1st Armoured Division (France, 1940)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1st Armoured Division (french: 1re Division Cuirassée, 1re DCR) is a unit of the
French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
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 German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...
.


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


Composition

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 ...
portés'') * 305th Artillery Regiment


References


Bibliography

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