Fusiliers marins

The Fusiliers marins (lit. "Sailor Riflemen") are the specialized

• the protection of sensitive sites of the Navy (Naval bases, French Naval Aviation, transmission stations etc.);
• reinforcement of protection duties provided by Naval forces (maintaining order on board ship and the protection of naval vessels against attack).

The Fusiliers marins should not be confused with the

• The military colonial campaigns of the end of the 19th century,
• The expeditions in China, Cochinchina, Tonkin and Madagascar,
• The European conflicts in 1870, 1914–1918 and 1939–1945.

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, following the disaster of Sedan, several brigades of Fusiliers marins and naval artillerymen were engaged in combat at Bapaume and subsequently participated in the defense of Paris, notably at the Bourget and at L'Haÿ-les-Roses. This force formed part of the Government Armée versaillaise (French: armée versaillaise) employed in the suppression of the Paris Commune in 1871.

A detachment of Fusiliers marins defended the French Legation (diplomatic mission) in Peking during the

The Brigade de Fusiliers marins distinguished themselves at Dixmude, on the Yser, at Longewaede, Hailles and Laffaux during the early stages of World War I. Three French ships have been named after Dixmude.

The Fusiliers marins participated in the campaigns of

In 1945, the Far Eastern Marine Brigade (BMEO) was created with personnel from the

• 
  Fusiliers marins decorated after the Battle of the Yser
• 
  Inspections at sea are often carried out by Fusilliers marins.

Uniforms

The Sailor Riflemen wear a dark blue beret with their combat uniforms, pulled right with their own distinctive badge worn over the left eye or temple. Along with the Naval Commandos, they are unique among French forces in wearing the beret this way. When wearing regular dress uniforms, the sailor cap is worn by junior ratings and the peaked cap by senior petty officers and officers.

• 
  Parade uniform
• 
  Summer parade uniform
• 
  Standard combat clothing
• 
  The Fusiliers marins' beret badge
• 
  Fusiliers marins combat uniform insigna
• 
  Fusiliers marins parading with the sailor hat worn with camouflage uniform

Equipment

Weapons used

Assault rifles

• Famas G2 assault rifle
• HK416 assault rifle^[1]

Sniper rifles

• HK G3-SG1
• FR F2 sniper rifle

Shotguns

• Valtro PM5 M2
  shotgun

Pistols

• HK Marine semi-automatic pistol

Non-lethal

• Alsetex "Cougar" 56mm grenade launcher (used for riot control and other such purposes)
• X26 Taser weapon

Machine guns

• Browning machine gun Cal.50 M-2HB
• NF-1 machine gun

Rocket launchers

• AT4CS Anti-tank weapon

Inflatable boats

• Zodiac Hurricane 630 IO EDOP
• Zodiac Futura Mark II
• Zodiac Futura Mark III

Ground vehicles

• Light tactical vehicle Land Rover Defender 90 Td5
• ACMAT VT 4

Notable Fusiliers marins

• Admiral Philippe de Gaulle, son of General Charles de Gaulle
• Lieutenant Commander
  Henri de Pimodan, famous resistant, died in deportation
• Exporter
  in Syria (1941)
• Quarter-master Theo "Dudu" Dumas, a popular figure who appears in the film Taxi for Tobruk played by Lino Ventura
• Quarter-master
  Constant Duclos, the first French soldier to execute a parachute jump on 17 November 1915
• Lieutenant Georges Hébert, a pioneering French physical educator, theorist, and instructor
• Sub-Lieutenant
  Paul Henry, Fusilier marin officer, died defending the legation quarter of Peking (1900)
• Lieutenant Pierre Guillaume, a famous Fusilier officer of the French Indochina war, inspired the character of "Drummer Crab", the hero of the French film Le Crabe-tambour.
• Actor Jean Gabin made his military service in the Fusiliers marins in 1924.
• Mercenary Bob Denard served as a fusilier marin during the First Indochina War.

See also

• FORFUSCO
• Commandos Marine
• List of active French Navy ships
• List of ships of the line of France
• List of submarines of France
• List of escorteurs of the French Navy
• Sailors of the Imperial Guard

Notes

References

• M. Alexander, France and the Algerian War, 1954–1962: Strategy, Operations and Diplomacy, Routledge, 2002,
  ISBN 978-0-7146-8264-8
  .
• René Bail., DBFM, demi-brigade des fusiliers marins, Rennes : Marines, 2007,
  ISBN 978-2-915379-57-0
  .
• Edward L Bimberg, Tricolor over the Sahara the desert battles of the Free French, 1940–1942, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002,
  ISBN 978-0-313-01097-2
  .
• Fleury Georges, Les fusiliers marins de la France libre, Grasset, 1980,
  ISBN 2-246-09659-6
  or 978-2-246-09659-7.
• Major General USMC Paul J. Kennedy, Dinassaut Operations in Indochina: 1946–1954, 2001.
• Contre-Amiral Robert Kilian, Les Fusiliers marins en Indochine : La Brigade marine du corps expéditionnaire d'Extrême-Orient, septembre 1945 – mars 1947, Berger-Levrault, 1948.
• Charles W. Koburger, The French Navy in Indochina: Riverine and Coastal Forces, 1945–54, Praeger, 1991,
  ISBN 978-0-275-93833-8
  .
• Amiral La Roncière-Le Noury, La marine au siège de Paris, Plon, 1872.
• Georges Le Bail, La Brigade des Jean le Gouin; Histoire documentaire et anecdotique des Fusiliers marins, Paris, 1917.
• Adolphe Auguste Marie Lepotier, Les fusiliers marins, Editions France, 1962.
• L’évolution des opérations amphibies, La Revue maritime, n° 198, avril 1963, p. 424.
• Raymond Maggiar, Les fusiliers marins dans la division Leclerc, du débarquement en Normandie, en passant par Paris et Strasbourg jusqu'à Berchtesgaden, Paris : Albin Michel, 1947.
• Raymond Maggiar, Les fusiliers marins de Leclerc: une route difficile vers de Gaulle, Editions France-Empire, 1984,
  ISBN 978-2-7048-0341-5
  .
• Jean Pinguet, Trois Etapes de la Brigade des Fusiliers Marins – La Marne, Gand, Dixmude, 1918.
• Marcel Vigneras, Rearming the French,
  Office of the Chief of Military History
  , Dept. of the Army, US, 1957.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fusiliers marins.

• (in French)Présentation des fusiliers marins et commandos marine
• 'Dixmude' an Epic of the French Marines
• The Play-Boys of Brittany Les Fusiliers Marins
• DES DARDANELLES À NARVIK La réflexion sur les opérations combinées dans la marine française (1915-1940)
• Ecole des fusiliers marins et Commandos Marine / Lorient