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Jacquot elie 1945 14DI défilé paris 18 juin 1945

The 14th Infantry Division (14e DI) was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

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 ...

which took part in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

History

Napoleonic Wars

The 14th Infantry Division already fought in the Hundred Days campaign in 1815, as part of General Gérard's 4th Infantry Corps, where it was abandoned by its commander, General of Division Count de Ghaisnes de Bourmont, who defected to the allied camp.

World War I

The Division was recreated in 1873 in

Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Territo ...

.
At the beginning of the First World War, it was mobilised in the 7th Military Region and formed part of the 7th Army Corps from August 1914 to November 1918.
It received the nickname ''Aces Division'' in 1917 for its splendid performance during the Third Battle of Champagne.

World War II (1940)

On 10 May 1940 the 14th DI was commanded by General of Division

Jean de Lattre de Tassigny Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French général d'armée during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952. As ...

, who would later become Marshal of France.
The Division was first attached to the reserve of the General Headquarters, but between 15 May and 15 June, it fought at

Rethel Rethel () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture and third-most important city and economic center in the department. It is situated on the river Aisne, near the northern border of Champagne and 37& ...

Thugny-Trugny Thugny-Trugny () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ardennes department The following is a list of the 449 communes of the Ardennes department of France. The communes coo ...

and in Champagne, and then withdrew to the Marne and the Loire. Exceptionally, it retained its cohesion throughout the retreat, recovering lost soldiers from other units and equipment abandoned or stored in military depots. After the Armistice, it was regrouped in Clermont-Ferrand and dissolved in August 1940.

World War II (1945)

The 14th DI was recreated on 9 February 1945, by the amalgamation of units of the

French forces of the interior The French Forces of the Interior (french: Forces françaises de l'Intérieur) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation ...

(FFI).
Commanded by General

Raoul Salan Raoul Albin Louis Salan (; 10 June 1899 – 3 July 1984) was a French Army general. He served as the fourth French commanding general during the First Indochina War. He was one of four retired generals who organized the 1961 Algiers Putsch op ...

, its headquarters was located in

Buhl, Haut-Rhin Buhl (; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It inhabitants are called ''Buhlois'' (male) or ''Buhloises'' (female). Geography Buhl is situated in the valley of the Lauch, at the foot of the Vosges ...

.
Most of its elements had already fought in the Vosges and in Alsace during the winter It was integrated into the 1st Army of General

, under the wider banner of the

French Liberation Army __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

. Sent to the Rhine on 23 March, the division entered Germany on 10 April. Protecting the rear of the 1st French Army, the 14th Division ended the war on

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...

.
It was disbanded there on 30 April 1946.

Algerian War

The 14th Infantry Division was recreated on 16 June 1954, at the same time as the 11th DI.
Commanded by General Lavaud, it was sent to Northern Africa where it fought first in Tunisia in the

Sfax Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean ...

region.
In mid-1955, the division was transferred to the region of

Constantine, Algeria Constantine ( ar, قسنطينة '), also spelled Qacentina or Kasantina, is the capital of Constantine Province in northeastern Algeria. During Roman Empire, Roman times it was called Cirta and was renamed "Constantina" in honor of emperor Const ...

.
The Division was disbanded in 1962.

Cold War

A new 14th DI was created in 1973, which was based in Lyon.
It was renamed 14th Light Armored Division in 1984, and disbanded in 1993, when the Cold War had come to an end.

Sources

* This article is translated from French Wikipedia. {{French Army Divisions Infantry divisions of France Military units and formations established in 1873 Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946