2nd Marine Infantry Regiment

Creation and different nominations

• 1622 : Creation by the cardinal Richelieu of the Compagnie Ordinaire de la Mer.
• 1822 : Ordinance of the King prescribing the formation of Marine Infantry Regiments.
• The Royal Ordinance by Louis Philippe I, the King of the French of May 14, 1831, created two infantry regiments assigned to the ordinary service of garrisons in the French colonies.
• 1870 : 2nd Marching Marine Infantry Regiment.
• March 1, 1890 : doubling of the regiment : formation of the 6th Colonial Infantry Regiment
• 1900 - 1942 : designated as 2nd Colonial Infantry Regiment 2^e RIC, and garrisoned at Brest.
• 1941 - 1945 : 1/2 brigade DFL.
• 1945 - 1947 : designated 2nd Colonial Infantry Regiment.
• 1947 : 2nd Colonial Infantry Battalion, 2^e BIC.
• 1947 - 1954 : Marching Battalion of the 2^e RIC in Indochina, then Algeria.
• 1951 - 1955 : 2nd Colonial Infantry Battalion.
• 1958–present : 2nd Colonial Infantry Regiment 2^e RIC designated as 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment 2^e RIMa.

  History

Ancien Regime

Wars of the Revolution & Empire

• 1813 : German Campaign of 1813
• * October 16–19 : Battle of Leipzig
• 1814 : Campaign of France
• * February 14, 1918 : Battle of Vauchamps

  1815 to 1848

• 1823: Spanish expedition; campaign Madagascar and South America.
• Conquest of Marquesas Islands and Society Islands.

  Second Empire

• 1854 : Bomarsund Franco-British Campaign in the Baltic Sea.
• August 31, 1854 : the 2^e RIMa, stationed at Rochefort moved to Brest.
• Crimean War.
• Second French Intervention in Mexico : siege of Puebla.
• Campaigns in the Extreme-Orient.
• 1869 : the regiment was distributed between Brest, Cochinchine and Guadeloupe.
• August 17, 1870: the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment 2^e RIMa was part of the Armée de Châlons of Marshal de MacMahon.

• August 23–26 : Marching towards the East.
• August 31, 1870 : Battle of Bazeilles.
• For a first time, the 2nd Marine engaged in combat on metropolitan soil. On August 31 and September 1, 1870, engaged at the corps of the Blue Division, the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment 2^e RIMa disappeared in a heroic battle against the Prussians, until the "last shot".

  1870 to 1914

• During the Paris Commune in 1871, the regiment participated with the Armée Versaillaise.
• Operations of the campagne du Soudan.
• Tonkin Campaign.
• Expedition of the Formose and occupation of Pescadores islands.
• At the Siege of Tuyên Quang: 600 men of the regiment unblocked the garrison.
• Madagascar.
• First Dahomey campaign.
• Struggle against the Boxer Rebellion in China.
• Moroccan Campaign.

  World War I

• 1914 : still stationed at Brest, the regiment was part of the 1st Colonial Brigade of the 3rd Colonial Infantry Division 3^e DIC.

1914

• Operations of the IIIrd Army and IVth Army:
• Battle of the Frontiers,
• August 22 : Battle of Rossignol
• August 24 : Saint-Vincent.
• November 17–18 : Offensives of Argonne, wooden forest de la Gruerie

1915

• July - August : Operations in Argonne.
• September 25 - October 6 : Second Battle of Champagne.

  1916

• July : Battle of the Somme: Barleux, Belloy-en-Santerre.

  1917

• Avril - May : Le Chemin des Dames.
• Octobre 25 - Novembre 6 : Verdun 1917: Les Chambrettes.

  1918

• July 12–23 : Mailly-Raineval.
• August 8 : Les Éparges.
• Novembre 7-10: Hauts-de-Meuse.

  Interwar period

World War II

1940

• Engaged at Amiens, the regiment was dissolved in November 1940.

  1941

• Battle of Keren, February 23
• Battle of Keren, February 26
• Massaoua, April 8

  1942

• The 2nd Brigade of Free France was officially formed in Syria in April 1942. The brigade participated to the campaigns in Libya 1942 and Tunisia.

  1943

• Battle of Takrouna, May 11, 1943
• Italian Campaign

  1944

• Battle of Pontecorvo
• Campaign of France, Toulon and Colmar.

  1945

• By orders of the général Charles de Gaulle, on May 25, 1945, the 2nd brigade of the 1^re DFL retook the traditions of the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment.
• Général de Gaulle, made the 2nd Colonial Infantry Regiment 2^e RIC, a Compagnon de la Libération and awarded the regiment, the croix de la Libération, while the fourragere received olive colors of the Croix de guerre 1939-1945.

  1945 to present

• Indochina War where the 1st Marching Battalion was attributed the croix de guerres des TOE with palm. The Légion d'honneur was awarded to the regimental colors on July 14, 1952.
• Algeria: the 2^e RIC mounted with 3 battalions was sent in full to Algeria sectors Khenchela, El Kantara and Batna, sectors of Orleans Town, Valley Soumman.
• At the cease-fire on March 19, 1962, in Algeria, the 2^e RIMa constituted among 91 other regiments, part of the 114 local forces. The I/2^e RIMa was a local force of the Algerian order of battle, 442°UFL-UFO and la 443°UFO, composed of 10% metropolitan military and 90% Muslim Military, and which during the transition period were at the service of the executive provisional Algerian authority, until the independence of Algeria.
• The regiment garrisoned in the Sarthe in 1963: a part in Le Mans, a party to Auvours.
• The 2^e RIMa participated since professionalization in 1978 to numerous operations on the continents. The 2nd Marine illustrated capability notably in Chad in Mauritania in Lebanon, former Yugoslavia in Albania in Central in Côte d'Ivoire in Guyana in New Caledonia at Senegal in Kosovo in Bosnia and Herzegovina at Cameroon in Macedonia, Afghanistan.
• During the first Gulf War, the regiment was cited at the orders of the brigade on May 10, 1991, this citation included the croix de guerre des TOE with bronze star.
• Ivory Coast - 2003 and 2004 : the regiment was deployed in the south-west of the republic and assured the return of the refugees while pushing back rebels that terrorized the region. Stability required two months. Accordingly, the regiment was sent to center of the country. The mission was to assure the neutrality of the confidence zone. The regiment endured the loss of the 3 Marines at Bouake on November 6, 2004.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: the 2^e RIMa illustrated capability on May 27, 1995, by retaking an observation post point of the FORPRONU. The regiment was the last French regiment to arm and command the Franco-Spanish Battalion. The mission was to collect the detained arms and facilitate the reorganization of French forces in the zone.
• Tchad in 2005, the regiment composed with a squadron of the 1^er RIMa, the terrestrial group of French elements based in Tchad.
• In 2006, the 2^e RIMa was engaged in Lebanon in the evacuation of French personnel and the containment of populations in danger.
• 500 Marines of the 2^e RIMa reinforced elements of other regiments formed officially the Tactical Interarm Group Richelieu since November 25, 2010. This groupment joined Suroni in Afghanistan a couple day later for a mission of 6 months. middle of June 2011, the marsouins were relieved by the battle group of the 152nd Infantry Regiment. On Jul 7 2011, battalion Richelieu would be dissolved.
• The regiment endured the loss of 2 marsouins in Kapisa on April 20, 2011, resulting from a mine explosion which wounded three others.
• On May 18, 2011 Marsouin 1st Class Cyril Louaisil died, and four others were injured following an accidental explosion in eastern Afghanistan.
• 2013 : Mali, Operation Serval. A unit of the 2^e RIMa integrated the 1st interarm tactical group, the unit intervened with units of the 21st Marine Infantry Regiment 21^e RIMa, the 1^er RHP, the 3rd Marine Artillery Regiment 3^e RAMa, the 6th Engineer Regiment 6^e RG, the 3^e RPIMa, the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment 1^er REC and CPA 20. The unit conducted the operation alongside the Malian Army on January 28, 2013.

  Subordinations

Organization

• * 1^re compagnie de combat - 1st Infantry Company
• * 2^e compagnie de combat - 2nd Infantry Company
• * 3^e compagnie de combat - 3rd Infantry Company
• * 4^e compagnie de combat - 4th Infantry Company
• * 5^e compagnie de combat - 5th Infantry Company
• * 6^e compagnie de réserve - 6th Reserve Infantry Company
• * 12^e compagnie de réserve - 7th Reserve Infantry Company
• * Compagnie d'éclairage et d'appui - Support Company
• * Compagnie de commandement et de logistique - Command and logistics company

  Traditions

Motto

Insignia of the 2^e RIMa

Regimental Song

Regimental Colors

Battle Honours

• Bomarsund 1854
• Puebla 1863
• Bazeilles 1870
• Tuyen-Quan 1885
• la Marne 1914
• Champagne 1915
• la Somme 1916
• L'Aisne - Verdun 1917
• Kub Kub 1941
• El Alamein 1942
• Takrouna 1943
• Ponté Corvo 1944
• Toulon 1944
• Colmar 1945
• Indochine 1947-1954
• AFN 1952-1962

  Decorations

• Légion d'honneur
• Croix de la libération
• Croix de guerre 1914-1918 with:
• * 4 palms
• Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with:
• * 2 palm
• Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures with :
• * 1 bronze star and 1 palm
• The Regiment was made a Compagnon de la Libération
• croix de la Valeur militaire with:
• * 1 palm

• The regiment is entitled to wear the fourragere bearing the colors of the Médaille militaire awarded on December 25, 1919, with Croix de guerre 1914-1918 and Croix de guerre 1939-1945, awarded on September 18, 1946.
• The fourragere with colors of the Ordre de la Libération since June 18, 1996.

  Regimental Commanders

2^e RIMa (1869 - 1900)

• 1869 - 1870 : colonel Loubère
• 1870 : colonel Alleyron
• ...
• 1885 : colonel Frey
• ...

  2^er RIC (1900 - 1958)

2^er RIMa ( 1958 - present)

Gallery - 2^e RIMa

Notable Officers & Marines

• Joseph Gallieni, lieutenant in 1873.
• Joseph Aymerich, as lieutenant and captain in 1887-1888.
• Jean-Louis Delayen, regimental commander.