9e BIMA

9e BIMa
General info
Country	France
Type	Marines
Subordinates	21e RIMa (Marine Infantry Regiment) RICM (Light Armor Regiment) 3e RAMa (Artillery Company)
Appears	Second Korean War

Description

The 9^e BIMa (Marine Infantry Brigade) is a light armored, amphibious unit of the French Army’s Marine Corp. It can be deployed in the Second Korean War as part of BLUFOR and arrives mid-way through the campaign.

Composition

The Brigade is comprised of an infantry regiment, an armored battalion and an artillery company.

21e RIMa

The 21^st Marine Infantry Regiment (21^e Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine) is an efficient assault group that can use both landing craft and Panther helicopters.  It costs 20 point to deploy and includes:

• 6 x Group De CMOT + VAB
• 1 x FOB
• 6 x VLRA Logistique
• 30 x RIMa ’85 + VAB T20/13,
• 12 x Commando + AS565 Panther
• 8 x Mistral + VAB
• 4 xATGM MILAN F3 + VAB
• 4 x VBL Mistral

Though its VAB's 20 mm cannons provide the regiment with an extra punch, it needs its naval colleagues to provide air cover to counter the threat of enemy aircraft.

RICM  

The regiment (Regiment d’infanterie chars de marine) is the only light armor unit in the French marines. It costs 15 points to deploy and includes:

• 1 x Groupe De CMOT + VAB
• 6 x VLRA Logistique
• 8 x AMX-10 RC
• 20 x ERC-9- Sagaie
• 6 x VAB Mephisto

The RICM is able to provide its fellow marines with excellent fire support after landing, but it is still no match against medium to heavy armor.

3^e RAMa

The two batteries of the 3^rd Marine Artillery Regiment (3^e Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine) can be quickly deployed by sea transport to destroy enemy positions and artillery batteries.  It costs 10 points to deploy and includes:

• 8 x CAESAR
• 4 x LCM 8

Motorized carriages allow the batteries to “shoot-and-scoot”, which minimizes the possibility of counter-battery fire, but also making them vulnerable to any type of direct hit from infantry, land vehicles or aircraft.

Historical Note

The Marine Brigade is part of the country’s Rapid Reaction Force and has seen extensive action since it was established in 1963. Its composite regiments have much deeper historical roots: the 9^th Brigade is descended from the Blue Division of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870; the 21^st RIMa was established in 1899 and participated in a dozen major battles; the RICM was established in 1914 as the Colonial Infantry Regiment of Morocco and has become the most decorated unit in the French army.