I have recently gotten access to the Les Grandes Unites Francaises, Historiques Succints, Volunie's 1 to 5, Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1967-1970. This series covers all of the French Corps and Divisions which served in Europe as well as French North Africa from September of 1939 to May of 1945, excluding of course the period of June 1940 through November, 1942, a time when the French army was not engaged in combat. (The official view of the French government, not the writer.) Volumes 2 and 3 list the French Divisions that served during the period 1939-1940, and provide the make up for such exotic formations as the French Mountain Divisions, Light Infantry Divisions, as well as for the normal infantry, cavalry, and armored formations. In going through the divisional O/B's, I noted that there is one major differences between what we listed for the French Infantry Division O/B in issue 2 of the CP, and what the official history lists. The French History lists only one Regimental Pioneer Company, always numbered as the 13th Company of one of the Infantry Regiments present, as the only such unit present, instead of one per regiment. In addition, there is usually one Antitank Company listed as being present, called the #14 company of one of the divisions Infantry Regiment. Sometimes the companies are from the same infantry regiment, and sometimes they are listed as being from separate infantry regiments. Active and "A" divisions always have pioneer companies listed, while "B" divisions usually do, but not always. For AT guns, the 10th Battery of the Artillery Regiment is always present, regardless of the type of division. However active divisions always used the 47L53 here, while "A" and "B" divisions are noted as having the 75L36 in its place. In most of the A divisions, the 75L36 was replaced by an 47L53 before May of 1940, but the B divisions continued to use the 75L36 up to the end of the war. The changes to the formations already listed would be that the Divisional AT Battery would be the #14th Company of one of Infantry Regiments, and have the following for an active division For an "A" division, reduce number of guns, crews and limbers by one each. DIVISIONAL AT COMPANY, with: 1 Command Stand, 1 Car, 3 Gun Crew Stands, 3 Limbers, and 3 25L72 AT Guns There would be one pioneer infantry company per division, regardless of type, with: PIONEER INFANTRY COMPANY 1 Command Engineer Stand, 1 Engineer Flamethrower Stand, and 1 Supply Wagon Last, to each light artillery regiment, add the following; 1 ANTITANK BATTERY (Numbered as #10) "B" Divisions only) 1 Command Stand , 1 Car, 1 Limber, 1 Gun Crew Stand (DS) 1 75L36 Field Gun or (Active and "A" Divisions) 1 Command Stand, 1 Car, 1 Light Truck, 1 Gun Crew Stand , 1 47L53 AT Gun As mentioned earlier, information can be found in these volumes on a number of unusual French Army units, including the Mountain, Light, and other formations. For this issue of the CP, let me close with information on the Light Infantry Divisions that sailed to Norway in 1940: 1ST LIGHT DIVISION OF CHASSUERS Troop Quality: Experienced Morale: 9 DIVISIONAL HEADQUARTERS, with: 1 Command Stand 1 Command Car 1 Staff Telephone Truck 5th CHASSEUR DEMI BRIGADE, with: DEMI-BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS, with; 1 Command Stand 1 Car 1 Supply Truck 1 Support Stand 13th BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE, with BATTALION HEADQUARTERS, with 1 Command Stand and 1 Recon Infantry Stand 3 INFANTRY COMPANIES, each with: 1 Command Stand and 4 Infantry Stands WEAPONS COMPANY, with 2 MMG Stands and 1 81mm Mortar Stand (DS) 53rd BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE, as 13th Battalion 67th BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE, as 13th Battalion 27th CHASSEUR DEMI BRIGADE, with: DEMI-BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS, with; as 5th Brigade Headquarters 6th BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE, as 13th Battalion 12th BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE, as 13th Battalion 14th BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE, as 13th Battalion 6th AT COMPANY, 13th CHASSEURS DE ALPINE 1 Command Stand 1 Car 2 Gun Crew Stands 2 Light Trucks 2 25L72 AT Guns 31st SKI COMPANY, 13th CHASSEURS DE ALPINE 1 Command Ski Stand and 4 Recon Ski Infantry Stands 342nd INDEPENDENT TANK COMPANY, with 1 Command H 39 Tank and 2 H 39 Tanks 2nd INDEPENDENT COLONIAL ARTILLERY BATTALION, with BATTALION HEADQUARTERS: 1 Command Stand 1 FO Stand 2 Cars 1 Support Stand 2 Medium Supply Trucks 3 FUZING BATTERIES, each with 1 Command Stand 1 Tractor 1 Gun Crew (DS) 1 75L36 Field Gun 1013/404th ANTIAIRCRAFT BATTERY, with 1 Command Stand 1 Car 3 25L60 AA Guns 3 Gun Crew Stands 3 Light Trucks Notes 1. The division was organized on April 15th, 1940, and disbanded on July 31 of the same year. 2. 13th Demi Brigade of the Foreign Legion was attached to, but not part of this division while serving in Norway. 3. The 2nd Division was organized and ordered sent to Norway with the addition of a motorized engineer company, but was returned to France after the German invasion started. It was made up of the following units: DIVISIONAL HEADQUARTERS 2nd CHASSEUR DEMI BRIGADE DEMI-BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS 9th BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE 20th BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE 49th BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE 24th CHASSEUR DEMI BRIGADE DEMI-BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS 3rd BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE, 19th BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE 69th BATTALION, CHASSEURS DE ALPINE 6th AT COMPANY, 9th CHASSEURS DE ALPINE 343rd INDEPENDENT TANK COMPANY 1st COMPANY, 196th ENGINEER BATTALION 3rd INDEPENDENT COLONIAL ARTILLERY BATTALION 1026th ANTIAIRCRAFT BATTERY Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Newsletter #6 To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1991 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles covering military history and related topics are available at http://www.magweb.com