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Airborne unit of the French Army From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (French: 6e Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine, 6e RPIMa) is an airborne infantry unit of the French Army.
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| 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment | |
|---|---|
| 6e Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine | |
 Regimental insigne | |
| Active | 1948–1998 2019-Present (same unit, different designations) 6e GCCP 1950 6e BPC 1951 6e RPC 1955 6e RPIMa 1958–1998 |
| Country | France |
| Branch | French Army |
| Type | Marine Troops |
| Role | Airborne |
| Nickname(s) | Bataillon Zatopek |
| Motto(s) | Croire et Oser (To Believe and Dare) |
| Colors | Red and Blue |
| Anniversaries | Saint-Michel Day |
| Engagements | First Indochina War *Battle of Mạo Khê *Operation Castor *Battle of Dien Bien Phu Algerian War Lebanese Civil War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Chef de bataillon Marcel Bigeard |
The Colonial Parachute Battalions trace their origins to the 1st Colonial Parachute Commando Demi-Brigade in Brittan. The demi-brigade was heir to the paratroopers of Free France, the SAS Demi-Brigade and the group of shock ("choc") parachute battalions.
The 6e BCCP travelled to Indochina on July 28. The battalion fought valiantly on various sectors of the battle front and on March 30, 1951, the battalion resisted an enemy force four times larger for an entire night. Following a five hours of hand-to-hand combat, the battalion endured the loss of 51 men and 97 wounded.[1] The battalion was accordingly dissolved on August 20, 1951 during embarkation for France.
It was recreated on July 5, 1952. It fought at Tu Lê, in October 1952 and then Langson, in July 1953.
The battalion fought at Dien Bien Phu. On November 20, 1953, it was part of the initial parachute entry during Operation Castor. On March 16, 1954, the 6th targeted the landing zone in the middle of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Despite heroic acts of valor, the battalion disappeared again, and was accordingly reconstituted.
Reformed in Marrakech, French protectorate of Morocco, on 1 August 1955 and named 6th Colonial Parachute Regiment. Active in the French colonies of French protectorate of Tunisia, French protectorate of Morocco and, particularly, French Algeria during the Algerian War as a part of the 10th Parachute Division.
The regiment left French Algeria on 6 July 1961 and went to Verdun. From January 1963 it was stationed in Mont-de-Marsan, the old instruction base for the Colonial Parachute Brigade.
The regiment deployed multiple times to Lebanon. It served within the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and with the Multinational Force in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War. It served alongside the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment, the 1st Parachute Hussard Regiment and the 31e Brigade which included the Operational Group of the Foreign Legion, the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment, the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment and the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment.
The regiment was dissolved 30 June 1998.
In the summer of 2017, the initial training center for non-commissioned members of the Caylus camp became "CFIM, le 6e RPIMa" then in April 2019 officially recreated under the name of 6e RPIMa.
French army metropolitan and marine paratroopers wear the Red Beret.
The Archangel Saint Michael, patron of the French paratroopers is celebrated on 29 September.
The prière du Para (Prayer of the Paratrooper) was written by André Zirnheld in 1938.
Just like the paratrooper Brevet of the French Army, the Insignia of French Paratroopers was created in 1946. The French Army Insignia of metropolitan Paratroopers represents a closed "winged armed dextrochere", meaning a "right winged arm" armed with a sword pointing upwards. The Insignia makes reference to the Patron of Paratroopers. In fact, the Insignia represents "the right Arm of Saint Michael", the Archangel which according to Liturgy[dubious – discuss] is the "Armed Arm of God". This Insignia is the symbol of righteous combat and fidelity to superior missions. The French Army Insignia of Marine Infantry Paratroopers is backgrounded by a Marine Anchor.
The insignia is mounted with an SAS dagger and was never modified, aside of the various successive inscriptions "BCCP", then "RPC", and finally "RPIMa".
The regiment was heir to the 6e BCCP created in 1948 and the 6e RPC. The Regimental Color of the 6e RPIMa, heir of the 6th parachute battalion bears the inscription "INDOCHINE" with 5 citations at the orders of the armed forces for the following:
The regimental color was passed to Colonel Romain-Desfossés at Blida on November 5, 1957 by General Jean Gilles.
In eleven years of operations, the regiment endured the loss of 23 officers, 70 sous-officiers and 480 ranker paratroopers.
The regiment bears wearing in golden letters in the folds, the following inscriptions:[2][3]
The regimental colors of the 6th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment is decorated with:
The regiment bears wearing 2 fourragère:
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CFIM/6e RPIMa
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