The 3rd Parachute Chasseur Regiment, or 3rd RCP, was a French unit of World War II known in the British Army as the 3rd SAS Regiment. Involved in the operations for the liberation of France and Holland, he disappeared at the end of the conflict and reappeared briefly between 1979 and 1998.
Creation and different denominations
June 6, 1943:creation of the 3rd Air Infantry Battalion (3rd BIA).
April 1, 1944:the 3rd BIA becomes the 3rd Parachute Chasseur Regiment (3rd RCP).
Summer 1945:dissolution of the 3rd RCP. The personnel are transferred to the 2nd RCP
1979:new creation of the unit within ETAP.
1998:dissolution of the 3rd RCP.
2006-2008:Givet commando training center.
History of garrisons, campaigns and battles
Successive garrisons
Camberley
Kilmarnock (Scotland)
Camp d'Auchinlech
Nantes
World War II
While at the end of 1942 the 1st BIA was formed in England within the FAFL, Captain O'Cottereau, whose real name was Jean-Marie Bouvier, and Captain Fournier, gathered FFL volunteers in Cairo. The unit, which was actually created in Rouïba in Algeria, was transferred to Tripolitania in Libya and to Mena Camp in Egypt before joining Rouïba again in October with a strength of around 600 men.
Officially formed on June 6, 1943, the 3rd BIA joined the Camberley camp in England on November 7. The unit, now reduced to around 300 men, is commanded by Captain Château-Jobert, known as "Conan".
The 3rd and 1st and BIA which has just been renamed 4th BIA are grouped together in a half-brigade, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Durand, a former member of the Corps Franc d'Afrique. Integrated into the British forces4, the men benefit from access to SAS training centres:commando instruction at Largo, jumping at Ringway, obstacle course at Cirensester...
The English parachutist certificate is obtained after eight jumps:two from a tethered balloon, five from an airplane and finally a last night jump again from a balloon. The badge received by the students to sanction the training was designed by Captain Bergé, it is made of fabric and is sewn on the chest.
At the end of January 1944 the demi-brigade was transferred to Scotland. On April 1, the two BIAs took the name of parachute hunter regiment (RCP). The 3rd and 4th BIA thus become respectively the 3rd and 2nd RCP.
The mission of the SAS is that of the commandos. Unlike conventional parachute troops, its role is not to engage the German army but to operate in the rear of sabotage and harassment missions. Without support, the missions are carried out by small teams, often the size of a stick, which act quickly and pick up immediately.
The composition of an SAS regiment, whose size is in fact close to that of a large infantry battalion, is in theory 600 men divided into:
a command company (squadron) comprising a signal section (troops) with 12 radio teams, a support section, a protection section and the services;
a motorized company with four platoons of 4 jeeps;
three combat companies, each with a command section and two combat sections with four groups (sticks).
The staffing rate of the unit is twice that of a battalion. It has sixty to sixty five officers and seventy non-commissioned officers, i.e. one fifth of the total workforce.
Each man is equipped with a Colt 45, an American dagger and a carbine with folding stock or a Sten gun. The collective armament is limited to Bren machine guns and anti-tank weapons of the Bazooka or Piat type.
While the 2nd RCP was fully deployed in Brittany during the landing operations in June 1944, the 3rd RCP waited in England. He was finally entrusted with the action of covering the southern flank of the 3rd US Army which had just landed in Normandy and which was rushing from west to east across the country. Between July 16 and October 7, 1944, the regiment was parachuted into France along a Nantes - Lyon line. Its role is to contain the German troops, approximately 100,000 men, who are moving north.
A first detachment, under the orders of Captain Simon and made up of the reinforcement squadron, a half command squadron and the 3rd squadron intervenes in Poitou and the Limousin from mid-July, goes back to Châteauroux and Issoudun at the beginning of September before to regroup in early October south of the Saint-Nazaire pocket.
Captain Sicaud's 2nd squadron was first parachuted into Finistère on the night of August 4 to 5 (region of Plougastel-Daoulas, Landerneau and Morlaix). Its mission was to protect the bridges necessary for the progression of armored units of the American army. He finally joined the 1st squadron and the remaining command half squadron which has been deployed since August 12 around the cities of Lyon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Autun and Saint-Étienne.
After regrouping in the region of Ay Dizy and then in Épernay, the 3rd RCP marched through Paris on November 11, 1944. The regiment's record is eloquent:2,350 Germans killed, 2,976 wounded and 1,090 prisoners as well as 20 tanks or armored vehicles, 11 trains and a significant number of vehicles of all types destroyed for 39 killed and 72 wounded on the side of the paratroopers.
The two French SAS regiments were then engaged in Operation Amherst in Holland. The 696 SAS were parachuted into 19 drop zones between Ommen and Groningen. They precede the 2nd Canadian Corps and must confuse the enemy, prevent him from establishing a line of defense and preserve the bridges.
The operation was a success and the Canadians were able to destroy the German 6th Parachute Division. The losses of the two SAS regiments are heavy and represent more than 20% of the troops engaged. The 3rd RCP thus lost 12 killed, 40 missing and 20 wounded.
In June 1945, at the end of the Second World War, the airborne troops left the Allied bosom. On August 6, the three parachute fighter regiments and the 4th RIA SAS, which had just been permanently attached to the Army, were incorporated into the brand new 24th Airborne Division (24th DAP).
With the return to their homes of reservists and enlisted for the duration of the war, it is no longer possible to maintain all the units. The 3e RCP was thus dissolved and absorbed by the 2e RCP, the command of which was entrusted to Lieutenant-Colonel de Bollardière.
On October 2, 1945, during a ceremony in honor of the French SAS regiments of the 24th DAP commanded by General Bonjour, Brigadier Calvert presented Wellington's hat to the 3rd RCP and Napoleon's to the 2nd RCP.
After war
The 3rd RCP was recreated in 1979 within the school of airborne troops for which it provided support and logistics16. Although its main mission is to ensure the protection of the territory, it can also be projected outside the metropolis. In 1996, it briefly took the name "School of Airborne Troops, the 3rd Parachute Chasseur Regiment" (ETAP/3rd RCP).
The unit was disbanded again in 1998 as part of the reorganization of the armies.
The traditions of the 3rd RCP were taken over by the Commando Training Center (CEC) in Givet in August 2006 (by dissolving the 9th Regiment of Zouaves, previously a traditional unit of the CEC) until the dissolution of the latter in 2009 .
Traditions
Currency
"Who dares wins" is the general motto of the SAS, it translates into French as "Qui dares wins".
Insignia
During the Second World War, the men of the 3rd RCP did not have any insignia that was specific to the unit. Incorporated into the British troops, they wore English uniforms and wore the SAS insignia on their berets and the FFL parachutist patent on their chests. Sometimes SAS wings reward their participation in war operations.
The specific insignia of the 3rd was not created until the second birth of the unit in 1979. Its symbolism largely recalls its SAS origin from the Second World War:the shield is an amaranth color, it is crossed by a Free France paratrooper certificate and features the SAS motto Who dares wins.
Flag
The flag of the French SAS was handed over to the two BIAs on May 11, 1944 by General Valin of the FAFL. Entrusted to the custody of the 4th BIA, it was then transferred to the 2nd RCP then to the half-brigade of SAS paratroopers of Indochina whose heir and the 1st RPIMa.
The common flag of the SAS is the most decorated of the Second World War and his tie bears the fourragère of the Legion of Honor:
Knight of the Legion of Honor,
Companion of the Liberation,
War Cross 1939-1945 with seven palms,
Belgian War Cross 1939-1945,
Bronze Star Medal (United States),
Order of the Dutch Lion Medal,
It has the following seven inscriptions obtained for his seven citations to the order of the army:
Crete 1942
Libya 1942
South-Tunisian 1943
Brittany
Loire18
Belgian Ardennes 1945
Holland 1945
To differentiate the unit, Château Jobert then de Bollardière nevertheless had specific pennants made in 1944 and 1945.
The 3rd RCP only received its own flag on February 15, 1982. Its inscriptions are:
France 1944
Holland 1945
His tie is decorated with the Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with two palms and bears the fourragère in the colors of the Croix de guerre 1914-1918 with olive 1939-1945.
Decorations
The 3rd RCP obtains two citations at the order of the Air Force for its action during the Second World War and thus obtains two war crosses with palms. The first for the fights fought between July 16 and October 7, 1944 having allowed the liberation of 9 provinces from Brittany to Limousin and Franche Comté. The second for his actions of harassment in Holland from April 7, 1945 ahead of Canadian troops. This last citation is accompanied by the right to wear the fourragère in the colors of the Croix de Guerre.
Finally, the unit obtained on May 9, 1950 for this same operation, the Dutch Bronze Lion.
Leaders
1943 - 1943:Commander O'Cottereau (real name Bouvier)
1943 - 1944:Captain then Commander Château-Jobert alias "Conan"
1944 - 1945 :lieutenant-colonel de Bollardière
1979 - 1981:colonel Baulain
1981 - 1983:colonel Chiama
1983 - 1985:colonel Household
1985 - 1987:Colonel Coiffet
1987 - 1989:Colonel Charrier
1989 - 1990:Colonel de Badts de Cugnac
1991 - 1994:colonel Chanteclair
1994 - 1996:colonel Bourgain
1996 - 1998:colonel Menard
1998 - 1998:Lieutenant-Colonel Rideau
Achievements
The unit particularly distinguished itself during the battles for the liberation of France at the end of 1944 and those of Holland in the spring of 1945 (Operation Amherst). These two feats of arms are also the subject of collective citations and inscriptions on the unit flag.
Personalities who served in the regiment
The unit commanders will later go down in history:
Jean-Marie Bouvier alias "O'Cottereau" (1896 - 1964):politician who will be elected deputy in 1946 and 1951.
Pierre Chateau-Jobert alias "Conan" (1912 - 2005):senior officer of the French army, Companion of the Liberation and former leader of the OAS.
Jacques Pâris de Bollardière:general officer of the French army and Companion of the Liberation he is known for his positions against torture in Algeria.
Edgard Tupët-Thomé alias "Thomé" or "Tom", Lieutenant second in command of the 2nd company of the 3rd BIA, liberator of Daoulas, Landerneau, and Clerval