The 4th Armored Division () was a short-lived armoured 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 on 10 May 1940 on the battlefield, it comprised mainly tank battalions. It fought without interruption for forty days and was initially commanded by

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

Battle Of France

Formation

The division was formed under Colonel De Gaulle on 15 May 1940.

Fighting The Blitzkrieg

The 4DCr launched an attack on 17 May at the

Battle of Montcornet The Battle of Montcornet, on 17 May 1940 took place during the Battle of France. The French 4e Division cuirassée (Colonel Charles de Gaulle), attacked the German-held village of Montcornet with over 200 tanks. The French drove off the Germans b ...

, where it successfully threw back the German defenses but had to retreat on its starting positions for lack of support and air cover. It then moved south of Abbeville to attack German bridgeheads across the Aisne river, fighting the

Battle of Abbeville The Battle of Abbeville took place from 27 May to 4 June 1940, near Abbeville during the Battle of France in the Second World War. On 20 May, the 2nd Panzer Division advanced to Abbeville on the English Channel, overran the 25th Infantry Briga ...

on 28/29 May with the aim of breaking through to the encircled Allied units trapped in

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.51st (Highland) Infantry Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

and regrouped at Marseille-en-Beauvaisis to attach itself to the armoured group under General Charles Delestraint. On 6 June, De Gaulle was relieved of his command to rejoin his new commission as State under-secretary for War in the government. De Gaulle was replaced by Colonel Chaudesolle for one day. General

Pierre Jules de la Font Pierre Jules André Marie de La Font (9 July 1885 – 7 July 1963) was a French general of cavalry. Biography Graduating from Saint-Cyr in 1906, he took courses at the Cavalry School at Saumur 1907. In 1915, at his request, he left the cavalry ...

took command of the division on 7 June. On 10 June, the armoured group was attached to the Paris Army, and on 12 June, the division was assigned to the 10th Army Corps. From then on, it took part in rear-guard fights during the retreat, notably on the Loire river from 12 to 19 June, and until the cease-fire on 26 June.

Composition

The division was composed of the following units: * 46^e bataillon de chars de combat * 19^e bataillon de chars de combat * 4^e bataillon de chasseurs portés * 24^e bataillon de chars de combat * 303^e régiment d'artillerie tractée * 4^e groupe autonome d'artillerie * 322^e RATTT / 1^er groupe (from 17 May) * 322^e RATTT / 2^e groupe (from 17 May) * 10^e régiment de cuirassiers - One squadron equipped with the Panhard 178 (from 18 May) * 3^e cuirassiers / 1^er groupe d'escadron - One squadron equipped with SOMUA S35 tanks (from 18 May) * 10/80^e BDAC (from 20 May) * 11/86^e BDAC (from 20 May) * 47^e bataillon de chars de combat (from 21 May) * 44^e bataillon de chars de combat (from 21 May) * 44^e bataillon de chars de combat (from 21 May) * 1020^e batterie, 404^e DCA (from 23 May) * 305^e RATTT / 1^er groupe (105) (from 23 May) * 2^e bataillon du 7^e régiment de dragons portés (from 24 May) * 3^e cuirassiers / 2^e groupe d'escadron - One squadron equipped with

Hotchkiss H35 The Hotchkiss H35 or was a French cavalry tank developed prior to World War II. Despite having been designed from 1933 as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank, the type was initially rejected by the French Infantry becaus ...

tanks (from 25 May) * 665^e batterie divisionnaire antichar (from 25 May) * 51^e batterie antichar autonome (from 25 May) * 661^e batterie divisionnaire antichar (from 28 May)

Equipment

The division was equipped with the following vehicles: * 58 Char B1bis heavy tanks * 44 Char D2 medium tanks * 135 SOMUA S35 medium tanks * 40

Hotchkiss H39 The Hotchkiss H35 or was a French cavalry tank developed prior to World War II. Despite having been designed from 1933 as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank, the type was initially rejected by the French Infantry becaus ...

light tanks * 48 Panhard 178 armoured cars

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:4e 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