3rd Algerian Infantry Division

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name=3e Division d'Infanterie Algérienne


caption=
dates=1 May 1943 - 15 Apr 1946
country=
allegiance=
branch=
type=Infantry Division
role=
size=
command_structure=
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=Italian Campaign
Southern France
Vosges Mountains
Gambsheim Bridgehead
Bienwald
Baden
notable_commanders= Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert
Augustin Guillaume
anniversaries=

The 3rd Algerian Infantry Division ( _fr. 3e Division d'Infanterie Algérienne, 3e DIA) was an infantry division of the French Army during the last half of the Second World War.

The division was formed on May 1, 1943 and the division was structured and equipped in a manner similar to, although not identical to, U.S. infantry divisions of the period. The primary combat units of the division as initially organized were the 3rd and 7th Algerian Tirailleur Regiments, and the 4th Tunisian Tirailleur Regiment. [GUF, Vol. 4, p. 741] In early 1945, the 7th Algerian Tirailleurs returned to north Africa and its place was taken by the 49th Infantry Regiment. [GUF, Vol. 5, Part 1, p. 17]

The "3e DIA" fought in the Italian Campaign, the campaign in Southern France, the Vosges Mountains, and Alsace during 1943 - 1944 before spearheading the advance of the French II Corps into Germany and entering Stuttgart on April 22, 1945.

Part of the French occupation army in Germany, the "3e DIA" was inactivated and used to form a mixed infantry and armor division in April 1946. [Réarmement, p. 117] The division's honors and traditions were carried on first by the 3rd Armored Division and then the 3rd Mechanized Brigade.

Footnotes

Article Sources

*Grandes Unités Françaises, Volumes IV and V-1, French Army Historical Service, Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1970 and 1972.
*Le Réarmament et la Réorganisation de l'Armée de Terre Française (1943 - 1946), J. Vernet, French Army Historical Service, Château de Vincennes, 1980.