The French 1st Cavalry Brigade was a military unit of the French Army which served during World War II. A partly horse-mounted unit, it fought in the

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 o ...

and the

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 ...

in May 1940. An element of the brigade was noted for its defence of Vendresse against German tanks, delaying their opponents for most of the day. After the Armistice of 22 June 1940 the brigade was reformed as a unit of Vichy France, but it was disbanded in November 1942.

Pre-war

The 1st Cavalry Brigade was a pre-war unit commanded from 1936 by Colonel Maurice-Arthur-Alphonse Wemaere. In August 1939 it consisted of the 1st Hussar Cavalry Regiment and the and was commanded by General of Brigade . It was part of the . In February 1940, the 1st Cavalry Division became the partly motorized 1st Light Division and the 1st Cavalry Brigade became independent.

Battles of Belgium and France

The unit served directly under the Second Army during the opening stages of the Western Front of the Second World War, during which the unit was augmented with the

4th Tank Battalion 4th Tank Battalion (4th Tanks) is an armored battalion of the United States Marine Corps Reserve. Their primary weapon system is the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank and they are part of the 4th Marine Division and Marine Forces Reserve. The unit head ...

. The cavalry of the Second Army was deployed into Belgium on the morning of 10 May 1940, after the German invasion. The 2nd Light Cavalry Division became engaged in heavy fighting with the advanced German units and was pushed back from near Étalle to Jamoigne. The 1st Cavalry Brigade was ordered to occupy a position between Jamoigne,

Suxy Chiny (; wa, Tchini) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. On 1 January 2018 the municipality, which covers , had 5,175 inhabitants, giving a population density of 46 inhabitants per km2. The m ...

and

Straimont Straimont is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Herbeumont, located in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. The village lies close to an old Roman road connecting Reims with Trier. Since 2004, wildlife conservation Wild ...

to defend the line. A horse troop was deployed within Suxy itself. The German 10th Panzer Division unexpectedly altered its line of advance which brought in into conflict with the 1st Cavalry Brigade on the morning of 11 May. The horse troop in Suxy held off the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland until guns from the 16th Assault Gun Company forced them back. The brigade was pushed back around from the west of Suxy, opening the route to Mortehan. The unit was thereafter lightly engaged and withdrew in cooperation with the adjacent

5th Light Cavalry Division The French 5th Light Cavalry Division was a French Army division active during World War II. It was led by Lieut. General Baron Subervie. World War 2 Battle Of France During the Battle of France in May 1940 the division Division or divider may re ...

towards their final defensive position along the Semois river. Hampered by refugees and generally slower than the German Panzer Division troops the retreat was confused and some German forces crossed the river, compromising the defence. The French cavalry had largely been ineffective in its objective to delay the German advance in Belgium; it had been surprised by the speed of the German troops and had insufficient tanks and anti-tank weaponry to oppose them. The unit was afterwards deployed in France to defend the rear of the Maginot Line from a German advance from Sedan. With both units weakened by losses in Belgium it was combined with the 5th Light Cavalry Division and assigned to XXI Corps. The unit fought alongside the

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of African cavalry to defend the Ourthe River. With other units pushed back the 1st Cavalry Brigade covered the French withdrawal south to Chagny. On 14 May the unit attempted to defend Vendresse against the 1st Panzer Division, with the 5th Light Cavalry Division. The units, many of whom were horse-mounted, held up the German armour for the entire day, before withdrawing, when ordered, at 5 p.m. A horse troop from the 1st Cavalry Brigade took part in the defence of Chagny against the 1st and 2nd Panzer Regiments and suffered heavy losses, withdrawing to Hill 250.

Vichy unit

After the French surrender the 1st Cavalry Brigade was restored as a unit of Vichy France. In September 1940 it consisted of the and . It was disbanded in November 1942.

References

* {{cite book , author= Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre , title=Guerre 1939–1945 Les Grandes Unités Françaises (GUF), language=French, location= Paris, publisher= Imprimerie Nationale, year= 1967, volume=3, ref={{sfnref, GUF . Cavalry brigades of France Military units and formations of France in World War II