion and graduated in 1935. Raffalli then chose to enter the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

of the French Army and studied at the Armoured Cavalry Branch Training School in

Saumur Saumur () is a Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgu ...

. In 1936 he was posted to the 1st Regiment of Spahis in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, which he joined at

Médéa Médéa () 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 of an ancient Roman military post and has a history dating back to the 10th century. The ...

, and then the 3rd Moroccan Regiment of Spahis.

World War II service

Raffalli joined the French Expeditionary Corps in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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, light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, w ...

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

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. He was promoted to

Chef d'Escadrons In some branches of the French Army and in the French National Gendarmerie ''Chef d'escadron'' ("Squadron (army), squadron leader") is the officer rank above captain and below lieutenant colonel. It is the first Senior officer #France, Senior off ...

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 Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

Honors and awards

Ribons

Decorations

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

**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 () 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 of the spearhead of the French rapid reaction force. Si ...

(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 The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (, , abbr. ESM) is a French military academy, and is often referred to as Saint-Cyr (). It is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan, Brittany. Its motto is ''Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre'', litera ...

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 killed in the First Indochina War Officers of the French Foreign Legion École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr alumni Commanders of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures