Battalion formed in 1940, it was engaged in the operations of Free France from the start:from the Dakar fiasco to the fighting in the Levant, it was transformed into an anti-aircraft battalion, it assumed the anti-aircraft defense of the entrenched camp of Bir Hakeim, it followed the future which 1st DFL throughout the North African campaign alongside Montgomery's VIIIth Army in 1943 it was transformed into an armored reconnaissance regiment of the 1st DFL
Creation
On September 24, 1943, the 1st Battalion of Marine Fusiliers having inflated its numbers with volunteers from the North African Navy (in particular radios and mechanics), became the 1st Marine Rifle Regiment (1er RFM), an armored unit of recognition of the 1st DFL. Command was given to Lieutenant Commander Hubert Amyot d'Inville. It was then equipped with American equipment, in particular M3 stuart light tanks
Campaigns
Italy
After sustained training, the 1st RFM landed in Naples within the 1st DFL, on April 22, 1944. It was part of the battle plan which was to undertake to break the German front which barred all of Italy south of Rome , from May 12, 1944. After the heavy fighting on the Garigliano, the RFM (which is in the vanguard of the Division on three axes) fights brilliantly at Montefiascone and Radicofani. He had 61 killed, including Amyot d'Inville, and 140 wounded.
Provence
At the end of the Second World War, he landed in Provence, at Cavalaire-sur-Mer, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Pierre de Morsier.
The unit fights for the liberation of Toulon and Hyères, then goes up the Rhone Valley, enters Lyon evacuated by German troops, then reaches Autun; the Savary squadron enters there after a hard clash during which five men are killed and four wounded. Savary is, at this time in Côte d'Or, the liaison with units of the 2nd Armored Division (Leclerc) landed in Normandy. The RFM continues its advance towards the Vosges.
Rhone Valley
He made the connection with the 1st spahis regiment (landed in Normandy with the 2nd Armored Division) at Châtillon-sur-Seine on September 121. This fact is considered as one of the junctions between the Allied troops of Normandy and those of Provence (see also Nod-sur-Seine and its Monument de la Jonction).
Haute-Saône
On September 27, the tank squadron led the attack on Clairegoutte before taking Ronchamp on October 8, then Vescemont, Rougegoutte, Romagny and Rougemont-le-Château the following month. Particularly distinguished in these operations:the ensign Bokanowski, the midshipman Vasseur and, alongside the sailors, the men of the 11th Cuir-Vercors who were placed under the orders of the 1st RFM.
Royan Pocket Fights
After the Vosges campaign, the 1st DFL was sent to the Atlantic front to reduce the Royan pocket, but was urgently recalled to the Eastern front. Indeed, von Rundstedt launched an offensive in December 1944 and we had to face it.
Alsace
In January 1945, marine riflemen distinguished themselves again in Alsace, at Herbsheim and Rossfeld, before continuing their victorious march forward towards the Rhine.
Alps
Withdrawn from the Alsace front, the Division was assigned to the detachment of the Army of the Alps in April 1945, in the Authion massif where the 1st squadron distinguished itself, losing in the offensive five out of six officers and nearly 50 % of staff engaged.
Honors and distinctions
Combat losses
Between October 1940 and May 1945, the 1er BFM / 1er RFM unit lost 195 men, including 12 officers, including 2 of its commanders.
Decorations
Were awarded to these men:
200 war crosses,
70 military medals,
32 Legion of Honor,
31 Liberation crosses.
The flag of the 1st RFM has 5 citations to the order of the army obtained for 1939-1945 with attribution of the cross of the Liberation, the medal of the French Resistance and the war cross.
In August 1945, the 1st RFM was handed over to the naval authorities.
Liberation Order
The mechanic sailor Georges Brières, killed in Giromagny, rests in vault no. 8 of the Crypt of the Memorial of Fighting France at Mont Valérien. It represents the sacrifice of all the dead sailors for the Liberation of France.
Traditions
The flag, the memory and the tradition of the 1st Marine Rifle Regiment are now entrusted to the Lorient Rifle School. With the RBFM, he showed the value of the French weapons forged for the liberation of our country.