Chasseurs Alpins: Information from Answers.com

Chasseurs Alpins
Active	Since 1888
Country	France
Branch	Armée de Terre
Type	Infantry
Role	Mountain Infantry
Size	Three battalions
Garrison/HQ	7e Bataillon—Bourg-Saint-Maurice 13e Bataillon—Chambéry 27e Batallion—Cran-Gevrier
Nickname	Les diables bleus (The Blue Devils)
Motto	Jamais être pris vivant (Eng: Never to be Taken Alive)
Engagements	Battle of Alasay

The Chasseurs Alpins (English: Alpine Hunters) are the elite mountain infantry of the French Army. They are trained to operate in mountainous terrain and in urban warfare.

1 Modern unit
2 Unit origins
3 Ranks
4 Gallery
5 See also
6 External links

Modern unit

Since 1999 they have been (with other units) part of the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade (Brigade d'Infanterie de Montagne), and are currently organised into three battalions:

7th Battalion, Bourg-Saint-Maurice
13th Battalion, Chambéry
27th Battalion, Cran-Gevrier (Annecy)

All three battalions are based in cities in the French Alps, thus the name of the units.

Training includes climbing, cross-country skiing, plus winter and summer mountain leadership and mountain guiding skills. Traditional training included mountain survival skills such as to build an igloo shelter and to sleep in temperatures around 0°C. Modern troops may be transported in all-terrain VMBs VACs, (Bandvagn 206) or untracked VAB personnel carriers. Personal weaponry includes the FAMAS assault rifle, Minimi machine gun, FRF-2 sniper rifle, PGM Hecate II heavy sniper rifle, and LGI light mortar, while group weapons included the M2 machine gun, LLR 81 mm mortar, and vehicle-mounted 20 mm autocannon, plus AT4, ERYX and MILAN anti-tank missiles.

The Chasseurs are easily recognised by their wide beret (when not in battle uniform), named the tarte (after a type of pie).

Unit origins

France created its own mountain corps in the late 19th century in order to oppose any Italian invasion through the Alps. In 1859, the former independent states of Italy such as the Kingdom of Naples, Republic of Venice or the Papal States were unified through the campaigns of Garibaldi and Cavour.

The French military saw this geopolitical change as a potential threat to their Alpine border, especially as the Italian military was already creating troops specialized in mountain warfare (the Alpini). On December 24, 1888, the first troupes de montagne (mountain troops) corps were created from 12 out of the 31 existing Chasseurs à Pied (Hunters on Foot) battalions.

Initially these units were named Bataillons Alpins de Chasseurs à Pied (Alpine Battalions of Hunters on Foot). Later this was shortened to Bataillons de Chasseurs Alpins (Battalions of Alpine Hunters). From their establishment the Chasseurs Alpins wore a plain and practical uniform designed to be suitable for mountain service. This comprised a loose-fitting dark blue jacket and blue-grey breeches, together with a large beret carrying the yellow bugle horn insignia of the Chasseur branch. They are believed to have been the first regular military unit to have worn this form of headdress.