The 12th Cuirassier Regiment (french: 12e Régiment de Cuirassiers, 12e RC) is an armoured cavalry (tank) regiment of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

. It provides the armoured component of the 2nd Armoured Brigade. Currently stationed at Quartier Valmy,

Olivet, Loiret Olivet () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. Geography Olivet is located in the northern bend of the Loire, which crosses from east to west. Olivet belongs to the Loire Valley sector between Sully-sur-Loire and Chal ...

, France.

Formation to the First World War

The Dauphin's Regiment of Cavalry ''( Régiment du Dauphin Cavalerie)'' was established in 1688 under the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

. It fought in the Revolutionary Wars. During the Napoleonic Wars, the regiment took part in most of the major battles, including

Austerlitz Austerlitz may refer to: History * Battle of Austerlitz, an 1805 victory by the French Grand Army of Napoleon Bonaparte Places * Austerlitz, German name for Slavkov u Brna in the Czech Republic, which gave its name to the Battle of Austerlitz a ...

(1805),

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

(1806), Friedland (1807),

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the states of Austria, state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Morava (river), Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city ...

(1809),

Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

(1812),

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

(1813) and Waterloo (1815). During the post-revolution reorganisations of the army, it was redesignated as the 12th Regiment of Cavalry ''(12éme Régiment de Cavalerie)''. It saw service in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and later for a short time in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. The writer

Louis-Ferdinand Céline Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (27 May 1894 – 1 July 1961), better known by the pen name Louis-Ferdinand Céline ( , ) was a French novelist, polemicist and physician. His first novel ''Journey to the End of the Night'' (1932) won the ''Pri ...

volunteered for this regiment in 1912.

First World War

: Rambouillet. Turned into the

Interwar Period

Became the 12e Régiment de cuirassiers again in 1919. It was disbanded in 1928.

World War 2

*January 1940 : French Discovery Regiment DLM ORBAT 1940

Régiment de Découverte (Discovery Regiment) in the 3e division légère mécanique (3rd Light Mechanised Division), equipped with

Panhard Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...

P178 armoured cars and

Gnome et Rhône Gnome et Rhône was a major French aircraft engine manufacturer. Between 1914 and 1918 they produced 25,000 of their 9-cylinder Delta and Le Rhône 110 hp (81 kW) rotary designs, while another 75,000 were produced by various licen ...

motorcycles *Summer 1940 : Regiment preserved within the framework of the

Armée d'Armistice Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

, as a garrison force at

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

*1942 : Armée d'Armistice dissolved *1943 : Regiment reconstituted as the Régiment de Chars (Tank Regiment) in North Africa, by the splitting of the 12e régiment de chasseurs d'Afrique (12th Regiment of Chasseurs of Africa), and added to the 2e Division Blindée (2nd Armoured Division).

Recent

After having been a garrison force at

Müllheim Müllheim ( High Alemannic: ''Mille'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It belongs to the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald. Müllheim is generally considered to be the center of the region known as Markgräflerland. History ...

in Germany for a long time in the post-1945 period, it was amalgamated, in 1994, with the 6th Cuirassier Regiment to form the

6th-12th Cuirassier Regiment The 12th Cuirassier Regiment (french: 6e-12e Régiment de Cuirassiers,6e-12e RC) was an armoured cavalry (tank) regiment of the French Army. It was the armoured component of the 2nd Armoured Brigade. History The Chief of Staff of the French ...

, based at Olivet in

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.

. In 2009, the two units were delinked and the 6th Cuirassiers deactivated; the 12th Cuirassiers was re-established as an individual unit.

Symbol

Their symbol is a white dolphin on a blue shield.

Organization

The regiment is composed of around 940 personnel organization into 10 squadrons. *Escadron d'Administration et de Soutien (EAS) - Administration and Support Squadron *Escadron de Commandement et de Logistique (ECL) - Command and Logistics Squadron *1e Esq - 1st Squadron *2e Esq - 2nd Squadron *3e Esq - 3rd Squadron *4e Esq - 4th Squadron *Escadron d'éclairage et d'investigation de la 2e Brigade blindée (EEI) - Brigade Reconnaissance Squadron *Escadron de Maintenance Régimentaire (EMR) - Regimental Maintenance Squadron *5e Escadron de réserve - 5th Reserve Squadron *6e Escadron de réserve - 6th Reserve Squadron

Lineage

*1668 : Raised as a regiment under the name of the Régiment Dauphin - Cavalerie or, in English, Dauphin's Regiment (Cavalry). *1791 : Became 12e régiment de cavalerie *1803 : Became 12e Régiment de Cuirassiers *1815 : Dissolved at

Niort Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; oc, Niòrt; la, Novioritum) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres. The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the u ...

*1854 : Became Régiment de Cuirassiers de la

Garde Impériale The Imperial Guard (French: ''Garde Impériale'') was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he ...

*1855 : Became 1er régiment de cuirassiers de la Garde Impériale (1st Regiment of Cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard) after the creation of a second regiment of Imperial Guard cuirassiers *1865 : Merged with the 2e régiment de cuirassiers de la Garde impériale (2nd Cuirassiers Regiment of the Imperial Guard) to form the new Régiment de Cuirassiers de la Garde Impériale (Regiment of Cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard) *1871 : Became the 12eme Régiment de Cuirassiers again after the fall of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...

*August 1914 : The 12eme Régiment de Cuirassiers was assigned to the 6e brigade de Cavalerie (6th Cavalry Brigade), which was itself attached to the 7e division de cavalerie (7th Cavalry Division). *January 1918: Became 12eme Régiment de Cuirassiers à Pied and was reattached to the 2e division de cavalerie à pied (2nd Cavalry Division on foot)

Commanding officers

*1791 : Charles Michel de Lanay de Vallerie -

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

*1792 : Francois Durand Tauzia de la Litterie - colonel *1793 : Vrigny -

chef de brigade Chef de brigade was a military rank in the French Royal Artillery and in the revolutionary French armies. Before the revolution ''Chef de brigade'' was equivalent to major in the French Royal Corps of Artillery. Each regiment of artillery was div ...

. *1793 : Jean-Baptiste Colart - chef de brigade. *1795 : Jean Verreaux - chef de brigade. *1 May 1796 : Jacques Renard Belfort - chef de brigade then colonel in 1803 (*) *27 December 1805 : Joseph Dornes - colonel (*) *1809 : Jean-Louis Matheron de Curnieu - colonel *1813 : Michel Jean Paul Daudies - colonel *1815 : Charles Nicolas Thurot - colonel *''These officers became generals de brigade after this.''

Battle honours, garrisons, campaigns, events

French Revolutionary Wars

As part of the

Army of the Rhine An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

from 1792 to 1800: *1793 : Stromberg, Alzey, Brumpt,

Haguenau Haguenau (; Alsatian: or ; and historically in English: ''Hagenaw'') is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department of France, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg, some to the south. To the ...

and Gambsheim *1794 : Rebutte, Spire and Schweigenheim *1795 : Frankenthal *1796 : Mindelheim, Friedberg, Ulm, Biberach and Müllheim *1797 : Crossing of the Rhine *1799 : Siege of

Philippsburg Philippsburg () is a town in the district of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Before 1632, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim". The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1371–1718. The town is named after ...

*1800 : Battles of Engen, Moeskirch and

Hohenlinden Hohenlinden (meaning "high linden trees"; colloquially: ''Linden''; in the Bavarian dialect: ''Hea-lin'') is a community in the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg. The city of Lynden, Washington is named after it, as is Linden, Alabama. Ho ...

Napoleonic Wars

*1805 :

Wertingen Wertingen () is a town in the district of Dillingen in Bavaria, Germany. It is located along the river Zusam in 13 km east of Dillingen, and 28 km northwest of Augsburg. The city is the seat of the municipal association Wertingen. S ...

Elchingen Elchingen is a municipality about 7 km east of Ulm–Neu-Ulm in the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria, Germany. Municipality parts: * Thalfingen: 4 211 residents, 8.83 km² * Oberelchingen: 3 024 residents, 7.31 km² * ...

, Hollabrunn and

(*) *1806 :

(*) *1807 : Heilsberg and Friedland *1809 : Eckmühl, Ratisbonne, Essling, and

*1812 : Mohilev,

(*) and Winkowo *1813 : Bautzen, Reichenbach, Jauer, Dresden, Wachau and Leipzig *1814 : La Rothière, Rosnay, Champaubert, Vauchamps, Valjouan, Athies, Reims, Fere-Champenoise, and Paris *1815 :

Ligny Ligny ( wa, Lignè) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commun ...

and Waterloo (within 2e brigade, called the brigade Travers, in the 13e division de cavalerie, called the division Wathier, in the IVe corps de cavalerie under

général de division Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...

comte Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud, of the army reserve) (*) Battle honour on this regiment's flag Colonels killed and wounded in command of the 12e Cuirassiers: *Colonel de Curnier : wounded November 1812 Officers killed and wounded whilst serving in the 12e Cuirassiers during the 1805-1815 period: *Officers killed : 25 *Officers died of wounds: 9 *Officers wounded : 57

Battle honours

*Austerlitz 1805 *Iena 1806 *La Moskova 1812 *Solferino 1859 *L'Yser 1914 *L'Avre 1918 *St Mihiel 1918 *Paris 1944 *Strasbourg 1944

Decorations

Fourragère The ''fourragère'' () is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole, in the form of a braided cord. The award was first adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Luxembourg. Fou ...

Croix de guerre 1914–1918 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

*Fourragère

Croix de guerre 1939–1945 The ''Croix de Guerre 1939–1945'' (English: War Cross 1939–1945) is a French military decoration, a version of the ''Croix de Guerre'' created on 26 September 1939 to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis forces at any ti ...

*Gold Medal from the town of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

1859–1909 * Presidential Unit Citation'' (American decoration). (1945)

Quotations about the regiment

*1776 : Charles Juste de Beauvau, Prince de Beauvau:

This regiment, long known as one of the best trained cavalry regiments, entirely merits the reputation it has gained in that sphere. (Ce régiment, qui depuis longtemps passe pour l'un des mieux exercés de la cavalerie, mérite toute la réputation qu'il s'est acquise dans ce genre.)

*1918 : General Marie-Eugène Debeney:

A regiment of the highest morale and proudly held under fire. (Régiment d'un moral très élevé et d'une superbe tenue au feu.)

*1940 : General

Maxime Weygand Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II. Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educated at the Saint-Cyr military academy in Paris. After graduating in 1 ...

Thanks to an elite personnel and despite heavy losses, it knew how to preserve a high morale and a magnificent aggressive fervor (Grâce à un personnel d'élite et malgré de lourdes pertes, a su conserver un moral élevé et une ardeur combative magnifique.)

*1945 : General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

A tank regiment impregnated with the purest traditions of the cavalry, that distinguished itself by the rapidity and audacity of its actions (Régiment de chars imprégné des plus pures traditions de la cavalerie, qui s'est distingué par la rapidité et l'audace de ses actions.)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuirassier Regiment, 12th Regiments of the French First Republic Regiments of the First French Empire

12th 12 (twelve) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13. Twelve is a superior highly composite number, divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. It is the number of years required for an orbital period of Jupiter. It is central to many systems ...

Military units and formations of the Cold War Armoured regiments of France Military units and formations established in 1791