The Blue Division was a French
division during the
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
of 1870. Consisting of ''
Troupes de Marine'', it was the first time in the history of the marines to combine , marine infantry, and , or marine artillery.
Commanded by General Élie de Vassoigne, it was made up of two brigades:
*The 1st Brigade, commanded by General Reboul, was formed from the
1st Marine Infantry Regiment of
Cherbourg
Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...
and the
4th Marine Infantry Regiment of
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department.
The Commune of Toulon h ...
;
*The 2nd Brigade, commanded by General Martin des Pallières, comprised the
2nd Marine Infantry Regiment of
Brest and the
3rd Marine Infantry Regiment of
Rochefort, along with 3 batteries from the
1st Marine Artillery Regiment.
The Blue Division formed part of the
12th Army Corps under the command of
Barthélémy Louis Joseph Lebrun, which was the last unit to arrive at
Sedan after having made a last attempt to retreat with General
de Wimpffen. It fought at
Bazeilles on 31 August and 1 September 1870. The town was retaken and abandoned four times, with 2,655 French and 5,200 Bavarians dead, inspiring the patriotic painting ''Les dernières cartouches'' (''The Last Cartridges'') by
Alphonse de Neuville. Each year the marines celebrate the anniversary of the battle, ending the ceremonies with the unit's battle cry, "Au nom de Dieu, vive
la coloniale" ("In God's name, long live ''
La Coloniale''") - the unit had God Himself as its patron saint.
References
External links
French Marines - official site{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209004423/http://www.troupesdemarine.org/index2.htm , date=2010-02-09
Military units and formations of the Franco-Prussian War
Divisions of France
Marine corps units and formations