15th Military Division (Vichy France)

The 15th Military Division () also known as the 15th Military Region () was an infantry formation of division-size of the Armistice Army that was active during World War II. The division's headquarters was in Marseille. This division was subordinated to the 1st Group of Military Divisions.

History

The 15th Military Division was formed on 12 September 1940. On 8 November 1942 at 15:00, just before Case Anton, the 15th Military Division positioned themselves for battle. Like the rest of the Army of Vichy France, this division, except for the Garde, was demobilized on 27 November 1942.

Commanders

1. General de corps d'armée (equivalent to Lieutenant-General) Henri-Fernand Dentz (27 June to 28 December 1940)
2. MG
3. MG or MG

Composition

The 15th Military Division's Order of Battle was such:

• 43rd Alpine Infantry Regiment ():
• HQ (at Fréjus)
• 1st Bn. (at Fréjus)
• 2nd Bn. (at Fréjus)
• 3rd Bn. (at Arles)
• 21st Colonial Infantry Regiment ():
• HQ (at Marseille)
• 1st Bn. (at Marseille)
• 2nd Bn. (at Marseille)
• 3rd Bn. (at Tarascon)
• () (in Bastia, Corsica)
• 2nd Chasseurs Alpins Demi-brigade () (HQ at Hyères)
• () (at Digne)
• () (at Hyères)
• () (at Hyères)
• 12th Cuirassier Regiment () (in Orange):
• 1 cavalry bn - 2 sqns
• 1 bicycle bn - 2 cos
• 1 mixed bn - 1 bicycle co & 1 armored car co.
• ():
• HQ (at Nîmes)
• 1st Bn. (each battalion had 3 75mm btrys) (at Nîmes)
• 2nd Bn. (each battalion had 3 75mm btrys) (at Marseille)
• 3rd Bn. (1 mot 75mm btry & 2 Mountain 75mm btrys) (at Draguignan)
• 7th Engineer Battalion (at Avignon)
• 8/15th Signals Group (at Avignon)
• 15th Transportation Group (at Marseille)
• 2nd Garde Regiment - HQ at Marseille
• 1^er Bataillon
• HQ - Marseille
• 1^er Escadron - Cavalry/Reconnaissance
• 2^e Escadron - Cavalry/Reconnaissance
• 3^e Escadron - Infantry
• 4^e Escadron - Motorcycle
• 2^e Bataillon
• HQ - Nice
• 5^e Escadron - Motorcycle
• 6^e Escadron - Infantry
• 7^e Escadron - Infantry
• 8^e Escadron - Infantry

Military Commands

The following Departemental Military Commands () were under the 15th Military Division:

• Bouches-du-Rhône (at Marseille)
• Gard (at Nîmes)
• Ardèche (at Privas)
• Vaucluse (at Avignon)
• Var (at Toulon)
• Basses Alpes (at Digne)
• Alpes Maritimes (at Nice)
• (at Bastia)

Numerous Military District Commands () of these places were subordinated to the 15th Military Division:

• Aix
• Draguignan
• Grasse
• Ajaccio
• Corte
• Sartène

Training grounds

The 15th Military Division had two training grounds, namely those at and Garrigues.

References

Notes

Footnotes

Sources