Fusiliers Marins - History

History

In 1627, Richelieu founded the Régiment de la Marine. It was to provide onboard troops capable of fighting on land or on sea, and commanded by the officers of the ship. These troops were part of the crew, and helped with navigation.

The base unit was the 70-man company, compagnie détachée de la Marine. It was commanded by a lieutenant des vaisseaux du Roi ("Lieutenant of the Ships of the King") and two ensigns. These companies fought in all French colonies, particularly in Nouvelle France. An anonymous Fusilier de Marine is credited for Nelson's death during the Battle of Trafalgar.

In 1825, a royal decree abolished the Régiments de la Marine and imposed that landing parties (compagnies de débarquement) should be composed of sailors. The tradition of the Régiments de la Marine later gave birth to the troupes de marine and troupes coloniales of the French Army.

As the crews of the ships lacked personnel trained for fighting on land, the imperial decree of 5 June 1856 created the specialisation of marin fusilier. The fusiliers-marins was initially composed of sailors and naval officers who were sent to special training in Lorient in order to form the marine detachments aboard ships. This was not the first time that the French had tried this approach. Before the First Republic, the Corps royal de l'infanterie de la marine had been superseded by the Corps royal de canonniers-matelots on 1 January 1786.

These troops were notably engaged during the war of 1870 and the defence of Paris. Two battalions of fusiliers-marins, under the respective commands of capitaines de frégate Laguerre and de Beaumont, took part in the Tonkin campaign as part of the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, distinguishing themselves at Son Tay and Bac Ninh. In 1900 they participated in the fighting during the Boxer Rebellion and it was on the same year that the troops were finally confirmed as part of the naval service as their counterparts in the troupes de marine moved on to the Army via the War Ministry.

In World War I, their famous defense in 1914 of Diksmude in the Battle of the Yser stands out. They also served at the Dardanelles and in Macedonia.

The fusiliers-marins were busy studying amphibious warfare, testing experimental landing craft and taking part in exercices combinés from the late 1920s until the mid 1930s.

In World War II, their most famous battles were Bir Hakeim and Normandy. World War II fusiliers-marins units included the 1er Regiment de Fusiliers-Marins de Reconnaissance which served in the 1st Free French Division (1er DFL), the Régiment Blindé de Fusiliers Marins (RBFM) of the 2nd Armoured Division and the 1er Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos (1er BFMC).

In Indochina after World War II, the French Navy and fusiliers marins created the famous riverine warfare units called divisions navales d'assaut (naval assault divisions), commonly referred to as dinassauts. The Demi-Brigade de Fusiliers-Marins (DBFM) which included the Bataillon d'Intervention de Fusiliers-Marins (BIFM) served in Algeria.

• "Call to fair men; the Royal regiment of Naval fusiliers is recruiting..." Louis XV

• Musée de la Marine, Paris: Naval Infantry shako, around 1829.

• Fusiliers marins decorated after the Battle of the Yser.

• Inspections at sea are often carried out by fusilliers marins

• Fusiliers marins in summer parade dress