The École militaire de haute montagne (High Mountain Military School) (ÉMHM) is a training establishment 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 ...

, that trains French and allied service personnel in

mountain warfare Mountain warfare or alpine warfare is warfare in mountains or similarly rough terrain. The term encompasses military operations affected by the terrain, hazards, and factors of combat and movement through rough terrain, as well as the strategies ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

, mountain leadership, and

arctic warfare Cold-weather warfare, also known as cold-region warfare, arctic warfare or winter warfare, encompasses military operations affected by snow, ice, Mud season, thawing conditions, or cold, both on land and at sea, as well as the strategies and t ...

History

100px, Badge of the EMHM. The ''École de haute montagne'' (High Mountain School) was created in

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

in 1932, becoming the world's first specialist training school for mountain troop leaders. The aims of the school were to teach mountain instructors, and to test and development of technical equipment and armaments. In August 1939 the majority of École de haute montagne's cadres joined the 199th Battalion Chasseurs de haute montagne, whose role was to defend France's

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

borders. The school's mission changed in 1945 to train mountain and ski specialists for the entire Army. In 1947 the French Military Ski Team was formed, under the Commissariat for Military Sports, it was supported and managed by the EHM. In 1948 the Chamonix Mountain Relief Society, the doctors of the School participated with the rescue team to provide emergency relief and aid in the

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

area. The first section of volunteer NCOs were incorporated into the EHM in 1961. On the initiative of Colonel Gonnet, then commander of the EHM, an international military rally of mountain troops was created in 1963. In addition to France, the four other alpine nations (

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) participated. In 1966 the EHM was redesignated as the École militaire de haute montagne. In 1981 the High Mountain Military Group (Groupe militaire de haute montagne, GMHM) was relocated from

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

where it had been created 5 years prior, to settle at the EMHM.

Brevets

All mountain brevets are all available in summer and winter. *The Brevet d'alpiniste et de skieur militaire(mountaineering and military skier's certificate, BASM) composed of: **Brevet de skieur militaire (Military skier's certificate or BSM) **Brevet d'alpiniste militaire (Military mountaineering certificate or BAM) *Chef d'équipe haute montagne (High Mountain Team Leader, CEHM) **CEHM Summer **CEHM winter ***on a technical level, the CEHM is the equivalent of the BQTM but is only intended for

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

s and

master corporal Master corporal (MCpl) () is a military rank used by a number of countries. Canada In the Canadian Armed Forces the displayed rank of master corporal is an appointment that can be granted to Canadian Army, army and Royal Canadian Air Force, air ...

s. *Brevet de qualification des troupes de montagne (Mountain Qualification Qualification Certificate, BQTM) **summer qualification, four week course **winter qualification, which also lasts four weeks *Chef de détachement haute montagne (detachment high mountain leader, CDHM, for non-commissioned officers) or Chef d'unité de haute montagne (unit of high mountain leader, CUHM, for officers), these patents correspond to the same formation **A summer course of 6 weeks **A winter course of 6 weeks *Brevet supérieur de technicien de l'armée de terre (Senior Army Technician Certificate, BSTAT) Mountain Option *Brevet de guide de haute montagne (

mountain guide A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...

certificate) There are then other qualifications which, although not specific to mountain troops, were created and developed within the High Mountain Military School (EMHM), including the three paragliding pilot licenses (Brevet A, B, and C) each having a higher qualification level. Example: The C-card is for all-weather solo flights, all sites, and night flights.

References

External links

EFMS official site

Official site

GMHM official site

CoFAT official site
{{Authority control Mountain warfare training installations Training establishments of the French Army 1932 establishments in France Chamonix

History

Brevets

See also

References

External links