22nd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers

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22nd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers - Wikipedia

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22nd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers
Regimental Insignia of the 22^e RMVE
Active	1939–1940
Country	France
Allegiance	French Foreign Legion
Branch	French Army
Type	Marching Regiment
Motto(s)	Volontaires Étranger (Foreign Volunteers)
Engagements	World War II Battle of France

The 22nd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers (French: 22^e Régiment de marche de volontaires étranger, 22^e RMVE) was a regiment of the French Foreign Legion formed from expatriates living in France at the outbreak of World War II. While established as a different unit, its veterans are recognized as part of the Foreign Legion. The 22nd RMVE resisted the German invasion of France in 1940, seeing major action along the Somme during the month of June.

History

On September 16, 1939, the government of Édouard Daladier established Foreign Workers Companies (French: compagnie de travailleurs étrangers) which were not part of the French Foreign Legion.^[1] These formations were called Régiments de marche de volontaires étrangers. The 22nd RMVE was composed largely of Spanish Republicans who had fled to France after Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War.^[2] The unit trained at Bacarès before being deployed to Alsace on May 6, 1940.^[3] On May 10, the 22nd RMVE was attached to the 19th Infantry Division, under the command of General Toussaint. On May 19 the 22nd RMVE departed its positions near Altkirch and traveled by rail to Boran-sur-Oise, arriving May 21.^[4]

During the regiment's deployment along the Weygand Line, Gen. Toussaint grew increasingly dissatisfied with the unit's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Pierre Villiers-Moriame, a reserve officer who he believed to be incompetent. On May 25 the 22nd RMVE was ordered to retake the village of Villers-Carbonnel but failed to dislodge the German troops from the town. Following this failure Gen. Toussaint demanded that the 22nd RMVE be replaced by a French regiment, or that all of its senior officers be replaced. The commander of the 1st Army Corps, Major General Sciard, had no units with which to replace the regiment, and responded by sacking the units commanders - along with Toussaint himself. Command of the 22nd RMVE was given to Major Paul Hermann, a regular army officer formerly of the 41st Infantry Regiment. Command of the 19th Division was given to Gen. Fernand Lenclud, formerly of the 11th Infantry Division.^[4]

On June 5-6, the regiment defended the villages of Fresnes-Mazancourt, Misery, and Marchélepot. In Fresnes, the 6th Company under Lieutenant Rigal held out through 25 hours of continuous combat, the men surrendering only after they had exhausted their ammunition. Major Hermann was captured and taken prisoner. Captain Guy Pascier de Franclieu, commander of the regiment's 3rd Battalion, held out for another 3 hours, again ordering a surrender only when ammunition was exhausted. Capt. de Franclieu was wounded during this action. Gen. Lenclud and his staff officers praised the regiment for "very fine conduct and steadiness under fire."^[4] During this battle, the 22nd RMVE suffered a casualty rate of nearly 70%, including 5 officers killed and 21 wounded.^[5]

Organization

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References

^ Porch, Douglas (1992).The French Foreign Legion: The Complete History of the Legendary Fighting Force, p. 455. HarperCollins, New York. ISBN 0-06-092308-3.
^ Alexander, Martin S. (2007). "After Dunkirk: The French Army's Performance against 'Case Red', 25 May to 25 June 1940". War in History. 14 (2): 246. doi:10.1177/0968344507075873. ISSN 0968-3445. JSTOR 26070790. S2CID 153751513.
^ Porch p. 458-461
^ ^a ^b ^c Alexander, Martin S. (2007). "After Dunkirk: The French Army's Performance against 'Case Red', 25 May to 25 June 1940". War in History. 14 (2): 247. doi:10.1177/0968344507075873. ISSN 0968-3445. JSTOR 26070790. S2CID 153751513.
^ Alexander, Martin S. (2007). "After Dunkirk: The French Army's Performance against 'Case Red', 25 May to 25 June 1940". War in History. 14 (2): 256. doi:10.1177/0968344507075873. ISSN 0968-3445. JSTOR 26070790. S2CID 153751513.

French Foreign Legion

Current
units

General Staff Headquarters	Foreign Legion Command
Command Administrative	1st Foreign Regiment 4th Foreign Regiment Foreign Legion Recruiting Group
Music band	French Foreign Legion Music Band
Infantry & parachute infantry	1st Foreign Regiment 4th Foreign Regiment 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment 13th Demi-Brigade Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte
Cavalry	1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment
Engineers & parachute engineers	1st Foreign Engineer Regiment 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment
Training	4th Foreign Regiment Jungle Training Center Combat Training Center at Arta Beach

Defunct
units

Administrative and training	Communal Depot of the Foreign Regiments
Parachute	Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion 2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion 3rd Foreign Parachute Battalion Foreign Air Supply Company 3rd Foreign Parachute Regiment 1st Foreign Parachute Heavy Mortar Company
Infantry & marching regiments	Mounted companies Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion 2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment 3rd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment 4th Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment/Garibaldi Legion 1st Marching Regiment of the 2nd Foreign Regiment 2nd Marching Regiment of the 2nd Foreign Regiment Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment 11th Foreign Infantry Regiment 12th Foreign Infantry Regiment Marching Regiments of Foreign Volunteers 21st Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers 22nd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers 23rd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers
Saharan Legion units	Saharan Companies of the French Foreign Legion
Pioneers & engineers	6th Foreign Engineer Regiment
Cavalry	2nd Foreign Cavalry Regiment 97th Reconnaissance Group of the Infantry Division
Transport (armored trains & heavy weight)	Armored Train of the Foreign Legion Passage Company of the Foreign Legion (CPLE) 5th Heavy Weight Transport Company
Disciplinary companies	Disciplinary Company of the Foreign Regiments in the Far East
Brigades	31st Brigade

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References