French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre (English: Land Army), is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces and its largest. As of 2007, the army employs
134,000 regular soldiers, 15,500 reservists, and 25,750 civilians.[1] All soldiers are now considered professionals, following the suspension of conscription in 1996.
Organisation
The army is divided into different Corps or armes. These Corps retain both symbolic and administrative values.
- Marine troops, composed of:
- Marine Infantry (Infanterie de Marine, including airborne and light cavalry units)
- Marine Artillery (Artillerie de Marine)
- Foreign Legion (Légion étrangère)
- Armoured Cavalry (Arme Blindée cavalerie)
- Artillery;
- Army Light Aviation (Aviation Légère de l'Armée de Terre - ALAT), including combat helicopters;
- Military engineers (Génie Militaire);
- Infantry,
- Mountain Troops (Chasseurs Alpins)
- Supply (Materiel)
- Logistics (Train)
- Signals (Transmissions)
- Commissary
The operational organisation of the Army combines units from various Corps in 17 Brigades.
Statistics
| French Armée de Terre statistics | |
| Personnel (Regular Army) | 134,000 |
| Personnel (Reserve Forces) | 15,500 |
| Main Battle Tanks | 407 Leclercs (as of 2007), 614 AMX-30B2s |
| Reconnaissance vehicles | 1280 VBLs, 192 ERC-90s, 337 AMX-10RCs |
| Infantry Fighting vehicles | 601 AMX-10Ps. To be replaced by the VBCI (550 combat version and 150 command version) |
| Armoured Personnel Carriers | 3,975 VABs |
| Artillery pieces and mortar | 105 TRF1s, 72 Caesar systems (currently being delivered), 134 AMX 30 AuF1s |
| Helicopters | 80 Eurocopter Tigers (currently being delivered), 10 EC-175s, 4 AS-352s, 18 AS-555s, 21 AS-532, 276 Gazelles, 101 SA-330s |
| mine detection | 5 Chubby (mine detection system) |
Principles and values
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The principles and values of the French Army are formulated in the Code of the French Soldier:
| “ | (...) Mastering his own strength, he respects his opponent and is careful to spare civilians. He obeys orders while respecting laws, customs of war and international conventions.(...) He is aware of global societies and respects their differences. (...) [2] | ” |
See also
References
- ^ L'armée de Terre en chiffres (Décembre 2006)
- ^ Original French : (...) Maître de sa force, il respecte l’adversaire et veille à épargner les populations. Il obéit aux ordres, dans le respect des lois, des coutumes de la guerre et des conventions internationales. (...) Il est ouvert sur le monde et la société, et en respecte les différences. (...) : [1]
External links
- (French) Official website
- French Military Reform: Lessons for America's Army?, George A. Bloch (includes explanations of the structure of command)
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