The 10th Parachute Division ( French: 10^e Division Parachutiste, 10^e D.P) was an airborne warfare formation of the

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 ...

. It consisted predominantly of infantry troops, and specialized in parachute-delivered infantry combat and air assault. Established in 1956, it fought primarily in the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

and the

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 (Algeri ...

. It was dissolved immediately after the

Algiers putsch of 1961 The Algiers putsch (; or ), also known as the putsch of the generals (), was a failed coup d'état intended to force French President Charles de Gaulle not to abandon French Algeria, the resident European community and pro-French Algerians. Org ...

Composition

On July 1, 1956, the 10e D.P. was created with the following units: *Support: **60th Headquarters company (60^e CGQ) **60th Transmission company of (60^e CT) **Platoon of Army Light Aviation (ALAT) **Transport group n°507 (GT 507) ** 60th Airborne Engineers Company ( 60^e CGAP) **60th Divisional Maintenance company (60^e CRD) **405th Medical company (405^e CM) **60th Military logistics section (60^e SRI) *Airborne infantry: ** 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment,

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

** 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment (1er RCP), replaced by the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment (9e RCP) in April 1960 ** 2e régiment de parachutistes coloniaux (2e RPC) ** 3e régiment de parachutistes coloniaux (3e RPC) ** 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment (from July 1957) ** 6e régiment de parachutistes coloniaux (6e RPC) (from July 1957) * 20th Parachute Artillery Group (20e GAP) On the 1 December 1958, the "Colonial Troops" was renamed " Troupes de marine".

History

Operation Musketeer

Barely created, the 10e D.P. took part in the

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, in an operation named "Operation Musketeer". The 10e D.P was reinforced for this purpose with: * One squadron of the

2nd Foreign Cavalry Regiment The 2nd Foreign Cavalry Regiment () was a cavalry regiment of the French Foreign Legion, Foreign Legion in the French Army. the regiment was dissolved twice, in 1946 and 1962; the regimental colors have been entrusted to the Foreign Legion Detachme ...

( 2^e R.E.C) comprising 148 men and 17

AMX-13 The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1952 to 1987. It served with the French Army, as the Char 13t-75 Modèle 51, and was exported to more than 26 other nations. Named after its initial weight of 13 tonnes, and featuring a tough and re ...

. * 10 LVT Alligator with 40 men * A platoon of 6

Delahaye Delahaye was a family-owned automobile manufacturing company, founded by Émile Delahaye in 1894 in Tours, France. Manufacturing was moved to Paris following incorporation in 1898 with two marriage-related brothers-in-law, George Morane and Le ...

jeeps with SS.10 anti-tank missiles * The 453rd anti-aircraft artillery group (453e GAAL): 803 men On 5 November 1956, elements of the 10e D.P. were dropped on

Port Fuad Port Fuad or Port Fouad ( ', ) is a city in Port Said Governorate, Egypt. Port Fuad is located in northeastern Egypt at the northwesternmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula on the Asian side of the Suez Canal, across from the city of Port Said. Port ...

and

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

, completed the next morning by amphibious assaults on both towns. Although the battle was a military success, allied troops had to withdraw due to pressure from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Battle of Algiers

In Algiers, the National Liberation Front (FLN) was carrying out a wave of terrorist attacks an urban guerilla which made many casualties, mostly Muslim civilians. In January 1957, Robert Lacoste, Minister Resident in Algeria, reacted by giving full powers to General Massu over the Algiers area. Massu sent the 10^e D.P. to search out, arrest and question FLN members. The battle of Algiers proved to be a clear success for the French military, with most prominent FLN leaders killed or arrested and terrorist attacks effectively stopped.Bernard Droz, Evelyne Lever, Histoire de la guerre d'Algérie, Points Histoire, éd.du Seuil, 1982 p. 129-130 However, the use of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

against some FLN members led to an increasing opposition to war in France and internationally.

Battle of the Frontiers

In 1956, the newly independent Republic of Tunisia was helping the FLN by smuggling weapons and men through its territory. The electrified fence known as the Morice Line was built up to prevent Algerian FLN guerrillas from entering the French colony of Algeria from Tunisia. The 10^e D.P. was assigned to the surveillance of a portion of the electrified border, in order to intercept rebel bands that have managed to cross it. The Morice Line had a significant impact of the reduction of guerrillas activities by forces that originated from Tunisia. However, general Massu, the commanding officer of the 10e D.P. was relieved of his command as he criticized President

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

's actions.

Algiers Putsch

French

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Michel Debré Michel Jean-Pierre Debré (; 15 January 1912 – 2 August 1996) was the first Prime Minister of the French Fifth Republic. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France. He served under President Charles de Gaulle from 1959 ...

's government started secret negotiations with the anti-colonialist FLN in order to grant independence to Algeria. French settlers and soldiers were stunned by this decision and a putsch was organized in Algiers. With the exception of the 3e RPIMa, the rest of the 10^e D.P. supported the coup. When the putsch failed the 25^e D.P. along with the 10^e D.P. were dissolved. However, the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment was the only regiment disbanded.

Insignias

Image:Insigne du 1° REP.jpg, Insignia of the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment File:Insigne du 9° RCP.jpg, Insignia of the 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment File:Insigne du 1°RCP.jpg, Insignia of 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment Image:Insigne régimentaire du 3e RPIMA.JPG, Insignia of 3rd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment File:Insigne du 13e RDP.jpg, Insignia of 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment Image:Insigne régimentaire du 6e RPIMa.jpg, Insignia of 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment

References

External links

History of the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment, 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment, 14th Parachute Chasseur Regiment and 18th Parachute Chasseur Regiment
{{French Foreign Legion navbox Airborne divisions of France Military units and formations established in 1956 Military units and formations disestablished in 1961 1956 establishments in France 1961 disestablishments in France Torture during the Algerian War Military units and formations of France in the Algerian War French war crimes in Algeria