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Can anyone ID this French Badge?


Eric Queen
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Cool! I don't know in particular, but I've seen similar French Foreign Legion badge designs before.

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  • 1 month later...

This is a badge for Military Base 401/1, created in Ajaccio (Corsica) in April 1944. The unit later moved to Naples, then Marseille, where it worked closely with the US Army's Delta Base Section.

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Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Do you happen to know what does "Military Base" mean exactly? What did they do? I cannot seem to find any info. Thanks again.

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Hi,

 

it looks like there are conficting information, and I got a bit lost. The most likely information is:

 

Base 901/1 was created on 8/10/43 in Ajaccio days after the liberation of Corsica (that's probably the era of your badge, since later badges have the 903 number)

Redesignated Base 903 on 3/1/44

Moves to Naples on 7/31/44.

Moves to Marseille late August 1944
Redesignated Base Militaire de Marseille on 10/1/45

 

At least in Marseille, it worked with the US Delta Base Section (created in May 1945 by the 66th Infantry Division as it prepared to move to Japan).

The missions of both French and US units were:

 

- hosting troops on leave

- staging area for incoming allied troops

- transit area for troops going to the Far East (I guess US troops headed for Japan, and French troops headed for Indochina)

 

They were responsible for organizing, gathering, prepositionning of supplies, convoy loading and personnel services in liaison with the War Department. They would also repair equipment when transisting units did not have time to check their equipment.

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Thanks again. I really appreciate it. It's a neat looking badge but probably not that exciting of a unit.

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