The 9th Hussar Regiment (''9e régiment de hussards'') was a

hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

regiment 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 ...

. The 9th Hussar Regiment fought in 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 ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

before finally being disbanded in 1979.

History

The regiment's ancestry is drawn from two separate units, one originating in a squadron of the Hussards de la Liberté and the other in the Régiment des Guides.

The Revolutionary Wars

Its origins lay in the Hussards de la Liberté, set up on 2 September 1792 and by a royal decree dated 23 November 1792. This unit was divided into two squadrons of 200 men each (the first squadron made up of volunteers from

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and the second from volunteers from

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

) and came ninth in the army order of precedence by a decree of the French National Convention of 4 June 1793. On 25 March 1793, that unit's second squadron became the 10th Hussar Regiment (whilst on 1 May 1794 the first squadron of the Hussards de la Liberté became the ''7e régiment bis de hussards''). On 4 June 1794, after the defection of the 4th Hussar Regiment, the 10th Hussar Regiment was re-numbered as the 9th Hussar Regiment. In 1795, the regiment was involved in the

Vendée Revolt Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

. It was part of the Army of the Rhine in 1796 and the

Army of the Danube The Army of the Danube (french: Armée du Danube, links=no) was a field army of the French Directory in the 1799 southwestern campaign in the Upper Danube valley. It was formed on 2 March 1799 by the simple expedient of renaming the Army ...

in 1798. It was known as the ''Hussards Rouges'' or Red Hussars after its scarlet

dolman The somewhat vaguely defined term dolman (from Turkish ''dolaman'' "robe" ) can refer to various types of clothing, all of which have sleeves and cover the top part of the body, and sometimes more. Originally, the term ''dolaman'' referred to ...

The Napoleonic Wars

It then formed part of the

Grande Armée ''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empi ...

from 1805 onwards. In 1805, it took on the

Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition) * In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...

in the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in ...

. 1806–07 made them take part in the

war of the fourth coalition The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, s ...

in the battles of Jena–Auerstedt,

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

and Friedland, all in modern day

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and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. In 1809 it took part in the

war of the fifth coalition The War of the Fifth Coalition was a European conflict in 1809 that was part of the Napoleonic Wars and the Coalition Wars. The main conflict took place in central Europe between the Austrian Empire of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis ...

and charged at Eckmühl then at

Wagram Deutsch-Wagram (literally "German Wagram", ), often shortened to Wagram, is a village in the Gänserndorf District, in the states of Austria, state of Lower Austria, Austria. It is in the Morava (river), Marchfeld Basin, close to the Vienna city ...

against the forces of Archduke Charles. In 1812 it took part in the French invasion of Russia, attacking at Borodino, and surviving the retreat from Moscow. In 1813–14 it took part in the

war of the sixth coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...

at the battles of Bautzen and

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. When they were pushed back to the French Frontier, what remained of the regiment after the retreat through Germany was converted into the ''régiment de Berry-hussards'' (with precedence number 6) on 12 May 1814.

In The Industrial Age

On 27 September 1840, by decree of

Louis Philippe I of France Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

, the 9th Hussars was re-created out of detachments from the 1st Hussar Regiment, 3rd Hussar Regiment, 4th Hussar Regiment,

6th Hussar Regiment 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second smalles ...

and 9th Mounted Chasseur Regiment. Its dolman was now black and it was nicknamed the ''Hussards Noirs'' or Black Hussars, a name it held until the proclamation of the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Empire, Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the French Second Republic, Second and the French Third Republic ...

. On 4 May 1856 it was disbanded.

Régiment des Guides

Meanwhile, in 1852, the Régiment des Guides was formed. On 1 May 1854 this became the régiment des guides de la Garde Impériale, and in 1871, became 9th Hussar Regiment.

World War I

The 9th Hussars were mobilized on 2 August 1914, commanded by Colonel Burette. The regiment was positioned between 14th and 21st Corps, fighting in the Battle of the Frontiers. On 19 September, the regiment was transported by rail to the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

where it faced the 21st Prussian Corps. The 9th Hussars became part of the 1st Cavalry Corps on 21 October and participated in the Race to the Sea. Brought back to Amiens in December, the 9th Hussars were in operations on the Somme until August 1916. On 6 August 1916, the regiment was relocated to take part in the

Second Battle of Champagne The Second Battle of Champagne ( or Autumn Battle) in World War I was a French offensive against the German army at Champagne that coincided with an Anglo-French assault at north-east Artois and ended with French retreat. Battle On 25 Septem ...

, as part of 14th Corps. The 9th Hussars attacked on 26 September, suffering heavy losses. After the offensive, the regiment was moved to Montbéliard. In response to the German attacks at Verdun, the regiment was transferred to the Meuse on 29 February 1916. In December 1917, the regiment was moved to the Somme again and left on 28 May for the Chemin des Dames. The regiment took part in the Battle of Malmaison from 16 August to 23 October. In November, the 9th Hussars were withdrawn and stationed in Villiers-Cotterets. In January 1918, the regiment moved to

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. As part of 14th Corps, the 9th Hussars retreated to the Somme after the German spring offensive in early April. The regiment participated in the

Fifth Battle of Ypres The Fifth Battle of Ypres, also called the Advance in Flanders and the Battle of the Peaks of Flanders (french: Bataille des Crêtes de Flandres) is an informal name used to identify a series of World War I battles in northern France and southe ...

in the last months of the war. The regiment was disbanded in 1922 at Chambéry, where it was then on garrison duties.

World War II and the Cold War

It was briefly re-formed in 1944, before being permanently re-created on 20 May 1956 at

Sissonne Sissonne () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is about 20 km east of Laon, close to the source of the river Souche. The community dates back to the 12th century with the first church built c.1107. ...

to fight in Oranie. In 1962 it served as the garrison at

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, before being disbanded on 1 June 1964, becoming the 18th Dragoon Regiment as the Reims garrison. On 1 July 1964 it was recreated for the

before being finally disbanded in 1979.

Commanders

* 1792: Jacques-Polycarpe Morgan * 1794: Chef de brigade Thierry * 1798: Nicolas Ducheyron * 1801: Chef de brigade Guyot * 1805: Colonel Barbanegre * 1806: Pierre Edme Gautherin * 1809: Colonel Louis Charles Gregoire Maignet * 1840: Colonel Francis Eustache Fulque * 1848: Colonel Morin Commanders of the regiment of the Imperial Guard Guides * 1852: Colonel Fleury * 1860: Colonel de Montaigu * 1866: Colonel Joachim Murat * 1870: Colonel de Percin de Northumberlain Commanders of the 9th Hussars since 1871 * 1871: Colonel Friant * 1875: Colonel Gail * 1884: Colonel Plessis * 1889: Colonel Ozenne * 1898: Colonel Devezeaux de Rancougne * 1906: Colonel Bremond d'Ars * 1907: Colonel Villeneuve-Bargemon * 1912: Colonel Burette * 1918: Colonel Bezard * 1956: Colonel Lizeray * 1957: Colonel Delage-Luget * 1959: Colonel Chazelles * 1961: Colonel Tartinville * 1962: Colonel Abrial * 1964: Colonel Poumarede * 1965: Lieutenant Colonel Mazarguil * 1967: Lieutenant Colonel Royer * 1970: Lieutenant Colonel Lanurien * 1971: Lieutenant Colonel Aigueperse * 1972: Lieutenant Colonel Huon de Kermadec * 1975: Lieutenant Colonel Preaud * 1977: Colonel Dupont Dinechin

Bibliography

* Ogier d'Ivry, ''Historique du 9^e régiment de hussards'', Valence, 1894 * ''Historique des corps de troupe de l'armée française (1569-1900),'' Ministère de la Guerre, 1900 * André Jouineau et Jean-Marie Mongin, ''Les hussards français, Tome 1, De l'Ancien Régime à l'Empire'', Paris, Éditions ''Histoire et collection'', 2004 * ''Historique du 9^e régiment de hussards - août 1914, novembre 1918'', Paris, Charles-lavauzelle, 1920 * Livret d'accueil remis aux nouveaux Hussards lors de l'incorporation .( Provins 1970) * Revue Gloire et Empire; Revue Napoléon I^er. {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Cavalry regiments of France Regiments of the Bourbon Restoration Regiments of the French First Republic Regiments of the First French Empire Regiments of the July Monarchy Regiments of France in the French Revolutionary Wars 20th-century regiments of France Disbanded units and formations of France Military units and formations established in 1792 Military units and formations disestablished in 1979 1792 establishments in France 1979 disestablishments in France