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Groupes Franc Motorisé De Cavalerie
The Groupes Franc Motorisé de Cavalerie or GFC was a type of autonomous unit of the French Army created during the Nazi Invasion. Taking inspiration for their name from the Corps Francs which had played an important role in the Phoney War, they were a very early attempt to create truly independent Combined Arms Combat Teams. Although little more than Company sized, they had organic Armored, Artillery, and Infantry elements all rolled into one small and highly mobile force. They were created somewhat out of desperation in response to the rapid German advance into France and operated as independent strike forces with great latitude of movement. Although they were found to be quite effective, their existence died with the Third Republic. Creation and missions The Groupes Francs Motorisés de Cavalerie were formed in the chaos of late May 1940 during the Battle of France. They were composed of two squadrons each, principally by regrouping the remnants of the Groupes de Recon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its Metropolitan France, metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin (island), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, fairly immobile siege engines. As technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery cannons developed for battlefield use. This development continues today; modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility generally providing the largest share of an army's total firepower. Originally, the word "artillery" referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armor. Since the introduction of gunpowder and cannon, "artillery" has largely meant cannons, and in contemporary usage, usually refers to shell-firing guns, howitzers, and mortars (collectively called ''barrel artillery'', ''cannon artillery'', ''gun artillery'', or - a layman t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tank
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; usually their main armament is mounted in a turret. They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of combined arms combat. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapons platforms whose main armament is a large-caliber tank gun mounted in a rotating gun turret, supplemented by machine guns or other ranged weapons such as anti-tank guided missiles or rocket launchers. They have heavy vehicle armour which provides protection for the crew, the vehicle's munition storage, fuel tank and propulsion systems. The use of tracks rather than wheels provides improved operational mobility which allows the tank to overcome rugged terrain and adverse conditions such as mud and ice/snow better than wheeled vehicles, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, etc. In militaries, the captain is typically at the level of an officer commanding a company or battalion of infantry, a ship, or a battery of artillery, or another distinct unit. The term also may be used as an informal or honorary title for persons in similar commanding roles. Etymology The term "captain" derives from (, , or 'the topmost'), which was used as title for a senior Byzantine military rank and office. The word was Latinized as capetanus/catepan, and its meaning seems to have merged with that of the late Latin "capitaneus" (which derives from the classical Latin word "caput", meaning head). This hybridized term gave rise to the English language term captain and its equivalents in other languages (, , , , , , , , , kapitány, K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chief Of Staff Of The French Army
The Chief of the Army Staff (french: Chef d'état-major de l'armée de terre, CEMAT) is the military head of the French Army. The chief directs the army staff and acts as the principal advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff on subjects concerning the Army. As such, they ensure the operational preparedness of their service branch, express their need for military and civilian personnel, and are responsible for maintaining the discipline, morale and conduct of their troops. Special responsibilities can be assigned to them in relation to nuclear safety. The chief does not have a fixed term, nor an attached rank. In practice, however, a term has never exceeded five years and all chiefs since the late 1950s have been five–stars generals (OF–09). They are assisted in their duties by the Major General of the Army who will deputise if needed. General Pierre Schill is the current chief and has been serving since 22 July 2021. History Creation The office was originally created ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
School Of Mechanised Combat
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools. The names for these schools vary by country (discussed in the '' Regional terms'' section below) but generally include primary school for young children and secondary school for teenagers who have completed primary education. An institution where higher education is taught is commonly called a university college or university. In addition to these core schools, students in a given country may also attend schools before and after primary (elementary in the U.S.) and secondary (middle school in the U.S.) education. Kindergarten or preschool provide some schooling to very young children (typically ages 3–5). University, vocational school, college or seminary may be ava ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montlhéry
Montlhéry () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris. History Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. Under the Merovingians, it was owned by the church in Reims and in 768 it was given to the abbey of St. Denis in Paris. It was the site of a number of battles between the lords of Montlhéry and the early House of Capet, Capetian monarchy. The Montlhéry noble house was related to the Montmorency family; Thibaud, the founder of the Montlhéry dynasty, was the brother of Bouchard II, the progenitor of the Montmorency house. Thibaud ruled from 970 to 1031 and was succeeded by his son Guy I of Montlhéry, Guy I, who ruled until 1095. Guy I's children married into other local noble families: his daughter Melisende married Hugh, count of Rethel, and another daughter Elizabeth married Joscelin of Courtenay. Through these marriages and subsequent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or Formation (military), 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 Military tactics, 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 (naval), 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) aboar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Belgium
The invasion of Belgium or Belgian campaign (10–28 May 1940), often referred to within Belgium as the 18 Days' Campaign (french: Campagne des 18 jours, nl, Achttiendaagse Veldtocht), formed part of the greater Battle of France, an Military offensive, offensive campaign by Nazi Germany, Germany during the World War II, Second World War. It took place over 18 days in May 1940 and ended with the German occupation of Belgium following the surrender of the Belgian Land Component, Belgian Army. On 10 May 1940, Germany Invasion of Luxembourg, invaded Luxembourg, Battle of the Netherlands, the Netherlands, and Belgium under the operational plan ''Manstein Plan, Fall Gelb'' (Case Yellow). The Allied armies Dyle Plan, attempted to halt the German Army in Belgium, believing it to be the main German thrust. After the French had fully committed the best of the Allies of World War II, Allied armies to Belgium between 10 and 12 May, the Germans enacted the second phase of their operation, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groupe De Reconnaissance De Division D'infanterie
A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation. Air and aviation groups The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches of a national defence force. Air groups vary considerably in size and status, but generally take two forms: * A unit of two to four squadrons, commanded by a lieutenant colonel, colonel, commander, naval captain or an equivalent rank. The United States Air Force (USAF), ''groupes'' of the French ''Armée de l'air'', ''gruppen'' of the German ''Luftwaffe'', United States Marine Corps Aviation, British Fleet Air Arm and some other naval air services usually follow this pattern. * A larger formation, often comprising more than 10 squadrons, commanded by a major general, brigadier general, commodore, rear admiral, air commodore or air vice-marshal. The air forces of many Commonwealth countries, such as the British Royal Air Force (RAF) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
May 1940
May 1940 was the fifth month of that leap year. It began on a Wednesday, and ended after 31 days on a Friday. The following events occurred in May 1940: May 1, 1940 (Wednesday) *The Battle of Zaoyang–Yichang began in China. *The Łódź Ghetto was sealed. *Adolf Hitler set a date of May 6 for the western offensive. This date would be postponed a few more times prior to May 10 due to weather. *Norwegian troops at Lillehammer surrendered to the Germans. *The Norwegian troopship '' Dronning Maud'' was sunk by German aircraft. *The very old Norwegian minelayer '' Uller'', captured and pressed into service by the Germans, was bombed and beached by a Heinkel He 115 of the Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service. *Swedish Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson declared that Sweden would defend its neutrality "with all the means in our power." *Born: Elsa Peretti, jewelry designer, in Florence, Italy (d. 2021) May 2, 1940 (Thursday) *The Germans reached Åndalsnes. *Italian mystic Gemma Galga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
