The French contingent
of the occupational forces in West Berlin were known as the Forces françaises à
Berlin. The Forces françaises à Berlin were a subordinate detachment of the
greater Forces françaises en Allemagne or French Forces in Germany. Like the
Americans and the British, the Forces françaises à Berlin arrived in Berlin in
July 1945 after the defeat of Nazi Germany. Initially, France was not going to
be allocated a portion of Germany nor Berlin to occupy in the post war years
however after objections to this plan were made by de facto French leader
General Charles De Gaulle, an agreement was made and portions of both the American
and British zones of Occupation were taken and designated as French zones of
Occupation. With the granting of these areas, a section of Berlin was
designated for the French. French military forces would be given the northern
portion of the city comprised of two boroughs to administer. The boroughs of
West Berlin which would be granted to the French were the boroughs of
Reinickendorf and Wedding. The Potsdam Agreement granted the French equal
rights and access to West Berlin and thus the Forces françaises à Berlin would
maintain a status as counterparts to both the American Berlin Brigade and the
British Berlin Infantry Brigade.
Soldiers assigned to
West Berlin wore a distinctive shoulder patch much in the manner of their
American and British counterparts. The French patch originated in 1949, and
depicted the French tricolor flag of blue, white and red flying over a gold
circle with an 'N' in the center representing their facilities at the Quartier
Napoléon. This is positioned inside the shape of the French zone of Occupation
in West Germany with a gold border around the zone with light blue interior and
a darker blue exterior with 'BERLIN' in gold over the top of the patch and a
gold border framing the entire shoulder insignia.
Initial French troops
to arrive in Berlin were members of the 1re armée française '1st French Army'
which established their headquarters at the Julius Leber Kaserne in the borough
of Wedding. The Julius Leber Kaserne had previously been occupied by elements
of the Nazi Wehrmacht utilized by the Luftwaffe's Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1.
Hermann Göring or 'Hermann Goering Parachute Panzer Division 1.' The 130
building facility was arranged around a central axis and included a sports
field, running track and an outdoor pool. Upon French arrival at the facility
in August 1945, the area was redesignated as the Quartier Napoléon. The
facilities had been heavily damaged during the Battle of Berlin and subsequent
occupation by Soviet Red Army forces and underwent significant reconstruction and
repairs from 1945 to 1955. Immediately south of the area, the French military
constructed the Cite Joffre condominiums to house its troops and their
families. Also initially located at the Quartier Napoléon was a detachment of
the Armée de l'Air, the French Air Force however, they were repositioned to
nearby Tegel Airport, which would become the French's primary point of arrival
and departure for forces entering the city.
On 2 November 1947,
the 46e régiment d'infanterie de ligne or
'46th Infantry Regiment' was assigned to the Quartier Napoléon. Prior to
arrival in Berlin, the 46e régiment d'infanterie de ligne had participated in
the occupation of the Rhineland following the initial German surrender on 8 May
1945. They would remain in position as the primary combat ready force until 31
December 1954, when French strength would be bolstered by the arrival of the
11e régiment de chasseurs or '11th Chasseurs Regiment' essentially an armored cavalry regiment which
provided armored capabilities to the Berlin garrison. Like the 46e régiment
d'infanterie de ligne, the 11e régiment de chasseurs had previously conducted
occupational duties in the Palatinate region until 30 April 1947 when it was
intially inactivated. It was reactivated in West Berlin and absorbed elements
of two other French formations. Together the 46e régiment d'infanterie de ligne
and the 11e régiment de chasseurs would comprise France's contribution to the
defense of West Berlin.
Additional units
assigned to the Quartier Napoléon
garrison included engineers, a supply battalion, military police detachment,
and security directorate that was responsible for sector security along the
French zone's border with the German Democratic Republic. Like their allied
counterparts the French maintained their own radio station known as Radio
Forces Françaises de Berlin or French Forces in Berlin Radio commonly
abbreviated as FFB. The FFB began its initial broadcasts on 8 May 1957 and
provided radio broadcasts initially for the French servicemen in West Berlin.
In the 1980's it picked up television and began broadcasting television
programming for French forces assigned to West Berlin.
The Tegel Airbase facilities initially did not
exist and it wasn't until the Americans launched Operation Vittles and the British
launched Operation Plainfare essentially the Berlin Airlift as a response to
the Soviet blockade of the city in 1948 that the French began construction of
the new air facility. The construction of the airport facilities involved the
use of over 19,000 people utilizing 400 trucks and materials taken from the war
torn city of Berlin along with asphalt flown into the city by the United States
Air Force. On 5 November 1948, a detachment of the l´armée de l´air known as DA
04165 was activated at the new facility when a U.S. Air Force Douglas C-54
Skymaster transport arrived at the base carrying among its dignitaries General
William H. Tunner, the chief architect of the Berlin Airlift. The Tegel
Facility was designated as 165 Air Base Berlin-Tegel and officially opened for
operations on 15 November 1948. Regular operations commence by 1 December 1948,
and upon learning of the construction of a facility in the French zone of
Occupation, the Soviets demand the withdrawal of French forces from the village
of Stolpe. All French forces vacate Stolpe by 18 December 1948.
By the time of its
operation, and the height of the Berlin Airlift, the French have become
embroiled in the First Indochina War, however they supply several Junkers Ju-52
transports for the effort in 1949. In 1958, the French estalish SEA 02054 an
electronic warfare squadron which conducts signal intelligence gathering
(SIGNET) operations in West Berlin. The
SEA 02054 unit utilizies antennas at DBLS Foch located in the local vicinity
and also two twin parabolic antennas positioned to monitor the area north of
Berlin, in the limit of Frohnau beside Oranienburger Chaussee and Jäger Stieg
located on the other side of East Germany. SEA 02054 operates in conjunction with the station
Schalke positioned in West Germany and with the SEA 03054 and EE 21054 Goslar,
detachment of the 11 th Company Transmissions, which were transitioned to the
headquarters Berlin from 30 June 1966 to 1 January 1991. The Escadrille
Electronics EE (Electronic Warfare Unit) was designated 21,054 with specialized
Puma helicopters in 1986.
Elements of the
French ALAT 'Light Army Aviation'
arrived at Tegel in 1987 succeeding several previous light aviation entities
operating light aircraft for intelligence gathering operations and support
operations in support of the French Army units of the Quartier Napoléon.
The French staff will
remain in position at Tegel until 31 December 1992, when at the request of the German government
command of the airport is turned over from French control to German control
where it is redesignated as Berlin International Airport - Tegel by the German
civilian personnel. Up until that point since 1974, the French crew at Tegel
had checked more than one million aircraft carrying some 90 million passengers
in conditions of maximum security in and out of Tegel.
In 1993, the first
part attributed to the Allied Museum in Berlin began construction and a Cessna
L19 from the Forces françaises à Berlin was retired from service and turned
over to the museum on April 21. The 165 Air Base would be decommissioned along
with the 46th and 11th RI Hunters on 14 September 1994.
With the removal of
all allied forces from Berlin following the agreement of 1994, the Quartier
Napoléon was also closed and the German government took control of the Julius
Leber Kaserne on 5 January 1995, and positioned Bundeswehr units in its
facilities. The 46e régiment d'infanterie de ligne having successfully
completed it's mission was inactivated on
14 September 1994. The 11e régiment de chasseurs would follow the
previous day being inactivated on 15 September. Both units colors were cased
and returned to France having successfully represented France and providing a
contingent that stood alongside its British and American counterparts in maintaining
the peace and security of West Berlin.
French Units in West
Berlin
French Combat Units assigned to Quartier Napoléon in West Berlin:
11e régiment de
chasseurs '11th Cavalry Regiment'
46e régiment
d'infanterie de ligne '46th Infantry Regiment'
110e compagnie du génie
'110th Engineer Company'
Centre d'entraînement
commando (CEC no 10) 'Commando Training Center'
French Support Units assigned to Quartier Napoléon in West Berlin:
11e compagnie de
transmission '11th Signals Company'
Gendarmerie Berlin
'Berlin Police'
Hôpital Louis-Pasteur
'Louis-Pasteur Hospital'
Base aérienne 165
Berlin Tegel 'Airbase 165 Berlin Tegel'
Groupement de soutien
'Support Group'
Quartier général
'Headquarters'
Direction des
transport et de la circulation de Berlin 'Directorate of Transport and Traffic
in Berlin'
État-Major 'Command Staff'
Détachement de
l'Aviation légère de l'armée de terre (DETALAT) 'Detachment of the Light Army
Aviation'
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