15th Military Division
Active	December 1940 - November 1942
Disbanded	27 November 1942
Country	Vichy France
Branch	Vichy French Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Military Garrison and Infantry
Size	Division
Garrison/HQ	Marseille
Engagements	World War II

The 15th Military Division (French: 15^e Division Militaire) also known as the 15th Military Region (French: 15^e Région Militaire)^[1] 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.^[2][3] This division was subordinated to the 1st Group of Military Divisions.^[4]

History

The 15th Military Division was formed on 12 September 1940.^[5] On 8 November 1942 at 15:00, just before Case Anton, the 15th Military Division positioned themselves for battle.^[6] Like the rest of the Army of Vichy France, this division, except for the Garde, was demobilized on 27 November 1942.^[3]

Commanders

1. General de corps d'armée^[1] (equivalent to Lieutenant-General) Henri-Fernand Dentz^[5] (27 June to 28 December 1940)
2. MG Maxime-Jean-Vincent Germain [fr]^[5]
3. MG Jean-Louis-Auguste Humbert [sl] or MG Jules-Phillipe Octave Decamp [fr]^[5]

Composition

The 15th Military Division's Order of Battle was such:^[2][3][7]

• 43rd Alpine Infantry Regiment (French: 43^e Régiment d'Infanterie Alpine):
  • HQ (at Fréjus)
  • 1st Bn. (at Fréjus)
  • 2nd Bn. (at Fréjus)
  • 3rd Bn. (at Arles)
• 21st Colonial Infantry Regiment [fr] (French: 21^e Régiment d'Infanterie Coloniale):
  • HQ (at Marseille)
  • 1st Bn. (at Marseille)
  • 2nd Bn. (at Marseille)
  • 3rd Bn. (at Tarascon)
• 173rd Autonomous Battalion [fr] (French: 173^e Bataillon autonome de la Corse) (in Bastia, Corsica)
• 2nd Chasseurs Alpins Demi-brigade (French: 2^e Demi-Brigade de Chasseurs Alpins) (HQ at Hyères)
  • 20th Chasseurs Alpins Battalion [fr] (French: 20^e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins) (at Digne)
  • 24th Chasseurs Alpins Battalion [fr] (French: 24^e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins) (at Hyères)
  • 25th Chasseurs Alpins Battalion [fr] (French: 25^e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins) (at Hyères)
• 12th Cuirassier Regiment (French: 12^e Régiment de Cuirassiers) (in Orange):
  • 1 cavalry bn - 2 sqns
  • 1 bicycle bn - 2 cos
  • 1 mixed bn - 1 bicycle co & 1 armored car co.
• 10th Colonial Artillery Regiment [fr] (French: 10^e Régiment d'Artillerie Coloniale):
  • 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^{[Note 1]} (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 (French: Commandant Militaire du Département) were under the 15th Military Division:^[2]

• 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)
• Corse [fr] (at Bastia)

Numerous Military District Commands (French: Commandement du District Militaire) of these places were subordinated to the 15th Military Division:^[2]

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

Training grounds

The 15th Military Division had two training grounds, namely those at Carpiagne [fr] and Garrigues.^[2]