The 11th Parachute Brigade (French: 11e Brigade Parachutiste, 11e BP) is one of the French Army's airborne forces brigade, predominantly light infantry, part of the French paratrooper units and specialized in air assault, airborne operations, combined arms, and commando style raids. The brigade's primary vocation is to project in emergency in order to contribute a first response to a situational crisis. An elite unit of the French Army, the brigade is commanded by a général de brigade (Brigadier General) with headquarters in Balma near Toulouse. The brigade's soldiers and airborne Marines wear the red beret (amaranth) except for the Legionnaires of the 2ème REP who wear the green beret.[1]
On May 1, 1961; the 11th Light Intervention Division (French: 11e division légère d'intervention) was created from dissolved airborne units of the 10th and 25th Parachute Division.[3]
Organizational Chart of the 11th Light Intervention Division on May 1, 1961
the 11th Light Interventtion Division was created on May 1, 1961, from airborne elements of the 10th Parachute Division and 25th Parachute Division, both dissolved following the Algiers putsch of 1961, and from the 11th Intervention Division (11e DI), set at the time to create a total of three airborne divisions.[3] The division commanded by General Marzloff[5] returned to mainland France on July 1, 1961. On August 1, 1963, the 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment leaves the Division and takes garrison in Lorraine at Dieuze and Nancy.[4]
Order of battle
Since creation the 11th Light Intervention Division comprised the following:
At the time, there were no regiments of the Foreign Legion in the newly enacted division. On October 1, 1963, the division integrated the BOMAP (Airborne Operational Mobile Base).
11th Division – 11e DIV
On December 1, 1963, the 11th Light Intervention Division merged with the 9th Colonial Infantry Division and became the 11th Division. From July 1966 and excluding elements of Division support, the division activated and consisted of three Brigades: the 9th Marine Infantry Brigade at Saint-Malo, the 20th Airborne Brigade (20e BAP) at Toulouse and the 25th Airborne Brigade (25e BAP) at Pau.
A support battalion, the 61e BS, was created on February 1, 1964, at Auch. The 61e BS supervised health services and provisions in the Division. In March, the 61st Airborne Signals Battalion (61e BTAP) steps in at Pau and absorbs the existing signals and communication companies.
In July 1966, the 11th Division reached 16,000 men and consisted of two brigades (the 20e BAP at Toulouse and the 25e BAP at Pau) with five parachute regiments.[6]
Order of battle
Organizational Chart of the 11th Division on July 1, 1966
On August 1, 1973, the 61st Headquarter Squadron and the 61st Transmission Company were amalgamated and formed the 61e BCT. The following year, in 1974, the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment was reformed and the interarm regiments find their specialities. On August 1, 1974, the 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (1e RPIMa) was reattached to the Division.
In 1978, and within the cadre of military cooperation with Zaïre which anticipates assistance and formation, the 2nd Foreign Prachute Regiment is parachuted in during the Battle of Kolwezi, and participated in the rescue mission at Kolwezi together with Belgian paratroopers. During this intervention, two teams of the 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment and one team from the 1st Marine Parachute Infantry Regiment (1e RPIMa) were deployed to forward operating terrain on observation and reconnaissance missions.
In 1999, as part of the restructuring of the French Army, the 11th Parachute Brigade was formed at Balma (Balman Toulouse Garrison), the base of the 11th Parachute Division. The brigade would later be engaged in Africa and Afghanistan.
The paratroopers of the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment (1erRCP), of the 11th Parachute Brigade, took up its first rotation, and was in place by Sunday, 1 May 2011, in Kapisa Province. Four more rotations would follow. A total of 650 military personnel were scheduled for a mission to maintain zonal security.
From April to October 2001, while preparing for this mission, the 11th brigade rehearsed realistic simulations, in order to achieve operational readiness within the newly established Brigade La Fayette joint command. In Afghanistan, reinforcements served for periods from 6 months to a year in Nijrab District, in northeastern Kapisa Province, while attached to the Tactical Interam Group of Kapisa (TIGK).
As of June 20, 2011, the 11th Parachute Brigade was the brigade that endured the most losses, with 18 casualties, in Afghanistan.[12]
Organizational Chart of the 11th Parachute Brigade in 2011
The 11th Parachute Brigade is composed primarily of infantry, with elements of artillery, light cavalry, and combat-engineer regiments. The brigade also includes a Commando Parachute Group (GCP), an elite unit of pathfinders.
At the beginning of 2000, the brigade was based in southwestern France, except for the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) stationed in Calvi, Corsica. The brigade consists of 10,200 active and reserve personnel distributed in a central headquarters command and 8 operational regiments with the following composition:
Except for the troops of the 1e REG, 2e REG, 2e REP who wear a green beret, the French army metropolitan and marine paratroopers forming the 11th Parachute Brigade wear a red Beret.
With the paratrooper brevet of the French Army, the insignia of French paratroopers was created in 1946. The French Army insignia of metropolitan paratroopers consists of a closed "winged armed dextrochere", ("right winged arm") with a sword pointing upwards. The insignia makes reference to the patron saint of paratroopers and represents "the right Arm of Saint Michael", the Archangel, which, according to Liturgy,[dubious–discuss] is the "armed arm of God". This insignia is the symbol of righteous combat and fidelity to superiors and to the mission. The French Army Insignia of Marine Infantry Paratroopers is over a marine anchor.
↑ "L'opération "Léopard"(PDF). Collection «Mémoire et Citoyenneté» n° 37 (in French). Ministère de la défense. Archived from the original(PDF) on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
↑ Villard, Claire (7 May 2011). "200 soldats mobilisés pour l'Afghanistan"[200 Soldiers Mobilize for Afghanistan]. Grand Sud. Ladépêche.fr (in French). Retrieved 24 July 2018. [...] part en mission pour une année entière. Le général toulousain prendra en charge l'état-major en Afghanistan baptisé «Task Force Lafayette» [...]
The Troupes de Marine or TDM, sometimes simply referred to as "French Marines" in English, are one of the major components of the French Army and comprise several specialties: infantry, airborne, armoured cavalry, artillery, engineering, and transmissions (signals). Characterized by their fundamental vocation for service beyond the seas, including in French overseas territories and, formerly, in French colonies, the Marines have taken part in all French military campaigns since the corps' foundation, both on home soil and in theaters of operations around the world. They are stationed in Metropolitan France, in many French overseas departments and territories, as well as in Africa.
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