The 2nd Lancers Regiment ( pt, Regimento de Lanceiros nº 2, RL2) is a unit of the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

responsible for the instruction, organization and maintenance of the '' Polícia do Exército'' (Army Police) operational units.

History

The origins of the 2nd Lancers Regiment date back to the creation of the Queen's Lancers Regiment in 1833, by the constitutional army during the

Liberal Wars The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War (), the War of the Two Brothers () or Miguelite War (), was a war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 18 ...

. The idea for the creation of the regiment came from the observation of the success that resulted from the

lancer A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by Persia, India, Egypt, China, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

s during 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 ...

. Since its creation the regiment became an elite unit, responsible for the escort of the royal family, being mostly composed of aristocratic officers. Two lancer regiments were created by the 1834 army re-organization, the second unit of which was broken down as follows:: : 1834 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment : 1844 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the Queen's Lancers : 1884 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment : 1888 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment of Prince Charles : 1890 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the King's Lancers : 1911 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment : 1948 - 2nd Lancers Regiment : 1975 -

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

Regiment : 1976 - Lisbon Lancers Regiment : 1993 - 2nd Lancers Regiment The regiment continued employing the lance as a combat weapon until

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 ...

, after which it was restricted to ceremonial use. At the beginning of the war, the unit was equipped with armored cars and

light tank A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of ...

s. In 1953 with the creation of the Military Police, the regiment assumed the function of organizing, training and maintaining the forces of this specialized force. The unit was renamed the Army Police in 1976. Its motto is "Death or Glory" as its first commander was Lt. Col. Sir Anthony Bacon, an English officer that served in the

17th Lancers The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regiment was amalgamated with the 21st Lanc ...

, adopting its motto. The Portuguese lancers were given the mission (and created for the purpose) to defend the Queen

Maria II , image = Queen Maria II by John Simpson.jpg , caption = Portrait by John Simpson, 1835 , succession = Queen of Portugal , reign = , predecessor = Pedro IV , successor = Miguel I , reg-type = Regents , regent ...

. The Regiment was involved in the

Lisbon regicide The Lisbon Regicide or Regicide of 1908 ( pt, Regicídio de 1908) was the assassination of King Carlos I of Portugal and the Algarves and his heir-apparent, Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, by assassins sympathetic to Republican interests ...

in 1908 at various levels, the king's murderer,

Manuel Buiça Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Manu ...

, served in the regiment as sergeant, the lieutenant that killed Buiça was serving in the Regiment (the Regiment still forms bodyguards), and Prince

Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

Luís who became commander of the regiment (the royal family spent much time with the regiment, the officers were often invited to private events and referred to by their first names). The prince had a room in the regiment, where now is a library. The Regiment is nowadays responsible for Crowd and Riot Control (CRC), Bodyguard (personal bodyguards for the Army Chief of Staff), Traffic control of military vehicles and Control of individual movements (correct use of uniform, etc.), and K-9 unit for drug search and CRC (using Labrador Retrievers and Malinois and Rottweillers)

Equipment

Infantry equipment

* Glock 17 Gen 5; *

Benelli Supernova The Benelli Supernova is a pump action shotgun used for hunting, self-defense and law enforcement, made by Italian firearm manufacturer Benelli Armi SpA. The Supernova features a recoil reducer, which is attached to the interior of the stock, an ...

Heckler & Koch MP5K The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...

* FN SCAR L STD * FN Minimi Mk3 *

FN40GL The FN SCAR (Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle) is a family of gas-operated short-stroke gas piston automatic rifles developed by Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal (FN) in 2004. It is constructed with modularity for the United State ...

Grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mos ...

Vehicles

Yamaha TDM 900 The Yamaha TDM 900 is a 2-cylinder engine sport touring motorcycle produced by Yamaha Motor Company between 2002 and 2011. It was the third and last generation fabricated for the TDM series. History Product planner Hennes Fischer remembers: "It ...

Mitsubishi L200 The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational corporation, multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company ...

* Land Rover Defender 110 *

Toyota Land Cruiser The (also sometimes spelled as LandCruiser) is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than ...

Citroën Berlingo The Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner are a range of multi-purpose vehicles produced by the PSA Group and later by Stellantis. They are sold both as panel vans for use as commercial vehicles and as a passenger variant with rear seats and win ...

Mercedes-Benz Vito The Mercedes-Benz Vito is a mid-sized light commercial vehicle (LCV) produced by Mercedes-Benz, available as a panel van, chassis cab, or multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), carrying cargo or up to eight passengers. In the Mercedes-Benz van lineup, it ...

* Unimog 1750L * DAF YA 4440 D * Mercedes-Benz Atego 4X2

References

{{coord missing, Portugal Cavalry regiments of Portugal Regiments of Portugal Military provosts of Portugal Army regiments of Portugal