« Early in the morning, I came across the train
of three great kings who were on a journey…. »
The Transportation Corps is an arm that was created by Napoleon I in 1807 under the name « le train des équipages ». It was in charge of logistics and military road haulage operations, functions which had hitherto been carried out by civilians.
Duties of the Transportation Corps were of utmost importance given that they involved the provision of supplies and the transportation of troops as well as the evacuation of the injured.
During World War I, taxis in Paris , which contributed to stop the advance of German troops by transporting thousands of English and French soldiers to the front, became widely known as « taxis of the Marne ». They served as auxiliaries to the transportation corps.
During the 1916 dreadful battle of Verdun , the road between Bar le Duc and Verdun which the 3000 supply vehicles used daily to transport troops, arms, munitions and food, amidst bomb explosions, came to be known as « the Sacred Road », an indication of how important this corps was.
Nowadays, Transportation regiments and battalions, as they became known for short in 1928, are still the army units in charge of military road transportation and military traffic-related issues.
It should be noted that there is a Parachutist Transportation regiment
- the 1st RTP - in Toulouse , in charge of taking part in airborne operations.
1954 -1960 Sud Algérois -
Le temps de nos vingt ans
584e bataillon du Train -
Yves Augagneur