Fusiliers marins

The Fusiliers marins (lit. "Sailor Riflemen") are specialized French security force trained for combat on land and coastal regions. The Fusiliers marins are in charge of providing protection for naval vessels and key French Navy sites on land. The Fusiliers marins are tasked with: the protection of sensitive sites of the Navy (Naval bases, French Naval Aviation, transmission stations etc.); reinforcement of protection duties provided by Naval forces (maintaining order on board ship and the protection of naval vessels against attack). The Fusiliers marins should not be confused with the Troupes de Marine of the modern French Army. The latter corps has undergone several changes in role from marine infantry to colonial troops (Troupes coloniales) to overseas forces. It has however remained as an essentially land force while the Fusiliers marins have throughout their history been an integral part of the French Navy. These companies lacked specialized personnel trained for combat on land. An Imperial decree dated 5 June 1856, created the Fusiliers marins, whose formation and training were undertaken by a battalion stationed at Lorient, Brittany. This specialized corps was put under the command of the captains and sergeants-at-arms of the various naval vessels of the French fleet, and was the direct ancestor of the modern Fusiliers. Since that date, the Fusiliers have participated the following conflicts: The military colonial campaigns of the end of the 19th century, The expeditions in China, Cochinchina, Tonkin and Madagascar, The European conflicts in 1870, 1914-1918 and 1939-1945. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, following the disaster of Sedan, several brigades of Fusiliers marins and naval artillerymen were engaged in combat at Bapaume and subsequently participated in the defense of Paris, notably at the Bourget and at L'Haÿ-les-Roses. This force formed part of the Government Armée versaillaise (armée versaillaise) employed in the suppression of the Paris Commune in 1871.