Brigade de Fusiliers Marins

The Brigade des Fusiliers Marins was a unit of the French Navy which fought alongside the Belgium Army in 1914-1915 and which held their ground until the last man standing in October 1914 at Dixmude to halt the advancement of the German army and protect Dunkirk.

Origin of the Brigade
When war was declared in August 1914, the French Navy housed idle Fusiliers Marins on board naval ships, due to the principal combats being conducted on land. To make use of these men, it was decided, on August 7, 1914, to create a strong brigade of 6000 men organized into two regiment which would become the 1st and 2nd Regiment of Fusiliers Marins. The command of the brigade was entrusted to Pierre Alexis Ronarc'h who has been recently promoted to Counter Admiral. The first confined mission was defend the capital and outskirts to which garrison belong to.

Organization of the Brigade
The brigade was constituted of one headquarter staff, two regiments and one mitrailleuse company of 15 platoons. Each regiment was commanded by a Capitaine de Vaisseau and each was formed of a headquarter staff along with 3 battalions.

Recruitment
In the composition of the brigade, was 700 very young Fusiliers Marins apprentices (Young volunteers barely sixteen and a half year of age), reservist of the depot at Lorient, and mechanics in the Fleet. The extremely young composition astonished astonished the Parisians.

They were joined at Paris by reinforcements hailing from the other ports: Rochefort, Brest, Cherbourg and Toulon. These reinforcements included more senior Fusiliers Marins and volunteers, which all quickly transformed to land soldiers of the French Army.

Sent to Belgium for reinforcements
In October 1914, the Germans in numbers menaced to annihilate the Belgian Defenses. The Brigade had for mission to leave Paris and reinforce the Belgian Army, a mission also confined to the 87th Territorial Infantry Division. The purpose was to aid the Belgian Army to unfold on France and protect the strategic port of Dunkirk.

The brigade was transported by train into the Flandres, then made way to Anvers where the Belgian Army stood. At Gand, the brigade came to a halt, the train tracks were cut from there on.

The Fusiliers Marins engaged in combat at Melles, Belgium on October 9, 10, and 11 to protect the retreat of the Belgium troops whom evacuated Anvers. Then, the brigade made way to Dixmude which they reached on October 15 after a long tiring march. Followed by fifty thousand Germans, these men who were used to live barefooted on ship decks at sea, where marching thirty to forty kilometers.

On the following day, October 16, while the defense line of the Fusiliers Marins was barely being put into effect, the Germans launched their first wave of attacks by means of artillery and infantry. Combats of Dixmude have just commenced, opposing, 6000 Fusiliers Marins of the brigade commanded by Admiral Pierre Alexis Ronarc'h and 5000 Belgians commanded by colonel Jean-Baptiste Meiser, was, three German army reserve corps, under the orders of Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg, with almost 30000 men.

Battle of Dixmude
On October 24 at 2100, the Duke of Württemberg launched a general attack with objective to pierce the front in direction of Furnes. Two columns assaulted the front Nieuport-Dixmude held by the Belgians and two other columns converged their efforts on Dixmude, after a formidable artillery preparation.

On October 26, the Fusiliers Marins were reinforced by 2nd Mixed Colonial Regiment 2e RCM (Troupes de Marine colonial regiment part of the 1st brigade of the Moroccan Division) under the orders of lieutenant-colonel Pelletier. This regiment was composed of two battalions: the 3rd Senegalese Battalion of Algeria (commandant Frèrejean) and the 1st Senegalese Battalion of Algeria (commandant Brochot).

On October 28, a decision was taken, to open the valves and flood the left bank of Yser between this river and the steel road of Dixmude at Nieuport, rendering Dixmude almost an artificial island. These floods saved the situation on Yser.

On November 10, the defenders of Dixmude were constrained, following intense combats which finished corps à corps down to the bayonet, to abandon city in flames and to pass over again to the left bank.

They were entrusted to hold the town for four days, yet, they held the town for three weeks, while facing an opposition of almost 50000.

Significant outcome
Losses for the defenders were significant. The Fusiliers Marins endured the loss of 3000 men or either placed out of combat: 23 Officers, 37 Officiers Mariniers, 450 Quarter-Masters and Sailors; 52 Officers, 108 Officiers Mariniers, 1774 Quarter-masters and sailors wounded; 698 prisoners or missing.

Concerning the Senegalese Tirailleurs, only 400 men remained in the battalion Frèrejean and 11, out of which one captain, of the battalion Brochot: 411 survivors out of 2000.

On November 15, the offensive was permanently halted.

after the battle
The sacrifice of the brigade had a significant effect in France. This unit didn't have a flag. Accordingly, the survivors of the Brigade de Fusiliers Marins was assembled near Dunkerque on January 11, 1915. Raymond Poincaré, President of the Republic accompanied by Victor Augagneur, Minister of the Navy, bestowed on Admiral Ronarc'h, the flag of the Fusiliers Marins, whose Color guard was entrusted to the 2nd Regiment.

End of January 1915, the brigade garrisoned on the sector Nieuport.

From January to May 1915, the fronts in the Flandres progressively stabilized until the allied offensive in July 1917.

dissolution of the brigade
In November 1915 in France, the French government decided to dissolve the Brigade de Fusiliers Marins, following the request demand of the French Navy who needed its personnel to engage in a Submarine warfare. The flag of the Fusiliers Marins remained at the front with a battalion, a military bridge building company with eight platoon mitrailleuses. The role of the two regiments was closed on December 10, 1915.

During the sixteen months at the front, the Brigade de Fusiliers Marins endured the loss, wounded or disappeared, 172 Officers, 346 Officiers Mariniers, and almost 6000 Quarter-Masters and Marins, the equivalent of the initial composition of the brigade, composed in majority of Bretons.