The Rapid Action Force (french: Force d'action rapide (FAR)) was an

army corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

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 ...

, created on 1 July 1984 during the reorganization of the later within the law n°83-606 of 8 July 1983 bearing approbation of the military programming for the years 1984 to 1988; the force would have been in means to deploy in Central-Europe and exterior theatres of operations in case of crisis undergone in intermediary conflicts. The force was dissolved in 1999. During the 1980s, this army corps was the 3rd pillar of the

with the 1st Army and the operational defense of the territory (french: défense opérationnelle du territoire). The FAR comprised 47,000 men, 240 combat and

utility helicopter A utility helicopter is a multi-purpose helicopter capable of fulfilling many different roles. Civil Many civilian helicopters are made for utility work such as agricultural aircraft. Many police and fire departments maintain and operate utili ...

s, 216 armored vehicles (72

AMX 10 RC The AMX-10 RC is a French armoured fighting vehicle manufactured by GIAT for armoured reconnaissance purposes. Equipping French cavalry units since 1981, over 240 are still in service with the French Army as of 2021. In addition, 108 units were ...

, 72 ERC-90 and 72

Panhard AML The Panhard AML (''Auto Mitrailleuse Légère'', or "Light Machine Gun Car") is an armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed on a lightly armoured 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airborne dep ...

), 200

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

tubes, 5000

man-portable anti-tank systems Man-portable anti-tank systems (MANPATS or MPATS) are traditionally portable shoulder-launched projectile systems firing heavy shell-type projectiles (although throwing and lunge weapons have existed), typically designed to combat protected targe ...

and anti-tank missiles in 1990.

Principal formations

* 4th Airmobile Division * 6th Light Armoured Division * 9th Marine Infantry Division * 11th Parachute Division * 27th Alpine Division * FAR Logistics Brigade * 19th Artillery Brigade * 28th Transmission regiment

Commandants

* 1984-1985 : général de corps d'armée

Gilbert Forray Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South A ...

* 1986-1988 : général de corps d'armée

Paul Lardry Paul Lardry (1928–2012) was a général d'armée of the French Army who served almost an entire career and Foreign Legion Command, Commandant of the Foreign Legion Command, Foreign Legion. Military career After completing a course at a privat ...

* 1988-xxxx : général de corps d'armée Henry Préaud * 1989-1990 : général de brigade Jacques Vidal * 1990-xxxx : général de corps d'armée

Michel Roquejeoffre Michel Roquejeoffre (; born 28 November 1933) is a retired French Army General (rapid forces), who commanded Operation Daguet (French operations during the 1991 Gulf War). French forces, a part of the coalition forces, counted 18,000 soldiers and ...

* 1993-1994 : général de corps d’armée Bertrand Guillaume de Sauville de Lapresle * 1994-1996 : général de corps d'armée

Philippe Morillon Philippe Morillon (; born 24 October 1935) is a former French general and was a Member of the European Parliament until 2009. He was elected on the Union for French Democracy ticket with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group. On ...

* 1996-1999 : général de corps d'armée Jacques Bâton

References

Bibliography

* Olivier Latremoliere, ''La force d'action rapide'', Midev, 1993. {{ISBN, 290993800X * Général Henri Préaud, « La force d'action rapide », in ''Les Cahiers de Mars'' n° 120, 1989 Army units and formations of France Military units and formations established in 1984 Military units and formations disestablished in 1999

Principal formations

Commandants

See also

References

Bibliography