On 1 June 1956 the 25th Parachute Division was created in the 5th military region from the 25e DIAP and the Colonial Parachute Brigade.[2] The division included five airborne infantry Regiments, two airborne cavalry regiments and one unit of Parachute Artillery:
8th Colonial Parachute Regiment (8e RPC), created 28 February 1951 in Hanoi as the 8th Colonial Parachute Battalion; recreated on 1 May 1956 as the 8th Colonial Parachute Regiment; renamed on 1 December 1958 the 8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment.
On 1 December 1958 the Colonial Parachute Regiments underwent a designation change to Marine Infantry Parachute Regiments while retaining their numerical designation.
Two of the five airborne infantry regiments of the division; mainly, the 8th Colonial Parachute Regiment and the 14th Parachute Chasseur Regiment; participated from January to May 1958 in the Battle of Frontiers. Accordingly, GeneralRaoul Salan, superior commander in Algeria, delegated all five airborne infantry regiments to General Paul Vanuxem; commander of the zone est-constantinois (ZEC). The battle took place at both the Morice Line and Challe Line and lasted for about 5 months.[5]
^Collectif, Histoire des parachutistes français, Société de Production Littéraire, 1975. In Histoire des parachutistes français (History of French Paratroopers), page 544
^Collectif, Histoire des parachutistes français, Société de Production Littéraire, 1975. InHistoire des parachutistes français(History of French Paratroopers), page 449
^Collectif, Histoire des parachutistes français, Société de Production Littéraire, 1975. In Histoire des parachutistes français( History of French Paratroopers), pages 512 and 513
^Collectif, Histoire des parachutistes français, Société de Production Littéraire, 1975. In Histoire des parachutistes français(History of French Paratroopers), pages 496 and 541
^Collectif, Histoire des parachutistes français, Société de Production Littéraire, 1975.In Histoire des parachutistes français(History of French Paratroopers), pages 501 to 508
Sources and bibliography
Collectif, Histoire des parachutistes français, Société de Production Littéraire, 1975.
J. Baltzer & E. Micheletti, Insignes et brevets parachutistes de l'armée française, Histoires et collections, 2001, ISBN 2-913-903-118.
External links
History of the 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment, 9th Parachute Chasseur Regiment, 14th Parachute Chasseur Regiment and 18th Parachute Chasseur Regiment