17th Parachute Engineer Regiment

The 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment (17e Régiment de Génie Parachutiste, 17e RGP) is heir to the traditions of the 17th Colonial Engineer Regiment (17e Régiment Colonial du Génie, 17eRGC) which illustrated itself during World War II. It is the only airborne engineer unit of the French Army forming the engineering component of the 11th Parachute Brigade and secures all the specific airborne engineering missions relative to para assaulting at the level of deep reconnaissance as well as operations relative to para demining and handling explosives. The regiment has been present non-stop since 1975 on all theatres of operations (Lebanon, Tchad, New Caledonia, French Guiana, Pakistan, Kurdistan, Kuwait, Cambodia, Somalia, Rwanda, Gabon, Mozambique, ex-Yugoslavia, Albania, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Mali and others). For its various combat operational deployments, the 17e RGP was cited 3 times at the orders of the armed forces, 2 times at the orders of the armed forces corps, and three of its combat companies cited at the orders of the armed forces ( 2nd combat company) in addition to armed forces corps (1st and 3rd combat companies). List of French paratrooper units10th Parachute Division (France) and 25th Parachute Division (France) 1870–1871: creation of the 17th company, 2nd Engineer Regiment: took part in the defense of Paris, Saint-Denis, Mont-Valérien, Bourgets combats, battles of Champigny and Buzenval, founders of bridges at Marne. 1876: creation of an engineer battalion and intervention in Algeria. 1881: 1st combat company of the 17th participated to an expedition in Tunisia. 1912: 4 combat companies participated to an expedition in Morocco. 1914–1918: 23 combat companies of the 17th Engineer Battalion battled in Ardennes Belge, Marne, Champagne, Artois, Verdun, Aisne, Flandres, Oise, Woëvre. 1916–1920: 4 combat companies of the 17th intervened in Morocco, attached to the Moroccan Division. 1923: creation of the 17th Engineer Regiment, the 1st battalion of the regiment was stationed at Strasbourg, the second was dispatched to the French Army of the Rhin at Biebrich in Germany.