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1st Light Mechanized Division (France)
The 1st Light Mechanized Division () was a French Army formation during World War II. It was the first of the armoured divisions of the French Cavalry. Formation Preparations to create such a unit began in 1931. Slowly the 4th Cavalry Division was mechanised. Name In July 1935, the mechanised components, though still not fully equipped, were given a separate identity, while confusingly 4th Cavalry continued to exist, giving the false impression the armoured division was a completely new force. The name of the unit is most often translated as "Light Mechanized Division", but a better translation, both from a linguistic as military point of view, would be "Mechanized Light Division". In French the adjective ''mécanique'' qualifies ''légère'', not the other way around. In French military parlance, light troops were those that engaged in scouting and skirmishing, and the distinction traditionally applied to both cavalry and infantry arms. A mechanized light division was therefo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Army
History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the Hundred Years' War. The units of troops were raised by issuing ''ordonnances'' to govern their length of service, composition and payment. The Compagnies d'ordonnance formed the core of the Gendarme Cavalry into the 16th century. Stationed throughout France and summoned into larger armies as needed. There was also provision made for "francs-archers" units of bowmen and foot soldiers raised from the non-noble classes, but the units were disbanded once war ended. The bulk of the infantry for warfare was still provided by urban or provincial militias, raised from an area or city to fight locally and named for their recruiting grounds. Gradually, the units became more permanent, and in the 1480s, Swiss instructors were recruited, and some of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million Military personnel, personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Air warfare of World War II, Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armoured Division
A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Historically, the division has been the default combined arms unit capable of independent operations. Smaller combined arms units, such as the American regimental combat team (RCT) during World War II, were used when conditions favored them. In recent times, modern Western militaries have begun adopting the smaller brigade combat team (similar to the RCT) as the default combined arms unit, with the division they belong to being less important. While the focus of this article is on army divisions, in naval usage "division" has a completely different meaning, referring to either an administrative/functional sub-unit of a department (e.g., fire control division of the weapons department) aboard naval and coast guard ships, shore commands, and in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Cavalry
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Fortnite French places Arts and media * The French (band), a British rock band * "French" (episode), a live-action episode of ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' * ''Française'' (film), 2008 * French Stewart (born 1964), American actor Other uses * French (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * French (tunic), a particular type of military jacket or tunic used in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union * French's, an American brand of mustard condiment * French catheter scale, a unit of measurement of diameter * French Defence, a chess opening * French kiss, a type of kiss involving the tongue See also * France (other) * Franch, a surname * French ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AMR 35
The Automitrailleuse de Reconnaissance Renault Modèle 35 Type ZT (AMR 35 or Renault ZT) was a French light tank developed during the Interbellum and used in the Second World War. It was not intended to reconnoitre and report as its name suggests but was a light armoured combat vehicle, mostly without a radio and used as a support tank for the mechanised infantry. The AMR 35 originated from a project in 1933 to improve the earlier AMR 33 by moving the engine from the front to the back. In 1934 also a stronger suspension was fitted and the type was chosen to replace the AMR 33 on the production lines that year. Three orders were made by the French Cavalry of in total two hundred vehicles in five versions, including two machine-gun tanks, two tank destroyer types and a command tank. Later ten were ordered of a radio communication variant, the Renault YS, and over forty were built of a tropical version, the ZT 4. The production would be much delayed by financial and technical probl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somua S-35
The SOMUA S35 was a French cavalry tank of the Second World War. Built from 1936 until 1940 to equip the armoured divisions of the Cavalry, it was for its time a relatively agile medium-weight tank, superior in armour and armament to its French and foreign competitors, such as the contemporary versions of the German Panzer III medium tank. It was constructed from well-sloped, mainly cast, armour sections, that however made it expensive to produce and time-consuming to maintain. During the German invasion of May 1940, the SOMUA S35 proved itself to be a tactically effective type, but this was negated by the French command's strategic mistakes in deploying their Cavalry armoured divisions. After the defeat of France in June 1940, limiting production to a total of about 440, captured SOMUA S35s were used by the Axis powers, some of them on the Eastern Front. A derived type, the SOMUA S40, with an improved suspension, lowered hull cast and welded turret armour, had been planned to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hotchkiss H35
The Hotchkiss H35 or was a French cavalry tank developed prior to World War II. Despite having been designed from 1933 as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank, the type was initially rejected by the French Infantry because it proved difficult to steer while driving cross-country, and was instead adopted in 1936 by the French Cavalry arm. From 1938 an improved version was produced with a more powerful engine, the ''Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39'', which from 1940 was also fitted with a longer, more powerful 37 mm gun. It was intended to make this improved variant the standard light tank, with at least four thousand produced to equip new armoured divisions of both the Cavalry and the Infantry arms, but due to the defeat of France in June 1940, total production of both subtypes was limited to about 1200 vehicles. For the remainder of the war Germany and its allies used captured Hotchkiss tanks in several modifications. Development In 1926, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AMC Schneider P 16
The AMC Schneider P 16, also known as the AMC Citroën-Kégresse Modèle 1929 or the ''Panhard-Schneider P16'', was a half-track that was designed for the French Army before World War II. Development The P 16 was developed in 1924 by Citroën from the earlier Citroën-Kégresse Modèle 1923, one of the models applying the Kégresse track. It was very similar in conception but had an enlarged armoured hull, built by Schneider, and a stronger 60 hp Panhard engine. In June 1925 an order was obtained for a pre-series of four vehicles. In October that year a first production series of ten is ordered. ''Citroën'' found itself unable to produce the vehicles and the order was delegated to ''Schneider''. ''Citroën'' would supply the chassis, ''Kégresse'' the suspension and ''Schneider'', responsible for the final assembly, the armour plates. The pre-series vehicles get the company designation ''Modèle 1928'' or M 28 after the year they were delivered; the production vehicles are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzer Division
A Panzer division was one of the armored (tank) divisions in the army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the blitzkrieg operations of the early years of World War II. Later the Waffen-SS formed its own ''panzer divisions'', and even the Luftwaffe fielded an elite panzer division: the Hermann Göring Division. A panzer division was a combined arms formation, having both tanks (german: Panzerkampfwagen, , usually shortened to ""), mechanized and motorized infantry, along with artillery, anti-aircraft and other integrated support elements. At the start of the war, panzer divisions were more effective than the equivalent Allied armored divisions due to their combined arms doctrine, even though they had fewer and generally less technically-advanced tanks. By mid-war, though German tanks had often become technically superior to Allied tanks, Allied armored warfare and combined arms doctrines generally caught up with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panzerwaffe
''Panzerwaffe'', later also ''Panzertruppe'' (German for " Armoured Force", "Armoured Arm" or "Tank Force". ''Waffe'': ombat"arm") refers to a command within the Heer of the German Wehrmacht, responsible for the affairs of panzer (tank) and motorized forces shortly before and during the Second World War. History It was originally known as ''Schnelltruppen'' ("Fast Troops"); a motorized command established in the ''Reichswehr'' following the First World War, redesignated as ''Panzerwaffe'' in 1936 by ''Generalleutnant'' Heinz Guderian. Panzertruppen The men of the ''Panzerwaffe'', are referred to as ''Panzertruppen'' (Armoured Troops), were distinguishable by their close fitting black uniforms, known as Panzer wraps. The corps colour of the German Panzertruppe was pink. In addition to practical considerations, the uniform was inspired by the traditional uniform of the Brunswick Hussars. After 1943, the ''Panzerwaffe'', like most other German branches of service, had rel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Cavalry
German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Germanic peoples (Roman times) * German language **any of the Germanic languages * German cuisine, traditional foods of Germany People * German (given name) * German (surname) * Germán, a Spanish name Places * German (parish), Isle of Man * German, Albania, or Gërmej * German, Bulgaria * German, Iran * German, North Macedonia * German, New York, U.S. * Agios Germanos, Greece Other uses * German (mythology), a South Slavic mythological being * Germans (band), a Canadian rock band * "German" (song), a 2019 song by No Money Enterprise * ''The German'', a 2008 short film * "The Germans", an episode of ''Fawlty Towers'' * ''The German'', a nickname for Congolese rebel André Kisase Ngandu See also * Germanic (other) * Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
