The 1st Armoured Division (french: 1^re Division Cuirassée, 1^re DCR) is a unit 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 ...

formed during

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

that took part in the May-June 1940

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

History

Formed 16 January 1940 at Châlons-sur-Marne. Missing half of its motorcycles and artillery caissons on 10 May 1940. Division took serious losses on 15-16 May and lost all of its tanks. It had to be reformed from 31 May until 4 June. Campaigns: Battle of the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

, Battle of the North,

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

and Retreat of the Center. Division disbanded in July and August 1940. Final command post at Le Dognon, northeast of

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

. Subordination:

XI Corps 11 Corps, 11th Corps, Eleventh Corps, or XI Corps may refer to: * 11th Army Corps (France) * XI Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XI Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

of the 9th Army until 17 May, 6th Army from 1–25 June.GUF, Vol. 3, pp. 458-475.

Composition

Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-382-0201-09, Belgien, Beaumont, Häuserruinen

In May 1940: * 28th Tank Battalion ( B1 ''bis'' tanks) * 37th Tank Battalion (B1 ''bis'' tanks) * 25th Tank Battalion ( H39 tanks) * 26th Tank Battalion (H39 tanks) * 5th Motorized Rifle Battalion (''bataillon de

chasseurs ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army ori ...

portés'') * 305th Artillery Regiment

References

Bibliography

* (GUF) Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre. ''Guerre 1939–1945 Les

Grandes Unités Françaises Grandes Unités Françaises (full title: ''Guerre 1939-1945 Les Grandes Unités Françaises'') is a monumental six-volume (the fifth volume is actually composed of four separate works) World War II order of battle and military unit history referenc ...

''. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1967. {{DEFAULTSORT:1re Division cuirassee French World War II divisions Armored divisions of France Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940