1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment: Difference between revisions

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| caption = Regimental beret badge
| dates = September 15, 1940 – present
| country = {{flagcountryflag|France}}
| branch = [[File:Logo of the French Army (Armee de Terre).svg|23px25px]] [[French Army]]
| command_structure = [[French Army Special Forces Command]]
| type = [[List of French Paratrooper Units|Special Forces]]
| role = <br> • Direct action <br> • Special reconnaissance <br> • Counter-terrorism <br> • Foreign internal defense <br> • Unconventional warfare <br> Other roles: <br> • Hostage rescue <br> • Personnel recovery <br> • Humanitarian missions <br> • Information operations
| size = 865 authorized personnel (2017)
| current_commander = Colonel Cutajar
| garrison = [[Bayonne]], [[France]]
| nickname =
| motto = ''Qui Ose Gagne''<br>('''''[[Who Dares Wins]]''''')
| colors =
| march =
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| battles = [[World War II]]<br />[[First Indochina War]]<br/>[[Lebanese Civil War]]<br/>
[[Multinational Force in Lebanon]]<br/>
[[Operation Desert Storm]]<br/>[[Operation Enduring Freedom]]<br/>[[Operation Unicorn|OperationOpération Licorne]]<br/>[[Operation Serval]]<br/> [[Global War on Terrorism|Global War on Terrorism (2001–present)]]
| notable_commanders =
| anniversaries = Saint-Michel Day
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}}
 
The '''1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment''' ({{lang-fr|1<sup>er</sup> Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine''' ({{lang-en|1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment}}) or '''1<sup>er</sup> RPIMa''' is a unit of the [[French Army Special Forces Command]], therefore part of the [[Special Operations Command (France)|Special Operations Command]].
 
Heirs to the [[Free France|Free French]] [[paratrooper]]s fromof the 3rd and 4th squadrons of the [[Special Air Service]] (SAS) formedfounded in the [[United Kingdom]] during [[WWII]], the 1er RPIMa is sometimes referred to as the "French SAS" and still uses the same motto as their British counterparts to this day: '''{{lang|fr|Qui ose gagne}}''' (French for "''Who Dares Wins''").
 
== Origins ==
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* Night of June 5–6: parachuted into [[Brittany]], 36 paratroopers of the FFL in four groups (two over [[Plumelec]], two over [[Duault]]). The sole battle casualty in Plumelec (on June 6 at 0 h 40), caporal [[Emile Bouétard]], was probably the first casualty of the [[Operation Overlord|Normandy Landing]].
* June 1944: combined forces with the [[French Forces of the Interior]] (FFI) and the [[2nd Infantry Division (United States)|2nd U.S. Division]].
* June 1944: fighting along with the [[maquis de Saint-Marcel]], [[Morbihan]] and maquis of [[Duault]] in [[Côtes-d'Armor]]; a battalion (450 men) parachuted in with the [[French Forces of the Interior]] (FFI) 3000 total, tied up 85000 Germans in Brittany, preventing them from reaching [[Normandy]], and joined two divisions of [[George Patton]]’s's army on August 6.
* On July 1, 1944 the 4th Battalion was renamed [[2nd Parachute Chasseur Regiment|2<sup>e</sup> R.C.P S.A.S]] (2nd SAS Parachute Chasseur Regiment) of the [[Special Air Service|4th SAS Regiment]].
* August 1944: operations and SAS participation in the [[Liberation of Paris]].
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The Free French SAS took an important part in the liberation of Europe. In [[Brittany]], a little after midnight on [[D-Day]], June 6, 1944, [[caporal (military rank)|Caporal]] Emile Bouétard (born in Brittany, 1915) was the first soldier killed in action in [[Plumelec]], [[Morbihan]]. On August 1, 1944, the 3rd and 4th Air Infantry battalions were renamed the 2nd and 3rd Chasseur Parachute battalions. As a reward for their bravery, King [[George VI]] awarded the Free French SAS the right to wear the red beret of the British SAS, which replaced the black beret worn until then. As the war drew to a close, 52 French SAS "sticks" (705 men) were parachuted into the Netherlands on April 7, 1945, causing major havoc in the rear areas of German occupation forces and easing pressure on the forward thrust of the [[II Canadian Corps|2nd Canadian Army Corps]].
 
The Free French SAS took a major part in the epic battles{{clarify|date=August 2020}} of the SAS in Africa, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, earning French and foreign awards (including many British [[Distinguished Service Order|DSO]]s, [[Military Cross|MC]]s and [[Military medalMedal|MM]]s). The regimental colours of the 1<sup>er</sup> RPIMa have also been decorated with the U.S. [[Bronze Star Medal]], the Dutch [[Bronze Cross (Netherlands)|Bronze Cross]] and the Belgian [[Croix de Guerre]]. Today, this SAS heritage is still evident in its regimental motto "Qui Ose Gagne" ("Who Dares Wins") and in the awarding of the RAPAS Wings, reminiscent of the wartime SAS "Operational Wings" that can only be awarded to 1<sup>er</sup> RPIMa operators after they have successfully passed a series of strict selection requirements, including operational deployments.
 
=== 1945–1974 ===
{{Expand section|date=August 2020}}
[[File:Paul Détrie - Obsèques Bayonne 1962.jpg|thumb|250px|1<sup>er</sup> RPIMa in Bayonne, 1962]]
 
Between 1945 and 1954 the unit that was later to become the 1<sup>er</sup> RPIMa after a series of name changes, took part in the war in Indochina, performing several of the more than 160 combat jumps carried out by French paratroopers during that conflict. After the war, the regiment underwent structural changes and became a training depot for the entire colonial airborne forces. As such, it did not take part in the Algerian conflict.
 
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In the 80s and 90s the regiment deployed dozens of times to various hotspots on the planet. While engaged in [[Operation Desert Storm]], the 1<sup>er</sup> RPIMa lost two of its men in Iraq in 1991.
 
A year later, the creation of the French [[Commandement des Opérations Spéciales|Special Operations Command]] (Commandement des Opérations Spéciales, COS) led to a major shake-up of French special forces units to incorporate the [[lessons learned]] in the [[Gulf War|First Gulf War]]. As part of this process, in 1997, the nucleus of what was to become the army's BFST (Brigade des Forces Spéciales Terre) (Land Special Forces Brigade) was created and the 1<sup>er</sup> RPIMa became its core unit. All the while, the regiment participated in operations in the Balkans and in Africa; it was specifically involved in stalking war criminals in [[Bosnia]], leading to several successful arrests of individuals indicted for [[war crimes]].
 
== TodayCurrent deployment==
[[File:Insigne infanterie de marine.png|thumb|Shoulder insignia]]
Part of the [[French Army Special Forces Command]] (COM FST), theThe 1<sup>er</sup> RPIMa is a modern, highly skilled and experienced Special Forces unit organized along company lines which is part of the [[French Army Special Forces Command]] (COM FST). The main strength of the regiment lies in its three RAPAS companies (RAPAS meaning Airborne Reconnaissance and Special Action) each specialised in a specific field such as [[High-altitude military parachuting|HAHO/HALO]], Counter-Terrorism, amphibious, jungle, mountain or motorized patrols operations and its RAPAS Signal company dedicated to C3 (Command, Control and Communications) support for Special Operations.
 
The 1<sup>er</sup> RPIMa also fields a Training and Operations company tasked with providing selection, basic and continuation training of the unit's manpower and a logistics company which supports the regiment in its daily and operational missions. As the unit was inspired by the British [[Special Air Service]], it has still much in common with them, including missions and capabilities.
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== Organisation and structure ==
Due to its long history with the [[British Special Air Service]] much of the 1<sup>er</sup> RPIMaRPIMA core aspects are based upon the British SAS. Each company specialisesspecializes in a particular area such as maritime, air and parachuting operations, mobility.
* Four main RAPAS (Airborne Reconnaissance and Special Action) combat companies:
** 1<sup>e</sup> Compagnie: (Paratroopers:, [[HAHO]], [[HALO jump|HALO]], /general combat/counter-terrorism, and bodyguards)
** 2<sup>e</sup> Compagnie: mountainMountain, arctic, desert and jungle warfare
** 3<sup>e</sup> Compagnie: motorizedMotorized patrols
** 4<sup>e</sup> Compagnie: counterCounter terrorism, hostage rescue, and reconnaissance in urban areas
 
There is also one command and logistics company and a training and operations company which is in charge of recruiting, and initial and continuing training.
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== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070125010643/http://www.rpima1.terre.defense.gouv.fr/index.html 1er RPIMa Official website]
* [http://www.quiosegagne.asso.fr/ QUI OSE GAGNE: Association des Anciens Parachutistes Troupe de Marine et anciens de la Brigade des Parachutistes Coloniaux héritiers des S.A.S] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215101053/http://www.quiosegagne.asso.fr/ |date=2013-12-15 }}
* [http://www.quiosegagne.asso.fr/history/1st-rpima-today QUI OSE GAGNE: Association des Anciens Parachutistes Troupe de Marine et anciens de la Brigade des Parachutistes Coloniaux héritiers des S.A.S] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801101058/http://www.quiosegagne.asso.fr/history/1st-rpima-today |date=2021-08-01 }}
* QUI OSE GAGNE: Association des Anciens Parachutistes Troupe de Marine et anciens de la Brigade des Parachutistes Coloniaux héritiers des S.A.S
et anciens de la Brigade des Parachutistes Coloniaux héritiers des S.A.S
 
{{Authority control}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment, 1st}}
[[Category:Parachute infantry regiments of France]]
[[Category:Special forces of France]]
[[Category:20th-century regiments of France]]
[[Category:21st-century regiments of France]]
[[Category:Bayonne]]
[[Category:Companions of the Liberation]]
[[Category:CounterterroristMilitary counterterrorist organizations]]
[[Category:Marines regiments of France]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1941]]
[[Category:Parachute regiments of France]]
[[Category:Special forces of France]]
[[Category:Army reconnaissance units and formations]]