French Forces in the Dead Zone

[Ewan]

I can certainly see the French reforming the Forces maritimes du Rhin
https://www.reddit.com/r/TankPorn/comments/yptlro/m4a2_sherman_without_wheels_and_suspension/

[Raellus]

That's an interesting find, Ewan. It makes perfect sense that the French would reactivate their naval riverine force to patrol the Rhine (Forces maritimes du Rhin, disbanded IRL in 1966) during the Twilight War.

A quick Google search suggests that the USA and UK also had Rhine riverine forces for several years after the end of WW2. I was unaware of any of them.

https://usarmygermany.com/Sont.htm?https&&&usarmygermany.com/Units/USNavy/USAREUR_Rhine%20River%20Patrol.htm

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[Homer]

In lieu of anything in canon, I’d offer that the force is manned (at least in part) by sailors from the French Fusiliers Marins (Sailor Riflemen), a maritime security and ship’s troops element of the French Navy that formed the core of of the Indochina War Dinassat riverine forces and supply candidates to the French Commandos Marine (Naval Commandos). The Fusiliers Marina are trained in small boat handling, limited land warfare, and search skills that would be useful on the Rhine Frontier. Since their primary mission is guarding French naval facilities, shipboard security, and especially securing the SSBN they would probably need to be expanded back into an operational brigade from their current disposition as a static security unit and administrative regiment (Regiment des Fusiliers Marins aka RFM to Brigade des Fusiliers Marins aka BFM). The manpower which could be done through conscription, reallocation of manpower from elsewhere in the Navy, or the use of foreign “volunteers” to establish one or more wartime only units (Regiment de Marche les Fusiliers Marins du Rhin aka RMFMR) under the Brigade.

The boat crews could be solely FMs, or could be a mix of Franco-Belgian (and “volunteer”) naval personnel to operate and maintain the craft while the FMS provide the boarding and land combat force. Currently FMs are taught small boat handling as part of their initial training, so either option could work. I doubt you get anything approaching the Indochina era river assault squadrons, but something similar to the machine gun armed river patrol craft used by the post WW2 Rhine Patrols or a landing craft based gunboat or troop carrier is easily doable.