Chasseurs alpins
Chasseurs alpins (Alpenjäger) is a term used since 1888 for initially 12 hunter battalions , today mountain troops , of the French army , seven of them in the area of the XIV. ( Lyon ) and five in the area of the XV. Army Corps ( Marseille ) were in garrison . They were permanently subordinate to the respective army corps. In addition, there was an (alpine) infantry regiment 159 ("régiment de la neige" / Briançon ).
The Chasseurs alpins are one of the oldest mountain troops alongside the Italian Alpini . They had a peace strength per battalion of 32 officers , 958 NCOs and men, 13 horses and 44 mules . In summer they were stationed in the high valleys of the Alps . They were always considered an elite force in the French army.
The troops wore blue blouses, blue hinged collars with yellow battalion numbers, blue-green trousers with a yellow advance, blue beret-like hats, light blue scarf as a sash (only in the field, on marches and during maneuvers ), a cycling coat with a hood , mountain boots and a mountain stick.
Today the three remaining battalions de Chasseurs Alpins (BCA) with the 7th BCA, the 13e BCA and the 27e BCA are combined in the 27th Brigade d'Infanterie de Montagne, and are stationed in Haute-Savoie and Savoy . The brigade command is in Grenoble .
