15th Infantry Division (France)

15th Infantry Division
15th Motorized Infantry Division (1940)
Division insignia 1977–1994
Active
  • 1875–1940
  • 1951–1962
  • 1977–1994
Country France
Branch French Army
Type Infantry, later Motorized infantry
Garrison/HQ
Motto(s) Utinam Victrix (1939)
Engagements
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Alphonse Juin
Insignia
1939 insignia

The 15th Infantry Division (French: 15e division d'infanterie (15e DI)) was an infantry division of the French Army originally formed after the end of the Franco-Prussian War that fought in World War I. It fought in World War II as the 15th Motorized Infantry Division, under the command of Alphonse Juin, surrendering during the Battle of France.

Reestablished on 1 March 1951, it was disbanded in 1962. The division was reformed again during the French Army reorganization of 1977. In the 1980s it was part of the 2nd Army Corps;[1] it was shifted into the 3rd Army Corps after the 2nd Army Corps was disestablished, and finally disbanded in 1994.

World War I

It was commanded by General Léon Bajolle upon mobilization. General Gaston d'Armau de Pouydraguin became commander on 14 October 1914. General Ferdinand Blazer was appointed commander on 24 March 1915, General François Collas on 15 July of that year, and General Louis Achille Arbanere on 9 March 1917.[2]

The division was assigned to the 8th Army Corps for the duration of the war.[2] It included the 29th Brigade with the 56th and 134th Infantry Regiments and the 30th Brigade with the 10th and 27th Infantry Regiments. Organic artillery support was provided by the 48th Field Artillery Regiment with three groupes of 75mm guns, while reconnaissance was provided by a cavalry squadron of the 16th Chasseur Regiment; in November 1915 it transferred to the 73rd Infantry Division. In January 1917, the 27th Regiment was transferred to the 16th Infantry Division. At the same time the division was reorganized to form a triangular structure, eliminating the brigade headquarters to include the 10th, 56th, and 134th Infantry Regiments, and was again assigned two squadrons from the 16th Chasseurs. In August 1918, the pioneer battalion of the 106th Reserve Infantry Regiment was attached to the division after being transferred from the 20th Army Corps.[3]

Cold War

The 15th Infantry Division was reestablished on 1 March 1951, and disbanded on 1 July 1962.[4]

The division was again reestablished during the 1977 reorganization of the French Army, with its headquarters at Limoges as part of the Strategic Reserve. In event of war, elements of it would be used as cadres for the reserve 115th Infantry Division. Under the 1983 reorganization of the French Army, the division was assigned to the 2nd Army Corps.[5]

Before its disbandment the division became part of the 3rd Army Corps.[6]

Général de brigade M. Zeisser (Michel, Maurice) was named commander of the division and of the 43e division militaire territoriale in 1991.

As of a decree of 6 July 1992, M. le général de division Genest (Claude, Jean, Maclou) was naméd commander of the division and of the circonscription militaire de défense de Limoges as of 1 September 1992.

As part of the reduction in the strength of the French Army during the 1990s after the end of the Cold War, the division was disbanded in a process concluding in 1994. Elements of the division were merged into the 27th Alpine Division to form the 27th Mountain Infantry Division on 1 July of that year.[7]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ NATO Order of Battle 1989 (p. 93)
  2. 1 2 Historical Service of the General Staff 1923, p. 119.
  3. ↑ Historical Service of the General Staff 1923, pp. 120–121.
  4. ↑ "Sous-série GR 5 U Archives des divisions et brigades" [Sub-series GR 5 U: Archives of divisions and brigades] (PDF) (in French). Defense Historical Service. p. 11. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Ruiz Palmer 1988, pp. 290–292.
  6. ↑ http://www.tanaka-world.net/?cat=7&annee=1990
  7. ↑ de Lespinois 2001, p. 740.

Bibliography

  • Historical Service of the General Staff (1923). Les armées françaises dans la Grande guerre [French armies in the Great War] (in French). X: I. Paris: Imprimerie nationale.
  • de Lespinois, Jerome (2001). L'armée de terre française: 1981-1996 [The French Army, 1981–1996] (in French). Paris: L'Harmattan. ISBN 9782747514156.
  • Ruiz Palmer, Diego A. (1988). "France". In Simon, Jeffrey. NATO-Warsaw Pact Force Mobilization (PDF). Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press. pp. 269–316. OCLC 246786702.
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