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13th Demi-Brigade Of The Foreign Legion
The 13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion (), was created in 1940 and was the main unit of the 1st Free French Division, Free French Forces (FFL). From the coast of Norway to Bir Hakeim, to Africa then the Alsace, while passing by Syria and Italy, the 13th Demi-Brigade would be part of most of the major campaigns of the French Army during the Second World War. After having been engaged in Indochina from 1946 to 1954, the 13e DBLE joined the Algerian War, and left in 1962. The 13e DBLE was based until 2011 at ''Quartier-Général Monclar'' in Djibouti, in virtue of an accord between France and the Republic of Djibouti in 1977. During 2011, the unit moved to the United Arab Emirates. In 2016, the unit returned to France, based at the same camp where it was first formed (and took its designation on 27 March 1940) – ''Camp du Larzac''. Creation and different designations This unit of the Legion was created on 1 March 1940 within the cadre of the Franco-British expeditionary cor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
6th Light Armoured Brigade (France)
The 6th Light Armoured Brigade () is one of the eight inter-arm brigades which are at the disposition of the . The headquarters of the brigade is situated in Nîmes. The brigade is capable of deploying to any exterior theatre of operation while delivering fire power, agility, and mobility. History The brigade is heir to the 6th Cavalry Division () of 1914, the 6th Light Cavalry Division of 1940 (), and the 6th Armoured Division, stationed in Compiègne (1951-1957) and then in Strasbourg (1977-1984) In 1984, the formation was reorganised as the 6th Light Armoured Division (6e DLB) and was part of the Rapid Action Force (1984-1999). The division then was formed of 7 regiments, 5 professionals out which 3 are part of the Foreign Legion: * 21st Marine Infantry Regiment, 21e RIMa, which had been part of the 31st Brigade (1981-1984) * 68th Artillery Regiment, 68e RA * 6th Command and Support Regiment, 6e RCS * 1st Spahi Regiment, 1er RS *1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment, 1er REC, att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Bir Hakeim
The Battle of Bir Hakeim () took place at Bir Hakeim, an oasis in the Libyan desert south and west of Tobruk, during the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June 1942). The 1st Free French Brigade under Marie-Pierre Kœnig defended the position from against Axis forces of ''Panzerarmee Afrika'' commanded by Erwin Rommel. The captured Tobruk ten days later. The delay imposed on the Axis offensive by the defence of Bir Hakeim influenced the cancellation of Operation Herkules, the Axis invasion of Malta. Rommel invaded Egypt, slowed by British delaying actions until the First Battle of El Alamein in July, where the Axis advance was stopped. Both sides used the battle for propaganda, Winston Churchill declared the Free French to be the "Fighting French". Background Eighth Army At the beginning of 1942, after its defeat in western Cyrenaica during , the British Eighth Army under Lieutenant-General Neil Ritchie faced the Axis troops in Libya roughly west of the port of Tobruk, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around the world. A liturgical year, liturgical feast central to Christianity, Christmas preparation begins on the Advent Sunday, First Sunday of Advent and it is followed by Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts Twelve Days of Christmas, twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night (holiday), Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in List of holidays by country, many countries, is observed religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as celebrated culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the annual Christmas and holiday season, holiday season. The traditional Christmas narrative recounted in the New Testament, known as the Nativity of Jesus, says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Jumelles
Operation Jumelles () was a military operation which was part of the Algerian War in Kabylia Kabylia or Kabylie (; in Kabyle: Tamurt n leqbayel; in Tifinagh: ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵔⵜ ⵏ ⵍⴻⵇⴱⴰⵢⴻⵍ; ), meaning "Land of the Tribes" is a mountainous coastal region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is ..., Algeria. It lasted from 22 July 1959 to March 1960. It was fought between the National Liberation Front (Algeria), FLN and the French Army. Overview The Operation Jumelles or Operation Binoculars is the largest military operation ever mounted in Algeria, more than 60,000 soldiers are engaged, it is led by General Maurice Challe. The fighting takes place in the Soummam Valley, Akfadou and Djudjura, in kabylia wilaya (III). The General Massu also mentioned this operation in his book -le torrent et la digue- on page 266 he wrote: « and it will be the first time in the history of the Algerian war that a "commander in chief" will personally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algerian War
The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeria), National Liberation Front (FLN) from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria winning its independence from France. * * * * * * An important decolonization war, it was a complex conflict characterized by guerrilla warfare and war crimes. The conflict also became a civil war between the different communities and within the communities. The war took place mainly on the territory of Algeria, with repercussions in metropolitan France. Effectively started by members of the FLN on 1 November 1954, during the ("Red All Saints' Day"), the conflict led to serious political crises in France, causing the fall of the Fourth French Republic, Fourth Republic (1946–58), to be replaced by the Fifth French Republic, Fifth Republic with a strengthened pres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the forces of the French Union and Viet Minh. The French began an operation to insert, and support, their soldiers at Điện Biên Phủ, deep in the autonomous Tai Federation in northwest Tonkin. The operation's purpose was to cut off enemy supply lines into the neighboring Kingdom of Laos (a French ally) and draw the Viet Minh into a major confrontation in order to cripple them. The French based their forces in an isolated but well-fortified camp that would be resupplied by air, a strategy adopted based on the belief that the Viet Minh had no anti-aircraft capability. The communist Viet Minh, however, under General Võ Nguyên Giáp, surrounded and besieged the French. They brought in vast amounts of heavy artillery (including anti-aircraft guns) and managed to move these bulky weapons through difficult terrain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Hòa Bình
The Battle of Hòa Bình was fought during the First Indochina War. It occurred from 10 November 1951 to 25 February 1952, when French Union forces attempted to lure the Việt Minh out into the open and to force it to fight on French terms. Prelude Following the string of defensive victories during the early months of 1951, the French command under General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny sought to go back on the offensive. After the French victory at the battle of Đông Triều, de Lattre had drawn up a plan to test his offensive strategy. Hòa Bình, capital of the Muong people, located from Hanoi, was selected by General de Lattre for the offensive. Hòa Bình was an area of strategic significance for many reasons. For the Việt Minh, the control of Hòa Bình would allow them free movement in the valleys north of Hanoi as well as the flow of military supplies. De Lattre’s plan was to take Hòa Bình, where Giáp's regular divisions would be forced to confront superior Frenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vietnam), and their respective allies, from 19 December 1946 until 21 July 1954. Việt Minh was led by Võ Nguyên Giáp and Hồ Chí Minh. Most of the fighting took place in Tonkin in Northern Vietnam, although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring French Indochina protectorates of Kingdom of Laos, Laos and French protectorate of Cambodia, Cambodia. At the Potsdam Conference in July 1945, the Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff decided that Indochina south of 16th parallel north, latitude 16° north was to be included in the Southeast Asia Command under British Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Admiral Mountbatten. On V-J Day, September 2, Hồ Chí Min ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Allied Invasion Of Germany
The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Allies of World War II, Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied invasion of Nazi Germany, Germany east of the Rhine River, Rhine, a series of offensive operations were designed to seize and capture its east and west banks: Operation Veritable and Operation Grenade in February 1945, and Operation Lumberjack and Operation Undertone in March 1945; these are considered separate from the main invasion operation. The Allied invasion of Germany east of the Rhine started with the Western Allies crossing the river on 22 March 1945 before fanning out and overrunning all of western Germany from the Baltic Sea, Baltic in the north to the Principal passes of the Alps, Alpine passes in the south, where they linked up with troops of the United States Army North, U.S. Fifth Army in Italy.Wallace, Linnel, Lt. Col., Comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colmar Pocket
The Colmar Pocket (; ) was the area held in central Alsace, France, by the German Nineteenth Army from November 1944 to February 1945, against the U.S. 6th Army Group (6th AG) during World War II. It was formed when 6th AG liberated southern and northern Alsace and adjacent eastern Lorraine, but could not clear central Alsace. During Operation Nordwind in December 1944, the 19th Army attacked north out of the Pocket in support of other German forces attacking south from the Saar into northern Alsace. In late January and early February 1945, the French First Army (reinforced by the U.S. XXI Corps) cleared the Pocket of German forces. Background Formation of the Pocket A German bridgehead on the west bank of the Rhine long and deep was isolated in November 1944 when the German defenses in the Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), known as Débarquement de Provence in French ("Provence Landing"), was the code name for the landing operation of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Although initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, the June 1944 Normandy landings, Allied landing in Normandy, the lack of enough resources led to the cancellation of the second landing. By July 1944 the landing was reconsidered, as the clogged-up ports in Normandy did not have the capacity adequately to supply the Allied forces. Concurrently, the high command of the French Liberation Army pushed for a revival of the operation, which would involve large numbers of French troops. As a result, the operation was finally approved in July to be executed in August. The invasion sought to secure the vital ports on the French Mediterranean coast and increase pressure on the German forces by opening another ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
