• Source: 15th Military Division (Vichy France)

The 15th Military Division (French: 15e Division Militaire) also known as the 15th Military Region (French: 15e Région Militaire) was an infantry formation of division-size of the Armistice Army that was active during World War II. The division's headquarters was in Marseille. This division was subordinated to the 1st Group of Military Divisions.




History


The 15th Military Division was formed on 12 September 1940. On 8 November 1942 at 15:00, just before Case Anton, the 15th Military Division positioned themselves for battle. Like the rest of the Army of Vichy France, this division, except for the Garde, was demobilized on 27 November 1942.




Commanders


General de corps d'armée (equivalent to Lieutenant-General) Henri-Fernand Dentz (27 June to 28 December 1940)
MG Maxime-Jean-Vincent Germain
MG Jean-Louis-Auguste Humbert or MG Jules-Phillipe Octave Decamp




Composition



The 15th Military Division's Order of Battle was such:

43rd Alpine Infantry Regiment (French: 43e Régiment d'Infanterie Alpine):
HQ (at Fréjus)
1st Bn. (at Fréjus)
2nd Bn. (at Fréjus)
3rd Bn. (at Arles)
21st Colonial Infantry Regiment (French: 21e Régiment d'Infanterie Coloniale):
HQ (at Marseille)
1st Bn. (at Marseille)
2nd Bn. (at Marseille)
3rd Bn. (at Tarascon)
173rd Autonomous Battalion (French: 173e Bataillon autonome de la Corse) (in Bastia, Corsica)
2nd Chasseurs Alpins Demi-brigade (French: 2e Demi-Brigade de Chasseurs Alpins) (HQ at Hyères)
20th Chasseurs Alpins Battalion (French: 20e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins) (at Digne)
24th Chasseurs Alpins Battalion (French: 24e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins) (at Hyères)
25th Chasseurs Alpins Battalion (French: 25e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins) (at Hyères)
12th Cuirassier Regiment (French: 12e Régiment de Cuirassiers) (in Orange):
1 cavalry bn - 2 sqns
1 bicycle bn - 2 cos
1 mixed bn - 1 bicycle co & 1 armored car co.
10th Colonial Artillery Regiment (French: 10e Régiment d'Artillerie Coloniale):
HQ (at Nîmes)
1st Bn. (each battalion had 3 75mm btrys) (at Nîmes)
2nd Bn. (each battalion had 3 75mm btrys) (at Marseille)
3rd Bn. (1 mot 75mm btry & 2 Mountain 75mm btrys) (at Draguignan)
7th Engineer Battalion (at Avignon)
8/15th Signals Group (at Avignon)
15th Transportation Group (at Marseille)
2nd Garde Regiment - HQ at Marseille
1er Bataillon
HQ - Marseille
1er Escadron - Cavalry/Reconnaissance
2e Escadron - Cavalry/Reconnaissance
3e Escadron - Infantry
4e Escadron - Motorcycle
2e Bataillon
HQ - Nice
5e Escadron - Motorcycle
6e Escadron - Infantry
7e Escadron - Infantry
8e Escadron - Infantry




= Military Commands

=
The following Departemental Military Commands (French: Commandant Militaire du Département) were under the 15th Military Division:

Bouches-du-Rhône (at Marseille)
Gard (at Nîmes)
Ardèche (at Privas)
Vaucluse (at Avignon)
Var (at Toulon)
Basses Alpes (at Digne)
Alpes Maritimes (at Nice)
Corse (at Bastia)
Numerous Military District Commands (French: Commandement du District Militaire) of these places were subordinated to the 15th Military Division:

Aix
Draguignan
Grasse
Ajaccio
Corte
Sartène




= Training grounds

=
The 15th Military Division had two training grounds, namely those at Carpiagne and Garrigues.




References






= Notes

=




= Footnotes

=




Sources


BnF (1 July 1997). Dentz, Henri-Fernand (1881-1945) (in French). Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
Nafziger, George (1992). "Vichy French Forces in France – 1 March 1941" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 January 2017.
Niehorster, Leo; Sharp, Lee (31 October 2014). "Vichy France – Order of Battle 15th Military Division – 15 April 1941". Archived from the original on 26 January 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
Niehorster, Leo; Sharp, Lee (31 October 2014). "Vichy France – Army in Metropolitan France – 15 April 1941". Archived from the original on 20 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
Paxton, Robert O. (2004). L'Armée de Vichy. Le corps des officiers français (in French). Tallandier. ISBN 9791021016774.
Pettibone, Charles D. (2010). The Organization and Order of Battles of Militaries in World War II. Vol. VI: Italy and France. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1426946332.
Vauvillier, François; Sumner, Ian (1998). The French Army 1939-45. Men-at-Arms. Vol. I. United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781855326668.

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Karier militer Dwight D. Eisenhower
• 15th Military Division (Vichy France)
• Government of Vichy France
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