11th Parachute Brigade (France)

11th Parachute Brigade
11e Brigade Parachutiste
Active
  • 11th Light Intervention Division (1961–1963)
  • 11th Division (1963–1971)
  • 11th Parachute Division (1971–1999)
  • 11th Parachute Brigade (1999-present)
CountryFrance France
BranchFrench Army
TypeAirborne forces
RoleAir assault
Airlift
Anti-tank warfare
Armoured warfare
Artillery observer
Bomb disposal
Casualty evacuation
CBRN defense
Close-quarters combat
Combined arms
Cold-weather warfare
Counterinsurgency
Desert warfare
Direct action
Fire support
Forward air control
Indirect fire
Irregular warfare
Jungle warfare
Long-range penetration
Maneuver warfare
Medical evacuation
Military engineering
Military logistics
Mountain warfare
Parachuting
Patrolling
Raiding
Reconnaissance
Special reconnaissance
Tactical communications
Tactical emergency medical services
Urban warfare
Size10,200 total (2019)[1]
  • 8,700 active
  • 1,500 reserve
Part of3rd Division
Garrison/HQBalma, Toulouse
AnniversariesSaint-Michael, September 29
EngagementsAlgerian War

Operation Tacaud
Operation Bonite
Lebanese Civil War

Gulf War
Global War on Terrorism (2001–present)

Commanders
Current
commander
Olivier Salaün
Notable
commanders
Insignia
Identification
symbol
Abbreviation11e B.P

The 11th Parachute Brigade (French: 11e Brigade Parachutiste, 11e BP) is one of the French Army's airborne forces brigade, predominantly light infantry, part of the French paratrooper units and specialized in air assault, airborne operations, combined arms, and commando style raids. The brigade's primary vocation is to project in emergency in order to contribute a first response to a situational crisis. An elite unit of the French Army, the brigade is commanded by a général de brigade (Brigadier General) with headquarters in Balma near Toulouse. The brigade's soldiers and airborne Marines wear the red beret (amaranth) except for the Legionnaires of the 2ème REP who wear the green beret.[1]

The 11th Parachute Brigade, originally the 11th Light Intervention Division (11e DLI), was created from airborne units of the 10th Parachute Division 10e D.P and 25th Parachute Division 25e D.P,[2] both dissolved following the Algiers putsch of 1961 during the Algerian War.[1]

  1. ^ a b c "11e brigade parachutiste". L'armée de Terre (in French). 2 May 2018. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  2. ^ Clayton, 'France, Soldiers, and Africa', Brassey's Defence Publishers, 1988, p.190