The 3rd Armoured Division () is a unit of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

formed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

that took part in the May–June 1940

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

History

Formed 20 March 1940 at

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. Campaigns: Battle of the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas 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 total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

, Meuse Front, Battle of the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

and Retreat of the center. Final command post at

Montbard Montbard () is a Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eastern France. Montbard is a small industr ...

northwest of

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

. Division captured 17–18 June. Subordination: XXI Corps of 2nd Army until 23 May, then various including 4th Army and XVIII Corps of 2nd Army.

Composition

In May 1940: * 41st Tank Battalion ( B1 ''bis'' tanks) * 49th Tank Battalion (B1 ''bis'' tanks) * 42nd Tank Battalion ( H39 tanks) * 45th Tank Battalion (H39 tanks) * 16th Motorized Rifle Battalion (''bataillon de

chasseur ''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 o ...

s portés'') * 319th 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:3e 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