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62-766: The CEFEO was largely made up of voluntarily-enlisted indigenous tirailleurs from the French Union colonial or protectorate territories, one exception being the French Foreign Legion , which consisted mainly of volunteers from Europe and the rest of the world. Metropolitan conscripts did not serve in the CEFEO unless they volunteered to do so. Less than half of the total personnel of the Corps were French professional soldiers, mostly serving with paratrooper, artillery and other specialist units. "The French Far East Expeditionary Corps

124-558: A Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) with attachments on the ribbon depending on the degree of citation: the lowest being represented by a bronze star (for those who had been cited at the regiment or brigade level) while the highest degree is represented by a bronze palm (for those who had been cited at the army level). A unit can be mentioned in Despatches. Its flag is then decorated with the corresponding Croix. After two citations in Army Orders,

186-632: A Fourragère (at least 2 citations in Army Orders). Only one regiment of Senegalese Tirailleurs were awarded a Fourragère in 1919. As colonial subjects, tirailleurs were not awarded the same pensions as their French (European) counterparts after World War II. The discrimination led to a mutiny of Senegalese tirailleurs in Dakar at Camp Tiaroye in December 1944. The tirailleurs involved were former prisoners of war who had been repatriated to West Africa and placed in

248-529: A guerilla army using guerrilla warfare , then in the 1950s support—using conventional warfare. The First Indochina War officially lasted from November 20, 1946 until July 20, 1954 and was settled by the Geneva Agreements . After withdrawal of the last CEFEO troops from the independent Vietnam , Laos and Cambodia in 1956, the corps was disbanded by General Pierre Jacquot . Among the French ground forces in

310-592: A holding camp awaiting discharge. They demonstrated in protest against the failure of the French authorities to pay salary arrears and discharge allowances. French soldiers guarding the camp opened fire killing between thirty-five and seventy African soldiers. The provisional government of Charles de Gaulle , concerned at the impact of the Tiaroye incident on serving tirailleurs, acted quickly to ensure that claims for back pay and other money owed were settled. When France's African colonies achieved independence between 1956 and

372-509: A metropolitan light infantry unit — the 1er bataillon de tirailleurs de Vincennes which disembarked in Algiers in early 1840. This unit subsequently became the chasseurs d'Orléans but the title of tirailleurs was allocated the next year to newly raised regiments of indigenous Algerian infantry recruited from the Arab and Berber communities. The tirailleurs from Algeria subsequently served in

434-547: A more practical khaki uniform from 1915 onwards, in common with the other units of the (North African) 19th Military District . The West African and Madagascan tirailleurs wore a dark blue parade dress with red sash and fez while the Indochinese regiments wore an indigenous style of blue, white or khaki uniform with a flat "salacco" headdress. Khaki had been widely worn as a hot-weather field dress in Indo-China and Africa during

496-669: A number of independent battalions remained in French service. Two battalions of Algerian Tirailleurs formed the bulk of the Détachement Français de Palestine et de Syrie that participated in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign from 1917 onwards. In 1884, the 4th Regiment of Tirailleurs was created in Tunisia. Except for minor distinctions of insignia and uniform (their numbering was based on the figure "4" and its multiples, plus light blue tombeaus or false pockets on their full dress zouave jackets)

558-550: A transitional force locale at the end of the Algerian War in 1962. The six remaining Algerian tirailleur regiments ( RTA ) were disbanded or transformed into metropolitan infantry units between 1962 and 1964. The last Moroccan regiment in the French Army was the 5th RTM ( Regiment de Tirailleurs Marocain ), stationed at Dijon until it disbanded in 1965. The modern French Army still has one tirailleur regiment, descended from

620-653: A unit of mostly Vietnamese tirailleurs (" le Commando d'Extreme Orient Dam San ") continued to serve with the French Army in Algeria until 1960. Most tirailleur regiments were disbanded as French colonies and protectorates achieved independence between 1956 and 1962 . In Morocco, Tunisia and the new African states most serving tirailleurs transferred directly from the French armed forces to the new national armies. In Algeria locally recruited tirailleurs who remained loyal to France were given an option to transfer to units in France, or join

682-577: The 1st Tirailleur Regiment . This regiment was known as the 170th Infantry Regiment between 1964 and 1994. Prior to 1964, it was known as the 7th Algerian Tirailleur Regiment , but changed its name after it moved to France as a result of Algerian independence . In the wars of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods, the designation "tirailleur" was a French military term used at first to refer generically to light infantry skirmishers. The first regiments of Tirailleurs so called were part of

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744-697: The Annam (Middle Vietnam) and Cochinchina (South Vietnam), all states being protectorates excluding the latter which was a colony with Saigon as its capital. In 1946, they would become associated states within the French Union and by 1949 Tonkin, Annam and the Republic of Cochin China would merge as the State of Vietnam . The communist Viet Minh led by Ho Chi Minh overwhelmed its rival nationalist movements and organized itself as

806-815: The Crimean War , the Second Italian War of Independence , the French intervention in Mexico and the Franco-Prussian War (1870), as well as in French colonial campaigns in Tunisia, Indochina, Morocco, Madagascar and Algeria itself. During the Crimean War the Algerian tirailleurs acquired the nickname of "Turcos" (Turks) by which they were widely known over the next hundred years. The name reportedly arose from comparisons between

868-582: The D-Day landings, and served under General Patton as part of Third Army . The division played a critical role in the battle of the Argentan-Falaise Pocket (12–21 August), the Allied breakout from Normandy, when it served as a link between American and Canadian armies and made rapid progress against German forces. They all but destroyed the 9th Panzer Division and defeated several other German units. During

930-666: The Imperial Guard of Napoleon I . By the fall of the Empire, some 16 regiments had been created. The Guard Tirailleurs were usually grouped as part of the Young Guard, along with their sister Voltigeur regiments. The Guard Tirailleur regiments were disbanded during the reorganization of the French Army in 1814 by the new royal government. On 28 March 1815, during Napoleon I's short-lived return to power (the Hundred Days ), Regiments 1-8 of

992-654: The Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army Group during the March coup . After the 1944 Liberation of France and the fall of Nazi Germany in Europe the following year, the French authorities wanted to "free" the last Axis powers occupied territories in Southeast Asia , these included the newly established Empire of Vietnam , which was a Japanese colony. On June 7, 1945, Leclerc was nominated commander of

1054-516: The Napoleonic era , was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term " tirailleur " was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French colonial territories during the 19th and 20th centuries, or for metropolitan units serving in a light infantry role. The French army currently maintains one tirailleur regiment,

1116-681: The Rif War of the 1920s . Before and during World War II (1939–45), tirailleurs were recruited from the Maghreb (Algerian, Moroccans , and Tunisians ), from French West Africa and Madagascar ( Tirailleurs malgaches ). Regiments were recruited from the regions of French Indochina : Annam , Tonkin , and Cambodia . The regiments were named after the territory in which they were recruited. Thus "tirailleurs Annamites", " tirailleurs Tonkinois " and "tirailleurs Cambodgiens". During World War I (1914–18) tirailleurs from North African territories served on

1178-616: The Saverne Gap and thrust forward boldly, unbalancing German defenses in northern Alsace and liberating Strasbourg on 23 November 1944. The Presidential Unit Citation was awarded to the division for this action. Fighting in Alsace until the end of February 1945, the 2nd Division was later deployed to reduce the Royan Pocket on the western coast of France in March–April 1945. After forcing

1240-613: The 17 French regiments that won the Fourragère in the colors of the Légion d'honneur (at least six citations in Army Orders), nine of them were from the Army of Africa including four regiments of North African Tirailleurs (2nd, 4th, 7th Tirailleurs and 4th Zouaves and Tirailleurs). By the end of the war, all the 16 North African Tirailleur regiments existing as of August 1918 (12 Algerian/Tunisian, 2 Moroccan and 2 Zouaves and Tirailleurs), were awarded

1302-476: The 28th Bomber Flotilla, and F4U Corsairs that went to 14th Carrier Fighter Flotilla (on Belleau Wood on May 1, 1954). At the beginning of April 1954, Lt. General Earle E. ("Pat") Partridge, Commander of the U. S. Far East Air Force (FEAF), had arrived in Saigon and begun talks with his French counterpart, Gen. Lauzin, as well as with Gen. Navarre. He had brought with him Brigadier General Joseph D. Caldara, then

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1364-558: The 2nd Brigade of the 8th Armored Division, part of the 1st Corps of the First Army (France) . The 2nd Brigade of the 8th Armored Division 'qui est l'heritière des traditions de la 2e DB' – carried on the traditions of the 2nd Armored Division. The French Army was extensively reorganised in 1977, with three-brigade divisions being dissolved and small divisions of four or five manoeuvre regiments/battalions being created. The 2nd Armored Division appears to have been reformed at this time. From

1426-597: The 2nd Division finished its campaigning at the Nazi resort town of Berchtesgaden in Southeastern Germany. According to Defence Historical Service , the unit counted 1,224 dead (including 96 Maghrebis ) and 5,257 wounded (including 584 Maghrebis) at the end of the campaign in northwestern Europe. It had killed 13,000 Axis soldiers, captured 50,000 and destroyed 332 heavy and medium tanks, 2,200 other vehicles, and 426 cannons of various types. According to another source,

1488-459: The Algerian tirailleurs. While these troops are now all French, items of the traditional North African uniform are still worn on ceremonial occasions to commemorate the Algerian "Turcos" who served France for over 130 years. The traditions of the tirailleurs Senegalais are maintained by the 21eme Regiment d'infanterie de marine stationed in Fréjus , via the 4e Régiment de Tirailleurs Sénégalais of

1550-495: The Algerian troops and the Turkish allies serving alongside the French and British forces at the siege of Sevastopol. First raised in 1841 as battalions of tirailleurs indigenes , the locally recruited Algerian infantry were organised into three regiments of Algerian Tirailleurs by a decree dated 10 October 1855. The number of such units fluctuated over the next hundred years until in the early 1960s eight regiments of tirailleurs plus

1612-548: The B-17. The overall plan was simple enough; the two wings of B-29s from Okinawa and the one from Clark Air Base would rendezvous east of the Laotian capital of Vientiane , head for their target; and exit from Indochina via the Gulf of Tonkin. The French at the highest levels seemed to have no idea of the power of the 98 Superfortresses. This bombing mission was never approved as Winston Churchill

1674-587: The Battle for Normandy, the 2nd Division lost 133 men killed, 648 wounded, and 85 missing. Division material losses included 76 armored vehicles, 7 cannons, 27 halftracks, and 133 other vehicles. In the same period, the 2nd Division inflicted losses on the Germans of 4,500 killed and 8,800 taken prisoner, while the Germans' material losses in combat against the 2nd Division during the same period were 117 tanks, 79 cannons, and 750 wheeled vehicles. The most celebrated moment in

1736-706: The CEFEO. On June 22, Leclerc transferred command of the 2nd Armored Division ( 2ème D.B. ) -the famous unit which had liberated Paris in August 1944- to Colonel Dio. Leclerc received command of the Far East French Forces ( Forces Françaises en Extrême-Orient ) on August 15. In 1946, nationalist, then communist popular rebellion movement rose up against established colonial rule in the French Indochina federation then including Laos , Cambodia , Tonkin (North Vietnam),

1798-878: The Far East was the 6th Engineers Regiment (6 RG). Among the aircraft supplied to the French in Indochina in 1950-51 were B-26 Marauders that went to Bomber Group 1/25 Tunisie , B-26 Invaders , P-63 Kingcobras , C-47 Dakotas that went to Transport Group 1/64, 2/64, 2/63 which had both C-47s and C-119 Packets (but these were only operated by US civilian pilots of Civil Air Transport ), former U.S. Navy F6F Hellcats that went to 11th Carrier Assault Flotilla (on Arromanches until April 30, 1954), SB-2C Helldivers that went to 3rd Carrier Assault Flotilla (on Arromanches until April 30, 1954), F8F-1B Bearcats that went to Groupe de Chasse (Fighter Group) 1/22 Saintonge and Group de Chasse 2/22 Languedoc , PB4Y2 Privateers that went to

1860-618: The French Union CEFEO and sailed from Incheon to Vietnam. They would be later involved in the battle of Mang Yang Pass of June and July 1954. The CEFEO was created in early 1945 as a replacement for the older Far East French Expeditionary Forces ( Forces Expéditionnaires Françaises d'Extrême-Orient , FEFEO). Its purpose was to support Saigon-based General Gabriel Sabattier , divisional commander of colonial "Indochina French Forces" ( Forces Françaises d'Indochine ) and Free French Forces resistance small groups C.L.I. then fighting with

1922-511: The Germans in the Royan Pocket to surrender on 18 April 1945, the 2nd Division crossed France again to rejoin the Allied 6th Army Group for final operations in Germany. Operating with the U.S. 12th Armored Division , elements of the French 2nd Armored Division pursued the remnants of German Army Group G across Swabia and Bavaria , occupying the town of Bad Reichenhall on 4 May 1945. Eventually,

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1984-908: The Guard Tirailleurs were officially re-raised. Only the 1st and 3rd Regiments actually took the field for the Waterloo campaign. All regiments of Imperial Guard Tirailleurs (along with the rest of the Guard) were disbanded following the Emperor's second abdication. In addition to the regiments within the Imperial Guard, several foreign battalions of tirailleurs were raised, included the Italian Tirailleurs du Po and Corsican Tirailleurs Corses . The first tirailleurs employed in French North Africa were

2046-627: The Italian campaign. The Indo-Chinese tirailleur regiments were destroyed or disbanded following the Japanese coups against the French colonial administration in March 1945. Algerian, Moroccan and Senegalese tirailleurs served in Indo-China until the fall of Dien Bien Phu and subsequently as part of the French forces during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–62). Even after the French withdrawal from Indochina,

2108-469: The Second World War. Until 1914 the Algerian and Tunisian tirailleurs wore zouave style uniforms of light blue with yellow braiding (see photographs on this page). White turbans (for parade), red fezzes and sashes were worn with this tenue orientale . A white field dress of similar loose cut was worn for North African campaigning and in France during the early months of World War I. They adopted

2170-491: The Tunisian tirailleurs regiments had the same appearance as their Algerian counterparts. It was only in 1921 that the French government decided to name them officially "Tunisian Tirailleurs Regiments". In 1914, during World War I, the 1st Regiment of Moroccan Tirailleurs was created. At the end of the period of French rule in 1956 six regiments of Moroccan tirailleurs were still in existence. The recruitment of Muslim tirailleurs

2232-555: The U.S. 4th Division entered Paris and liberated it. After hard fighting that cost the 2nd Division 35 tanks, 6 self-propelled guns, and 111 vehicles, von Choltitz , the German military governor of Paris, capitulated at the Hôtel Meurice . The following day, 26 August, a great victory parade took place on the Champs Élysées , which was lined with a jubilant crowd acclaiming General de Gaulle and

2294-669: The Western Front, Salonika and in the Levant , incurring heavy losses. In spite of its title, the Moroccan Division (France) which fought on the Western Front contained Tirailleur battalions from all North African regions. The Great Mosque of Paris was constructed afterwards in honour of the Muslim tirailleurs who had fought for France. Tirailleurs from North and Central Africa fought with distinction in Europe during World War II, notably in

2356-627: The chief of the FEAF Bomber Command—the man who would fly and command the "Vulture" missions (bombing the area around Dien Bien Phu with 98 B-29 Superfortresses ). The Americans had arrived at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut Airport in a discreet B-17 , so as not to alert hostile eyes to the unfamiliar configuration of the B-29 Superfortress. From the beginning, the Americans were appalled at the total lack of French preparedness for anything like

2418-407: The city, with the message that the Second Armored would be there the following day. This party, commanded by Captain Raymond Dronne , consisted of the 9th company ( La Nueve ) of the 3rd Battalion of the Régiment de marche du Tchad . Dronne and his men arrived at the Hôtel de Ville , in the center of Paris, shortly before 9:30 pm on the evening of 24 August. On 25 August, the 2nd Armored and

2480-546: The colonies had gained independence and sixty years after World War II had ended, many of the veterans had already died. The Spanish Army of Africa included an indigenous light infantry force under European officers, designated as the Tiradores de Ifni . In existence from 1934 to 1969, this corps was modelled on the North African tirailleurs of the French Army. 2nd Armored Division (France) The French 2nd Armored Division (French: 2e Division Blindée, 2e DB ), commanded by General Philippe Leclerc , fought during

2542-457: The colors of the Médaille militaire . It is one of the rarest unit awards in the French military. The Order is the highest decoration in France. In the case of a regiment, its flag is decorated with the insignia of a knight, which is a different award than the fourragère in the colors of the Légion d'honneur . Only 34 French Infantry Regiments were decorated with the Légion d'honneur including seven Regiment of North-African Tirailleurs. Among

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2604-418: The control of a major saturation bombardment operation. French Col. Brohon later said that this project involved the use of "several A-bombs" in the Dien Bien Phu area. Caldara decided to judge the situation for himself. On April 4, 1954, in the dead of the night, he flew his B-17 with an American crew over the valley of Dien Bien Phu, repeated the mission later with a French C-47 Dakota; and then once more with

2666-452: The division liberated Paris, defeated a Panzer brigade during the armored clashes in Lorraine, forced the Saverne Gap and liberated Strasbourg. After taking part in the Battle of the Colmar Pocket , the division was moved west and assaulted the German-held Atlantic port of Royan , before recrossing France in April 1945 and participating in the final fighting in southern Germany, even going first into Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" (Americans captured

2728-446: The early 1960s, the military pensions of veterans who became citizens of the new nations were frozen. By contrast their French counterparts, who might have served in the same units and fought in the same battles, received pensions that were adjusted for inflation in France itself. While the imbalanced situation was widely deplored, successive French governments did not act on the complaints of former French Army soldiers. One rationale for

2790-427: The end of World War II, as the tirailleur units became increasingly mechanized. France made extensive use of tirailleurs in its colonial campaigns. The most numerous of these, after the "tirailleurs algériens" noted above, were the "tirailleurs sénégalais" (who were recruited from all of the French possessions in West and Central Africa). Both played an important role in the occupation of Morocco (1908–14) as well as in

2852-414: The final phases of World War II in the Western Front for the liberation of France . The division was formed around a core of units that had fought in the North African campaign , and re-organized into a light armored division in 1943. The division embarked in April 1944 and shipped to various ports in Britain. On 29 July 1944, bound for France, the division embarked at Southampton . During combat in 1944,

2914-460: The freezing of the pensions was that increased levels would have created an income gap between the former soldiers and the rest of the populations in African countries where the cost of living was significantly lower than in France. It was only in 2006 that President Jacques Chirac , reportedly moved by Rachid Bouchareb 's movie Indigènes , gave instructions to increase the pensions of former colonial soldiers. However, more than forty years after

2976-409: The ground forces (excluding indigenous Vietnamese). Most of the professional airborne units (BPC) and the entire Chief of Staff were metropolitan French, as were some artillery and specialist units. From September 1945 to the cease-fire in July 1954, a total of 488,560 men and women served in Indochina: In early November 1953, the French U.N. volunteers returning from the ended Korean War joined

3038-399: The liberators of Paris. The 2nd Division later fought in the tank battles in Lorraine . On 13 September 1944 at the town of Dompaire 'Groupemont Langlade' destroyed the German 112th Panzer Brigade . Subsequently, the 2nd Division operated with U.S. forces during the assault into the Vosges Mountains . Serving as the armored exploitation force for the U.S. XV Corps , the 2nd Division forced

3100-408: The men of the unit concerned are all entitled to wear a fourragère . Regiments of North African Tirailleurs were, together with regiments of Zouaves , amongst the most decorated units in the French Army, ranking after only the Colonial Infantry Regiment of Morocco and the Foreign Legion March Regiment . As for the Légion d'honneur , this unit award should not be confused with the fourragère in

3162-586: The same organizational structure as a US light armored division. The division's 14,454 personnel included men from the 2nd Light Division, which included escapees from metropolitan France, as well as 3,600 Moroccans and Algerians and about 350 Spanish Republicans . Other sources give about 2,000, official records of the 2e DB show fewer than 300 Spaniards as many hid their nationality, fearing retaliation against their families in Spain. Combat formations: Supply and services: The division landed at Utah Beach in Normandy on 1 August 1944, about two months after

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3224-437: The town below). Deactivated after the war, the 2nd Division was again activated in the 1970s and served through 1999, when it was downsized to the now 2nd Armored Brigade. The division was formed around a core of units that had raided Italian Libya at the end of 1940 and Tripoli in 1943 under Leclerc, but was most known for its role in the fight at Kufra in 1941; later renamed the 2nd Light Division, in August 1943, it adopted

3286-423: The unit counted 1,687 dead, including 108 officers, and 3,300 wounded . On 13 May 1945, SHAEF relinquished operational control of the 2nd Armored Division to France. From 23 to 28 May 1945, the 2nd Division moved to its new garrison in the region of Paris, where it was deactivated on 31 March 1946. There are records from the late 1960s and early 1970s of 501 Régiment de Chars de Combat (501 RCC) being part of

3348-425: The unit's history was the Liberation of Paris . Allied strategy emphasized destroying German forces retreating towards the river Rhine and considered that attack on Paris would risk destroying it, but when the French Resistance under Henri Rol-Tanguy staged an uprising in the city from 19 August, Charles de Gaulle threatened to send the division into Paris, single-handedly, to prevent the uprising being crushed as

3410-427: The years before the outbreak of World War I and thereafter became the norm. The North African tirailleurs however resumed their colourful full dress uniforms between 1927 and 1939 to assist recruitment. After World War II they were retained until the present day for wear by the noubas (regimental bands). In France, citations made during World War I, World War II or colonial conflicts were accompanied with awards of

3472-406: Was then happening in Warsaw . Eisenhower agreed to let the French armored division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division liberate Paris. In the early morning of 23 August, Leclerc's 2e DB left the south of Argentan on its march to Paris, a march which was slowed by poor road conditions, French crowds, and fierce combat near Paris. On 24 August, General Leclerc sent a small advance party to enter

3534-429: Was against it. Late that month on 29 April 1954 C-124 Globemasters from the 322nd Air Division were in the process of air-lifting into Indochina the brand-new 7th BPC (Bataillon de Parachutistes Coloniaux), en route from Europe to Vietnam via Colombo, Ceylon. Thus U. S. Air Force aircraft and personnel were actively involved in Vietnam in 1954. Tirailleurs A tirailleur ( French: [tiʁajœʁ] ), in

3596-408: Was designed to fight a conventional battle against the Japanese Army , but under one of two scenarios: either as part of a reconquest of Indochina or, to placate American desires, as part of a follow-on wave of assault troops in the upcoming invasion of Japan’s home islands. The early fall of Japan obviated the need to invade Japan, but it also meant that American logistical and transportation support

3658-539: Was intended as the amphibious assault element of the corps. Mostly organized and equipped along American lines, this was a powerful conventional force that could assault and fight Japanese divisions in the vicinity of Saigon, Hanoi, or the Japanese home islands." The CEFEO was largely made up of voluntarily-enlisted indigenous tirailleurs from the French Union 's colonial or protectorate territories in Northwest Africa Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia), sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar , and South-East Asia. An exception

3720-474: Was lost. This corps was at first organized with two Colonial Far East Infantry Divisions composed of Senegalese soldiers, but upon more detailed consideration the [corps] was composed of the 3d and 9th Colonial Infantry Divisions with mostly European soldiers, the 2d Armored Division, the Far East Brigade composed of colonial troops in Madagascar, and the Far East Marine Brigade which had two infantry battalions, an armored battalion, and an artillery battalion and

3782-463: Was mainly voluntary with enlistment for three year periods (five for NCOs), although a limited form of conscription by ballot was introduced in Algeria in 1913 and continued until the end of French rule in North Africa. Prior to 1939 up to 90% of the rank and file of each battalion had been indigenous. The proportion of French European (both metropolitan and pied-noir settlers) to Maghrébin (North African) personnel had however increased to about 30% by

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3844-407: Was the French Foreign Legion which consisted mainly of European volunteers. In 1954, the CEFEO included 177,000 men, including 59,000 indigenous people. Colonial soldiers made up the bulk of the ground forces. Between 1947 and 1954, 122,900 North Africans and 60,340 Black Africans landed in Indochina, or 183,240 Africans in total. On February 1, 1954, they represented 43.5% of the 127,785 men of

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