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The 6th Marine Infantry Battalion is a unit of the Troupes de Marine of the French Army. It is stationed in Libreville, Gabon, subordinate to the general commanding the French elements in Gabon (EFG). It is a mixed battalion, including infantry; armored; engineers; artillery; communications ("transmissions"); and other specialities such as jungle combat and airborne insertion.
It is heir to the traditions of the 6e Regiment d'infanterie coloniale, created on 1 April 1890 by splitting the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment.
At the end of October 1975, the 6eme Regiment Interarmes d'Outre-Mer (6 RIAOM) based in N’Djamena in Chad [1] was repatriated to mainland France and was dissolved in Toulon on 10 November 1975. [2]
Its detachment in Libreville was in turn dissolved on 30 November and became, on 1 December 1975, the 6th Marine Infantry Battalion. On the 12th of that month the battalion received the 6 RIAOM flag from the hands of Colonel Ancelin, the last regimental commander.
When it was created, the 6th BIMa had 426 men including 20 officers, 96 non-commissioned officers and 310 non-commissioned members. At the camp des Gardes, north of Libreville, were support and services command company (CCAS), two reinforcement companies - one motorized including a platoon of armored personnel carriers (COMOTO) and the other parachutist (COMPARA) - a helicopter detachment, an autonomous signals detachment, a provost brigade, a military post office. At that time, the battalion was the only French unit in Gabon. Consequently, the battalion commander was also the commander of the French troops in Gabon (TFG).
In 1975, the transit and supply mission at Douala was attached to the TFG / 6e BIMa.
In 1976, the Gardes camp became the de Gaulle camp and was the subject of major infrastructure works.
The 6th BIMa is a key element of the French system in equatorial Africa. A prepositioned force welcoming metropolitan combat units on short-term missions, the battalion offers education and training opportunities adapted to the Gabonese climate and environment while being ready to intervene without delay in the area.
As part of the reorganization of France's military system in Africa, the French forces in Gabon (FFG, approximately 900 soldiers) were created on 1 September 2007 in place of French troops in Gabon (TFG). A joint staff commanded by a general (COMFOR FFG) is set up at Camp de Gaulle. The latter assumes command of all French units in Gabon, which until that point was exercised by the corps commander of the 6th BIMa.
It has provided logistics support for most French operations in Africa since it was created: Opération Verveine, where it supported transit through Gabon of French forces heading to Zaire during the Shaba I conflict of March–May 1977; [3] Opération Tacaud (1978); Operation Barracuda, to support newly installed President David Dacko of the Central African Republic (September 1979); Operation Manta (1983); Opération Requin (1990); Opération Epervier for Chad (1992); Opération Addax (1992); Opérations Amaryllis & Operation Turquoise regarding Rwanda (1994); Opération Almandin (1996); Opération Malebo (1996); Opérations Pélican & Antilope (1997); Opérations Malachite (1998) & Okoumé (1999) Operation Licorne in Cote d'Ivoire (2002); Opération Boali (2002)
The Armed Forces of Gabon or the Gabonese Defense and Security Forces is the national professional military of the Republic of Gabon, divided into the Army, Air Force, Navy, and a National Gendarmerie, consisting of about 5,000 personnel. The armed forces includes a well-trained, well-equipped 1,800-member guard that provides security for the President of Gabon.
Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations initiated by the United States and other Coalition nations of the Persian Gulf War, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurdish refugees fleeing their homes in northern Iraq in the aftermath of the Gulf War, and to deliver humanitarian aid to them. The no-fly zone instituted to help bring this about would become one of the main factors allowing the development of the autonomous Kurdistan Region.
The Troupes de Marine is a corps of the French Army that includes several specialities: infantry, artillery, armoured, airborne, engineering, and transmissions (Signals). Despite its name, it forms part of the Army, not the Navy. Intended for amphibious and overseas operations, the Troupes de marine have been, and still are, in all the fights of the French army. It has gradually become professionalized since 1970.
The Fusiliers marins are specialized French naval infantry trained for combat in land and coastal regions. The Fusiliers marins are also in charge of providing protection for naval vessels and key French Navy sites on land.
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship, the boarding of vessels during combat or capture of prize ships, and providing manpower for raiding ashore in support of the naval objectives. In most countries, the marines are an integral part of that state's navy.
The siege of Yorktown was the culminating act of the Yorktown campaign, a series of military operations occupying much of 1781 during the American Revolutionary War. The siege was a decisive Franco-American victory: after the surrender of British Lt. Gen. Charles, Earl Cornwallis on October 17, the government of Lord North fell, and its replacement entered into peace negotiations that resulted in British recognition of American independence with the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
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.
The structure of the French Army is fixed by Chapter 2 of Title II of Book II of the Third Part of the Code of Defense, notably resulting in the codification of Decree 2000-559 of 21 June 2000.
The 2nd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment is an airborne regiment of the French Army created in 1947. The regiment is heir to the traditions of the 2nd Colonial Commando Parachute Battalion 2eB.C.C.P. As of 2008, the regiment is stationed at Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
The 3rd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment is an airborne elite regiment of the French Army heir to the 3rd Colonial Commando Parachute Battalion 3e BCCP created in 1948 and the 3rd Colonial Parachute Regiment 3e RPC. The regiment is part of the 11th Parachute Brigade.
The 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment is an airborne unit of the French Army.
The 8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment is an airborne regiment of the French Army. The 8e RPIMa was created on 28 February 1951 and the men wear the red beret. This elite regiment is part of the 11th Parachute Brigade.
The 9th Marine Infantry Brigade is a light armoured, amphibious unit of the Troupes de marine of the French Army.
The 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade is a mountain infantry formation of the French Army. The brigade is subordinated to the 1st Armored Division and specializes in Mountain warfare.
The Army of the Levant identifies the armed forces of France and then Vichy France which occupied, and were in part recruited from, the French Mandated territories in the Levant during the interwar period and early World War II. The locally recruited Syrian, 'Alawi, Lebanese, Circassian, Kurdish and Druze units of this force were designated as the Special Troops of the Levant.
The Régiment d'infanterie chars de marine RICM in French, is a light cavalry regiment of the French Army, successor to the Régiment d'infanterie coloniale du Maroc RICM.
The 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Troupes de marine in the French Army, the only regiment to bear 16 battle honours inscriptions of the regimental colors. The regiment is one of the "quatre vieux" regiments of the Troupes de marine, with the 1st Marine Infantry Regiment 1er RIMa, the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment 3e RIMa and the 4th Marine Infantry Regiment 4e RIMa ; also, alongside the 1st Marine Artillery Regiment 1er RAMa as well as the 2nd Marine Artillery Regiment 2e RAMa which formed the Blue Division.
The Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte is a detachment of the Foreign Legion based on the island of Mayotte, near Madagascar. It is the smallest operational unit of the French Army. The main role of the detachment is to maintain a French presence in the region, enabling the French armed forces to quickly react to events in the Indian Ocean and the east coast of Africa.
The Specialized Staff for Overseas and Foreign Affairs was historically dedicated to training the French Army in interculturality and was the maison mere (mother-parent) of the Troupes de marine. It is located at the Ecole militaire in Paris and at Fréjus.