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The following is a hierarchical outline for the French Land Army at the end of the Cold War. It is intended to convey the connections and relationships between units and formations. The theoretical combat strength of the army was 295,989 soldiers, of the 557,904 individuals available for service across the entire French Armed Forces in 1989. [1]
In 1967 with the withdrawal of French forces from the NATO Military Command Structure, agreements were reached between the SACEUR at the time, General Lyman Lemnitzer, and the French Chief of Staff, General Charles Ailleret , under which the French forces in Germany might in certain circumstances fight alongside Allied Forces Central Europe. [2]
In 1977 the Army had changed its military organisation in accordance with a short war-fighting strategy in Europe, and divisions lost their component brigades. Under army headquarters in 1985 were the 1st Army, with three corps, the Rapid Action Force, an independent corps-level rapid deployment command, six military regions in the metropole (including the former Défense opérationnelle du territoire territorial defence forces), and forces overseas, including DOM-TOM, in Guyana, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Djibouti, Seychelles/Mayotte, New Caledonia, and French Polynesia. [3] [4]
Below follows a description of the organisation of the various regiments of the French Army.
Type of regiments | Subunits in each regiment | Equipment per company/battery |
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Command and Support |
| |
Armored |
|
|
Mechanized Infantry |
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|
Infantry |
| |
Self-propelled Artillery |
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Engineer |
|
The four light armored divisions (6e Division Légère Blindée, 9e Division d'Infanterie de Marine, 12e Division Légère Blindée and 14e Division Légère Blindée) vary in their structure.
Type of regiments | Subunits in each regiment | Equipment per company/battery |
---|---|---|
Command and Support |
| |
Reconnaissance |
| |
Armored |
|
|
Infantry |
| |
Artillery |
|
|
Engineer |
|
Type of regiments | Subunits in each regiment | Equipment per company/battery |
---|---|---|
Command and Support |
| |
Reconnaissance |
| |
Infantry |
| |
Artillery |
|
|
Engineer |
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Wartime: The 4th RHCM consists of a squadron commander and liaison with ten light helicopters type SA341F Gazelle, and five utility helicopters squadrons each with ten type SA330Ba Puma transport helicopters. The 1st, 3rd and 5th RHC are composed of a squadron of light reconnaissance helicopter with nine light helicopters type SA341F Gazelle. These devices called "smooth" knowing that they do not carry on-board armament, used for reconnaissance or command support, a support helicopter squadron protection with ten light helicopters type SA341F2 Gazelle. These aircraft, each provided with a 20 mm gun used in support of ground troops and protection of other aircraft, anti-tank squadrons of three helicopters, each with ten light helicopters type SA342M Gazelle. These aircraft have four HOT antitank missiles for destroying armored vehicles of all kinds and a helicopter squadron maneuver with ten type SA330Ba Puma transport helicopters. None of these units possess Alouette III that is found only in peacetime in the 6th and 7th RHC each with ten machines.
The 1st Logistic Command provided overseas logistic capabilities.
Army forces in West Africa:
Army forces in Djibouti:
Army forces in the Lesser Antilles and French Guiana:
Army forces in the Southern Indian Ocean:
Army forces in French Polynesia:
Army forces in New Caledonia:
In 1984, Isby and Kamps wrote that the Défense opérationnelle du territoire term remained in use despite the command having been disbanded in the 1970s. [5]
The Army provided two engineer regiments to the Armée de l'Air.
Tri-service Peacetime command for all French Forces in Germany.
The Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) is the foreign intelligence service of the French state. It acts in the interest of the government and not as a military intelligence, but it is subordinated to the Ministry of Defence as an independent military service. In 1989 the military intelligence function was carried out by the 2nd Department of the French General Staff (2e Bureau) and the Center for Exploitation of Military Intelligence Data (Centre d’exploitation du renseignement militaire). They were eventually merged in 1992 into the current Direction du renseignement militaire [7] )