21st Marine Infantry Regiment Creation and Nomenclature . The 21e RIMa and / or 21e RIC has been the name for several formations throughout history . The Interbellum . During the 1920s and ' 30s the 21e RIC was garrisoned alongside the 23e RIC in Paris . The regimental staff and the 2nd Battalion are quartered in Clignancourt with the 1st Battalion split between Ivry and Saint - Denis and the 3rd Battalion in Bicêtre . They maintain a high tempo of training and also fulfill the ceremonial duties required of troops in a Parisian garrison , participating in honour guards , parades and ceremonials . The Regiment also provides troops for the funerals of Generals Foch and Joffre . During this time drafts of Troops and Officers are drawn off for overseas service with postings to the Levant , Madagascar , AOF , Algeria , Morocco , China , and the foreign military missions to Czechoslovakia and Poland . Some months up to 30 officers leave the regiment for the colonies . World War II . Action at Villers - en - Argonne . In June 1940 the town of Villers - en - Argonne was the scene of fierce fighting and was virtually destroyed by bombing and fire . On the 11th and 12 June the residents were evacuated from Villers as the front line was being pressed in . The men of the 2nd Battalion under Commandant Varrier were entrenched in an arc around Villers by June 13 with the rest of the regiment in a line to their east . Their task is to prevent access to the forest of Argonne , the road from Villers to Passavant and the gap south of Villers . This is a front of three kilometers with Battalion command at Villers . The Regiment as a whole is commanded by Colonel Cazeilles from Montdesir farm ( west of Passavant - en - Argonne ) to the East . Reports of German motorised and armoured troops follow and the 2nd Battalion set up their anti tank guns ( 5x 25mm and 4x75mm ) and machine guns in road blocks around the town . The 6th RTS had been in contact west of Villers in the direction Braux - Saint - Remy and had retreated reforming south of the 2nd Battalion positions in woods west of the village . On the morning of June 13 villages to the North , Northwest and West of Villers are burning . Commandant Varrier personally conducted two patrols in front of Villers at 11 : 30h on foot to the village of Ante and at 13 : 30h by motorbike to Villers railway station ( 1 km west of the village ) . At 1430h two German tanks attempted to infiltrate on the left of the battalion in front of the 7th Company ( Captain Allegrini ) on the Ante road . Both tanks were knocked out by hits from a 25mm guns between 300m and 200m from the company ' s positions . A wounded German is captured and his papers passed to the Regimental Command post . The 1st Battalion , 11th RI of 35th Infantry Division retreats and passes Villers . During the evening the Germans advance to 2 . 5 km . A company , commanded by Captain Marchenoir the Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa is made available to the Commandant Varrier , on the night of June 13 to 14 , to strengthen the western side of Villers . Considering the situation on the spot , Varrier decides to position them facing North and personally installs the company on the ground intending to avoid encirclement . On the morning of the 14th enemy movements across the front of the Battalion indicate that contact with the infantry of the opponent is about to occur , enemy aircraft , flying at low altitude , strafed the positions of II / 21e RIC and the village of Villers during the morning . Around 13 : 30 – 13 : 45h the Germans begin to bombard the village and carry on with heavy shell fire until 1500h . Despite losses caused by the Artillery , II / 21 e RIC stays firm under fire . The first shells were fired at the village , which within a few moments is heavily ablaze and is completely destroyed by the end of the bombardment . German infantry move in cover to about 800 m from the village and at 1500h , the enemy , singing and shouting , probe the positions of the 2nd battalion . The main effort occurs west of the village , falling on the 5th Company under Captain Charvet and the 6th Company under Captain Paganel . At the same time , with the support of artillery , they push through the woods , on the wings of the Battalion , pressing on the Captain Allegrini ' s 7th Company in an attempt to encircle the position . The 2nd Battalion receives the attack steadily and their rifle , machine - gun and grenade fire inflicts severe losses on the attacking infantry . The Germans renew their attacks for several hours , with close air support and artillery fire , until 18 : 00h . At points during these attacks , elements of the 5th and 6th Companies in the woods are engaged in very close range fights . During these attacks , Commandant Varrier requested support from artillery . A battery of 155mm howitzers located 9 km behind the battalion were able to give their support . Despite calling in target and ranging information on a telephone with only a 1 : 50 , 000 scale map , their fire was effective . By 1900h the battle is over and the 2nd Battalion is in high spirits and ready to hold its ground . However Varrier is called to see Colonel Cazeilles at Regimental command , who expresses his satisfaction and congratulations , but communicates an order of withdrawal at 21 : 30h . Returning to his command post Commandant Varrier gives order to withdraw his companies . The withdrawal is made very difficult by the continuing contacts with the enemy and darkness and is finally accomplished by 02 : 45h on the 15th . After the passage of the last units Varrier , ordered a Lieutenant of Engineers and four men to come with him and blow the bridge over the Aisne , the Pont aux Vendanges , between Villers - en - Argonne and Passavant . The bridge is destroyed at 02 : 55 . Following orders received , II / 21e RIC moved 15 km southeast of Villers - en - Argonne , and reformed between Triaucourt and Charmontois L ' abbé along a 4 km front . The 2nd Battalion and Regiment as a whole were disappointed to have given up the ground they had held in the face of serious attack but their continued movements south were necessary to protect and cover the retreat of other units . Destruction . By the 21st of June the Regiment , still alongside the 23e RIC found itself fighting around Paray Saint - Césaire south west of Nancy . After continuous fighting the exhausted regiment , without ammunition and overwhelmed by numbers , dispersed . Their battle flags were buried near St . Die and later recovered , moved to Toulon where they were again hidden during the occupation of Vichy France . These troops are landed in Provence and the battles for the potash mines of Alsace , the Colmar Pocket , the capture of Ensisheim , Leimersheim and Rastatt are all battle honours . Free French . The Regiment also has the right to wear the Fourragère for its services in the Second World War . Colonial Withdrawal . Between the 1st November 1949 and April 8 , 1955 the regiment was reconfigured as BM / 21e RIC - operating as Marching Battalions , meaning its Battalions operated independently rather than under a Regimental HQ After the liberation of France and the German campaign the Battalions of the Regiment are sent to French Indochina during the First Indochina War Again disbanded on March 22 , 1955 , the regiment was recreated 16 May 1955 as the 21e RIC . Sent to Algeria in 1956 and participating in the Suez Crisis the regiment is tasked with the pacification of Kabylia until withdrawal in 1962 . During this time the Regiment is renamed again to the 21st Marine Infantry Regiment , 21e RIMa After these campaigns in Indochina and Algeria it had two further mentions in dispatches and the right to wear the Overseas Operations ribbons . Modern Era . Stationed in Sissonne in the Aisne since 1963 it belonged to the 8th Infantry Division until 1980 . The French Army began to reorganise and moving to Fréjus in 1980 , the regiment was attached to the 31e Brigade which was the only mixed arms formation in the French military at the time , having two squadrons of AMX 10 RC with two companies mounted in VAB , an artillery battery , a rapid reaction , support , and headquarters companies . It further included a training company . With the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment the 21e RIC formed the brigade . This brigage was disbanded and the troops reformed into the 6th Light Armoured Brigade , the museum of naval troops was constructed in the 21e RIMa base Camp Le Cocq at Fréjus . Foreign Missions . For 25 years the regiment and its battalions have been engaged all over the world : Decorations . The Regimental banner is decorated with the Croix de Guerre 14 - 18 with four palms , the Croix de Guerre 39 - 45 with three palms and of the War Cross of overseas operations with two palms and a star . Regimental Colours . It bears , stitched in gold letters in its folds , the following inscriptions : Insignia . Its porpoises have the right to wear the forage in the colors of ribbon military medal received on 24 November 1918 , with olive - colored ribbons of Cross 1914 – 1918 and from 1939 to 1945 received on 18 September 1946 , and forage the colors of the ribbon of the Croix de Guerre Theatre of external operations received 12 July 1955 . Traditions . The Feast of Marine Troops is celebrated on the occasion of the anniversary of the battles of Bazeilles , which was four times abandoned and recaptured on the 31 August and 1 September 1870 . " And in the Name of God , long live the colonials ! " The Marines ( Propoises ) and Marine Gunners ( Bigors ) have God himself as a patron saint . This war cry ends intimate ceremonies that are part of the life of the regiments . Its origin is a thanksgiving of Father Charles de Foucauld , a missionary , seeing come to his rescue colonial units on a day when he was in trouble with a local tribe .