1er Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos

1er Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos was a Fusiliers Marins commando unit of the Free French Navy which served during the Second World War. Initially its Commandant was then-Lieutenant de Vaisseau (Lieutenant) Philippe Kieffer of the Free French Navy, under whose command they participated in the Normandy landings.

The creation of the battalion was initially planned in March 1941, but its creation did not begin until 1942 as the Troop 1, "Commandos Français" with the intention of raising the unit to a battalion of 400 in readiness for the expected operations in Europe. Initially the unit was headquartered in the vicinity of Portsmouth while undergoing training with other units at the Commando training center Achnacarry, Scotland.

Initially the battalion was organized into the headquarters section, medical, radio, and transportation sections, and three troops, 1, 8 and 9, the last responsible for using Depth Charge Projector Mark 6, Mod 1, commonly called the "K-Gun"; 177 men in all. In 1944 the battalion was expanded to three troops, with the Headquarters troop and the A & B troops performing the usual land commando role. A large number of battalion members came from Brittany.

Members of the Troop 1 under the command of Lieutenant (Navy) Kieffer took part in the raid on Dieppe (Operation Jubilee) with the British and Canadian commandos, and in November 1942 became officially known as the 1ère compagnie de fusiliers marins commandos, with members of the unit participating in the night raid on the bridge at Plouézec on the 11 and 12 November 1942.

French commandos took part in the raid on the beach of Wassenaar in Holland on 28 February 1944, the site of V-2 rocket launches, during which six of them, including captain Charles Trepel were killed.

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