The Troupes de marine (marine troops) is a subset of the French Army dedicated to external operations. Originally called Troupes Coloniale (Colonial Troops), the marine troops were meant for being stationed overseas (thus the name) in the various French colonies. It kept from this time its nickname of la Coloniale or la Colo. At their height in 1940, the Troupes de Marines consisted of nine divisions and several demi-brigades who manned machine gun emplacements on the Maginot Line. They recruited both in France and overseas and were administered by the Ministry of Marine. Their name was changed in the 1960's to remove the imperialistic reference. French soldiers of the IFOR in Mostar, 1995. ... The Maginot Line (IPA: [maʒino], named after French minister of defense André Maginot) was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts and other defenses which France constructed along its borders with Germany and with Italy in the wake of World War I. Generally the term... Imperialism is a policy of extending control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial conquest or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics and/or economy of other countries. ...

Nicknames

French Marine Infantry are known in French as marsouins ("Harbour Porpoise"). Marine Gunners are known as bigors, a nickname whose origin is disputed. It could come from bigue dehors which was the order given for loading the guns on a ship. It could also come from bigorneau (winkle in English), either due to their toughness and unwillingness to desert their positions in combat or because their duties usually had them stuck on coastal rocks. Binomial name Phocoena phocoena Linnaeus, 1758 Harbour Porpoise range The Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is one of six species of porpoise, and so one of about eighty cetacean species. ... Winkle is the usual name in Britain for the common periwinkle, a mollusc often eaten in England. ...

Composition

The marine troops comprise:

• Troupes de Marine
  • Infanterie de Marine (-IMa) (Marine infantry, includes light cavalry)
  • Parachutistes Infanterie de Marine (-PIMa) (Marine paratroop infantry)
  • Artillerie de Marine (-AMa) (Marine artillery)

Uniform

The Troupes de Marine uniform is now the same as other units of French army (green camouflage). Distinctive features are a golden fouled anchor either as a gold-metal badge on the beret or embroided on the front of the kepi. The full dress includes yellow epaulettes (official color name is daffodil) and a navy blue cravat (scarf worn around the neck). Historically, the uniform was navy blue with yellow epaulettes. The ancient uniform, gave the nickname of the Blue Division to the Troupes de Marine units involved in the 1870 Franco-Prussian war. The pith helmet was also worn overseas in the times of colonial infantry. French Kepis. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Pith helmet of Harry S. Truman The Pith Helmet (also known as Sun helmet, Topee, or Topi) is a lightweight helmet made of cork or pith, with a cloth cover, designed to shade the wearers head from the sun. ...

History

The Troupes de Marine originate from the compagnies ordinaires de la mer created in 1622 by Cardinal Richelieu. They were troops dedicated to naval combat. In 1822 and 1831, the compagnies ordinaires de la mer were used to create the marine infantry and marine artillery, dedicated to land combat arising during naval expeditions. In 1900 the troupes de marine were removed from the responsibility of the Ministère de la Marine (analogous to the British Admiralty) and transferred to the ministry of War. For most of the 19th and first half of 20th century, Troupes de Marine were known as Troupes Coloniale. It is under the name of colonial troops that they were involved in the two world wars, and the wars of independence in Indochina and Algeria. Cardinal Richelieu was the French chief minister from 1624 until his death. ... 1822 (MDCCCXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1831 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... 1900 (MCM) is a common year starting on Monday. ... Old Admiralty House, Whitehall, London, Thomas Ripley, architect, 1723-26, was not admired by his contemporaries and earned him some scathing couplets from Alexander Pope The Admiralty was historically the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. ...

Today

The modern Troupes de la Marine, were created in 1967 within the army as a fast reaction force for external operation theaters. The Troupes de Marine is one of the "armes" (corps) of the French army, which includes specialities associated with other corps (artillery, cavalry, signals) but with amphibious or airborne specialisation.

• Current Units: - Numbered sequentially whether regiments or battalions
  • Régiment de Marche du Tchad (RMT) in Noyon (infantry)
  • Régiment d'Infanterie du Chars de Marine (RICM) 9e BLBMa in Poitiers (light cavalry)The odd acronym was created to keep alive the traditions and honors of its celebrated original designation during World War II, the Regiment d'Infanterie Coloniale du Maroc (Regiment of Colonial Infantry of Morocco).
  • Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine du Pacifique - Nouvelle Calédonie (RIMaP-NC) in Noumea New Caledonia (infantry)
  • Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine du Pacifique - Polynésie (RIMaP-P) in Papeete
  • 1er Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine (1er RAMa) in Laon (artillery)
  • 1er Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine (1er RPIMA) in Bayonne (airborne commandos)
  • 1er Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine (1er RIMa) 9e BLBMa in Angouleme (light cavalry)
  • 2e Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine (2e RPIMa) in Pierrefonds (Réunion) (airborne)
  • 2e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine (2e RIMa) 9e BLBMa in Le Mans (infantry)
  • 3e Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine (3e RAMa) in Canjuers (artillery)
  • 3e Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine (3e RPIMa) in Carcassonne (airborne)
  • 3e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine (3e RIMa) 9e BLBMa in Vannes (infantry)
  • 5e Régiment interarmes d'outre-mer (5e RIAOM) in Djibouti
  • 6e Bataillon d'Infanterie de Marine (6e BIMa) in Libreville (Gabon)
  • 8e Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine (8e RPIMa) in Castres (airborne)
  • 9e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine (9e RIMa) in Cayenne (French guiana) (infantry)
  • 11e Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine (11e RAMa) 9e BLBMa in Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier (artillery)
  • 21e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine (21e RIMa) in Frejus (infantry)
  • 22e Bataillon d'Infanterie de Marine (22e BIMa) 9e BLBMa in Nantes (command and support)
  • 23e Bataillon d'Infanterie de Marine (23e BIMa) in Dakar (Senegal)
  • 33e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine (33e RIMa) in Fort-de-France (Martinique)
  • 41e Bataillon d'Infanterie de Marine (41e BIMa) in Pointe-a-Pitre (Guadeloupe)
  • 43e Bataillon d'Infanterie de Marine (43e BIMa) in Port-Bouet (Côte d'Ivoire)
  • 72e Bataillon d'Infanterie de Marine (72e BIMa) in Marseille

Regiments with 9e BLBMa are part of the 9th Marine Light Armour Brigade (9e Brigade Légère Blindée de Marine), other regiments and batallions are integrated in non Marine brigades Noyon is a small but historic French city in the Oise département, Picardie, on the Oise Canal, approximately 60 miles north of Paris. ... Location within France Poitiers (population 85,000) is a small city located in west central France. ... Categories: Oceania geography stubs ... Papeete Waterfront Papeete is the capital of French Polynesia, and is located on the island of Tahiti, which is part of the Society Islands, in French Polynesia. ... Laon is a city and commune of France, préfecture (capital) of the Aisne département. ... Bayonne. ... Angoulême is a town in southwestern France, préfecture ( capital city) of the Charente département. ... Le Mans is a city in France, located at the Sarthe River. ... Location within France Cathars being expelled from Carcassone in 1209. ... Vannes is a city and commune of about 50,000 inhabitants located in the Morbihan département, in Brittany in the west of France. ... Chancery Building, Libreville Libreville, estimated population 420,000[1], is the capital city of Gabon. ... Castres (Castras in Occitan) is a town and commune of Languedoc in south-western France. ... Cayenne is the capital of the French overseas région of French Guiana. ... Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier (Breton: Sant-Albin-an-Hiliber) is a commune of the Ille-et-Vilaine département, in Brittany, France. ... Roman ruins, aquaduct Fréjus is a French city, in the Var département. ... City motto: Favet Neptunus eunti. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Fort-de-France is the capital of Frances Caribbean département doutre-mer of Martinique. ... Pointe-à-Pitre is the main town of the French Caribbean island and French département doutre-mer of Guadeloupe, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... City motto: Actibus immensis urbs fulget Massiliensis. ...

See also

• French Foreign Legion
• Marine
• Fusiliers de Marine the French navy troops

Légionnaires in dress uniform. ... Marine is an umbrella term for things relating to the ocean, as with Marine biology, Marine geology, and as a term for a navy, etc. ... The Fusiliers de Marine, or fusiliers marins, are units specialised in the protection and defence of sensitive points of the French Navy on land. ...

External links

• Official site
• Unofficial site (managed by the national federation of veterans of oversea and marine troops)