4th Hussar Regiment (France)
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The 4th Hussar Regiment (''4e régiment de hussards'') is 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 in 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 ...
, raised and embodied in 1783 and still in existence.


Formation and the Revolutionary wars (1783–1800)

It was created as the hussards Colonel Général on 31 July 1783 for the
Duke of Chartres Originally, the Duchy of Chartres (''duché de Chartres'') was the ''comté'' de Chartres, a County. The title of comte de Chartres thus became duc de Chartres. This duchy–peerage was given by Louis XIV of France to his nephew, Philippe II ...
, by taking one squadron from each of the Bercheny, Chamborant, Conflans and Esterhazy regiments of
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 ...
s. On 30 May 1788 it was reinforced by a contingent of soldiers taken from the régiment de Quercy, régiment de Septimanie, régiment de Nassau, régiment de La Marck, régiment de Franche-Comté and régiment des Évéchés, all then cavalry units. The new hussar regiment would enter combat multiple times during the War of the 1st and 2nd Coalitions. Such notable battles include, Valmy (1792), Croix-aux-Bois (1792), Maastricht (1793), Hondschoote (1793), Flerus (1794), Stockach (1799), Second Battle of Zurich (1799), and Hohenlinden (1800).


Napoleonic Wars

The hussars also played a prominent role as cavalry 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 ...
(1803–1815), serving in campaigns in Austria (1804 & 1809), Prussia (1805 -1806), Poland (1806), Spain (1809 - 1813), Germany (1812), France (1814 - 1815), and Belgium (1815) before being disbanded by the Bourbon Restoration. As
light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was primarily rai ...
men mounted on fast horses, they would be used to fight skirmish battles and for scouting. Most of the great European powers raised hussar regiments. The armies of France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia had included hussar regiments since the mid-18th century. In the case of Britain, four light
dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...
regiments were converted to hussars in 1806–1807. Hussars gained notoriety in 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 ...
'' after the invasion of Egypt. At the Battle of Salalieh in August 1798, brigade commander
Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle Antoine-Charles-Louis, Comte de Lasalle (10 May 1775, Metz6 July 1809, Wagram) was a French cavalry general during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, often called "The Hussar General". He first gained fame for his role in the Capitulation ...
fought "like a demon" and solidified his reputation as a maverick rider upon returning to France and receiving
Weapons of Honour Weapons of Honour ( French: Armes d'honneur) are ceremonial weapons awarded for service or assistance to France. History Swords of honour were awarded during the Ancien Régime for exceptional service. On 30 April 1746, Minister of the Navy Maur ...
. At the ceremony (in a remark often mistakenly attributed to Napoleon), Lasalle quipped "Any hussar who isn't dead at age 30 is a layabout." The hussars of Napoleon's army created the tradition of
sabrage Sabrage is a technique for opening a champagne bottle with a saber, used for ceremonial occasions. The wielder slides the saber along the body seam of the bottle to the lip to break the top of the neck away, leaving the neck of the bottle open an ...
, the opening of a champagne bottle with a sabre. Moustaches were universally worn by
Napoleonic period The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative ...
hussars, the British hussars were the only moustachioed troops in the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
– leading to occasional taunts of "foreigner" from their brothers-in-arms. French hussars also wore ''cadenettes'', braids of hair hanging to either side of the face, until the practice was officially proscribed when shorter hair became universal. The uniforms worn by Napoleonic hussars were unique to each regiment but all featured the
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 ...
– a colourful, braided stable jacket – and the
pelisse A pelisse was originally a short fur-trimmed jacket which hussar light-cavalry soldiers from the 17th century onwards usually wore hanging loose over the left shoulder, ostensibly to prevent sword cuts. The name also came to refer to a fashionab ...
, a short fur-edged jacket which was often worn slung over one shoulder in the style of a cape and fastened with a cord. This garment was extensively adorned with braiding (often gold or silver for officers) and several rows of multiple buttons. On active service the hussar normally wore reinforced breeches which had leather on the inside of the leg to prevent them from wearing due to the extensive time spent in the saddle. On the outside of such breeches, running up the outside was a row of buttons, and sometimes a stripe in a different colour. A
shako A shako (, , or ) is a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a visor, and sometimes tapered at the top. It is usually adorned with an ornamental plate or badge on the front, metallic or otherwise; and often has a feather, plume (see hackle) ...
or fur busby was worn as headwear. The colours of dolman, pelisse, and breeches varied greatly by regiment, even within the same army. The French hussar of the Napoleonic period was armed with a brass-hilted sabre, a carbine, and sometimes with a brace of pistols, although these were often unavailable. The British hussar was armed, in addition to his firearms, with the
Pattern 1796 light cavalry sabre The Pattern 1796 light cavalry sabre is a sword that was used primarily by British light dragoons and hussars, and King's German Legion light cavalry during the Napoleonic Wars. It was adopted by the Prussians (as the 1811 pattern or "Blücher s ...
. A famous military commander in Bonaparte's army who began his military career as a hussar was
Marshal Ney Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...
, who after being employed as a clerk in an iron works joined the 5th Hussars in 1787. He rose through the ranks of the hussars in the wars of Belgium and the Rhineland (1794–1798) fighting against the forces of Austria and Prussia before receiving his marshal's baton in 1804 after the Emperor Napoleon's coronation. On the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, it was numbered as the 5th Hussar Regiment during the army reorganisation of 1 January 1791, as the fifth oldest cavalry unit in the French army, before being promoted to 4th Hussar Regiment in 1793 after the previous holder of that title. In 1814, just before the fall of the
First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...
, it was renamed the ''régiment des hussards de Monsieur'', though it resumed the title of 4th Hussar Regiment during the
Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...
before being disbanded on the
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...
which followed. After Napoleon returned from exile and invaded Belgium, the 4th Hussar Regiment would enter combat at the final battles of
Ligny Ligny ( wa, Lignè) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Sombreffe, located in the province of Namur, Belgium. Previously its own municipality, a 1977 fusion of the Belgian municipalities made it an '' ancienne commune'' ...
, and Waterloo, in which Napoleon would be defeated.


Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...
, late conflicts in the 19th and early 20th centuries (1816 -1914), the World Wars (1914 -1918) (1939- 1945), and the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
(1947 - 1991)

In 1816 the ''régiment des hussards du Nord'' was formed and in 1825 this unit took the title 4th Hussar Regiment. They will garrison the cities of Orlèans and Poitiers. After a new Second Republic or Second French Empire overthrown the Bourbon Monarchy, the 4th Hussar Regiment was stationed at Sedan. They took part in the Crimean Wars, specifically at the Battle of Kanghil, capturing several Russian guns. They would enter action in the Franco- Prussian war, becoming part of the Army of the Rhine. In 1880, the 4th Hussar Regiment, now one of the most experienced of the French Army, took part in the colonization of Tunisia. In World War I, the regiment would be based in
Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
, and suffered heavy casualties from impeding German attacks. During the World War II, the regiment tried, and failed to defend Luxembourg from German annexation. It took part in the Battle of France, when it was disbanded after the French defeat. After the
liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...
and parts of Belgium by the
Western Allies The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. ...
, on 15 February 1945 a new 4th Hussar Regiment was formed by splitting-off elements of COABC 405. On 30 October 1945 the new unit was disbanded and turned into the 2nd Hussar Regiment. On 15 July 1956 the 4th Hussar Regiment was again recreated, this time from elements of 251e B, before being disbanded again in 1958. It was re-created yet again on 1 April 1959 from elements of 31st Dragoon Regiment, surviving until 1964, taking part in the Algerian War. It was disbanded to become the 8th Dragoon Regiment and immediately recreated from elements of 1st African Chasseurs (''1er régiment de chasseurs d'Afrique'') and from the instruction centre of the 6th Dragoon Regiment. This unit was disbanded at
Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. In ...
, with its colours being entrusted to the GMR/6-4e RH). In 1991 the 4th Hussar Regiment was yet again recreated, becoming the support regiment to the RMD-NE/CMD Metz. In 2000 it took the name of 4th Hussar Squadron Group (''4e Groupe d'escadrons de hussards'' or ''4e G.E.H''), which it still holds to this day.


Colonels (Formerly 'Colonel Generals') of the 4th Hussar Regiment


Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...

• Count of Montreal (1779) • Marquis du Chastelier-Dumesnil (1783)


Officers of the

Revolutionary army In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

• Colonel Drouot de la Marche (1791) • Colonel Miezskowski (1792) • Barbier Brigade leader (1793)*Colonel General title withdrawn* • Boyè Brigade leader (1794) • Flosse Brigade leader (1794- 1796) • Chef de Brigade Merlin (1796) • Lieutenant Pajol (1797 -1800)


Napoleonic officers

• Colonel Andrè Burthe (1804 - 1811) * Colonel General title restored* • Colonel Christophe (1811- 1815) • Colonel Blot (1815)


Bourbon Restorationists

• Colonel
Charles Oudinot Lieutenant-General Charles Nicolas Victor Oudinot, 2nd Duc de Reggio (3 November 1791 in Bar-le-Duc – 7 June 1863 in Bar-le-Duc), the eldest son of Napoleon I's marshal Nicolas Oudinot and Charlotte Derlin, also made a military career. He serve ...
(1816 -1822) • Colonel Merssemann (1822 -1829) • Colonel Louvencourt (1829) • Colonel Richard (1830) • Colonel Antoine Fortùne de Brack (1832 -1838) • Colonel Lesparda (1838 - 1840)


Second French Empire/republic

• Colonel Dormoy (1841 -1850) • Colonel Gallais (1850- 1854) • Colonel Simon Mortière (1855- 1864) • Colonel Choury Virgerie (1864 -1870)


Third French Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

• Colonel Cousin Montauban (1871 -1875) • Colonel Bauviaux (1875 -1879) • Colonel De Poul (1880) • Colonel Colinet Labeau (1886) • Colonel Gaudin (1888) • Colonel Moine le Margon (1895- 1900) • Colonel Duprat (1900 -1907) • Colonel Renaud (1907) • Colonel Joubert (1911- 1914) • Colonel Dollfus (1915) • Colonel Parrot (1916- 1925) • Colonel Bonnet (1925- 1929) • Colonel Langlois (1929) • Colonel Bessey Contenson (1931) • Colonel Poulof (1934) • Colonel Rupied (1934- 1938) • Colonel Chiappini (1938 -1940) *Regiment was dissolved*


Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...
(Regiment was non existent)


Fourth French Republic The French Fourth Republic (french: Quatrième république française) was the republican government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Rep ...

• Colonel Reboul (1945) *Regiment reformed* • Colonel Finaz (1945- 1956) • Colonel Duboster (1956) • Colonel Giraud (1957)


Fifth French Republic The Fifth Republic (french: Cinquième République) is France's current republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic.. The Fifth Republic emerged from t ...

• Colonel Oddo (1959) • Colonel Noe (1960) • Colonel Heraud (1962) • Colonel Burin (1964) • Colonel Barry (1964) • Colonel February (1966) • Colonel Gonneville (1968) • Colonel De Lassus (1970) • Colonel De Zelicourt (1972) • Colonel Chevallereau (1976) • Colonel Jacquot (1978) • Colonel Voinot (1980) • Colonel Rocolle (1982 -1988) • Colonel Boulery (1988) • Lieutenant Colonel Lhomme (1991) • Colonel Valet (1993) • Colonel Enguilabert (1995) • Colonel Colombel (1997) • Lieutenant Colonel Joannes (1999)*unit demoted to squadron* • Lieutenant Colonel Pillet (2001) • Lieutenant Colonel Martin (2003) • Lieutenant Colonel Salsedo (2005) • Lieutenant Colonel Maurin (2007) • Lieutenant Colonel Rocolle (2009) *unit now enters policing service*


Notable Personnel/soldiers

These are one of many notable people that come from this Regiment. °
Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke Henri-Jacques-Guillaume Clarke, 1st Count of Hunebourg, 1st Duke of Feltre (17 October 1765 – 28 October 1818), born to Irish parents from Lisdowney, County Kilkenny, in Landrecies, was a politician and Marshal of France. Clarke was one of the ...
,
Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's future War Minister and Marshal. (joined the regiment in 1784) °
Michel Ney Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...
, a future Marshal of the First French Empire. (joined the regiment in 1787) ° Charles Marie Augustin De Goyon, a future Major General 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 ...
, and was an aide de camp to
Emperor Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
. (joined the regiment in 1832) °
Patrice de MacMahon Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon, duc de Magenta (; 13 June 1808 – 17 October 1893) was a French general and politician, with the distinction of Marshal of France. He served as Chief of State of France from 1873 to 1 ...
, future president of the
Third French Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...
. (joined the regiment in 1830) ° Jean Compagon, a French General. (Commanded the 4th Hussar Regiment during 1937–1940)


Battles of the 4th Hussar Regiment

Original article in French:


'' Revolutionary Wars (Wars of the 1st and 2nd Coalitions)''


Under the command of the Army of the Center

Battle of Valmy The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was the first major victory by the army of France during the Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The battle took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops comm ...
(21 September 1792) Result: French Victory • Battle of Croix-Aux-Bois (1792)


Under the command of the

Army of the North The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...

Battle of Maastricht (1793)Battle of Aldenhoven (1794) Result: French Victory •
Battle of Tirlemont (1794) A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
Battle of Hondschoote The Battle of Hondschoote took place during the Flanders Campaign of the Campaigns of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars, Campaign of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars. It was fought during operations surrounding the Siege of Dunkirk (17 ...
(1793) Result: French Victory •
Battle of Wattignies The Battle of Wattignies (15–16 October 1793) saw a French army commanded by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan attack a Coalition army directed by Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After two days of combat Jourdan's troops compelled the Habsburg co ...
(1793) Result: French Victory


Under the command of the

Army of Sambre-et-Meuse The Army of Sambre and Meuse (french: Armée de Sambre-et-Meuse) was one of the armies of the French Revolution. It was formed on 29 June 1794 by combining the Army of the Ardennes, the left wing of the Army of the Moselle and the right wing ...

Battle of Flerus (1794) Result: French Victory • Skirmishes at Langenhiem (1795) • Blockade of Mainz (1796) Result: Austrian/Coalition Victory • The crossing over the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
at Neuwied (1797)


Under the command of the

Army of Mainz The Army of Mainz or Army of Mayence (''Armée de Mayence'') was a French Revolutionary Army set up on 9 December 1797 by splitting the Army of Germany into the Army of Mayence and the Army of the Rhine. Part of it split off on 4 February 1799 to ...

° Minor skirmishes in the Northern Frontier (1798)


Under the command of 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 ...

Battle of Stockach (1799) Result: Austrian/Coalition Victory •
Battle of Altiken (1799) A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
Battle of Winterthur The Battle of Winterthur (27 May 1799) was an important action between elements of the Army of the Danube and elements of the Habsburg army, commanded by Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze, during the War of the Second Coalition, part of the French ...
(1799) Result: Austrian/Coalition Victory •
Second Battle of Zurich The Second Battle of Zurich (25–26 September 1799) was a key victory by the Republican French army in Switzerland led by André Masséna over an Austrian and Russian force commanded by Alexander Korsakov near Zürich. It broke the stale ...
(September, 1799) Result: French Victory


Under the command of the

Army of the Rhine An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

• Minor roles, part of the defense of the flanks of the Army of the Rhine (1800)


''

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 ...
''


Under the command of I Corp of the Grande Armèè

Battles in
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
/modern day
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. 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 ...
(1804) Result: French Victory ''Battles in
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
and modern day
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 ...
:'' •
Battle of Schleiz The Battle of Schleiz took place on October 9, 1806 in Schleiz, Germany between a Prussian-Saxon division under Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien and a part of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte's I Corps under the command of Jean-Baptiste Drou ...
(1806) Result: French Victory •
Battle of Jena-Auerstedt A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
(1806) Result: French Victory •
Battle of Lübeck The Battle of Lübeck took place on 6 November 1806 in Lübeck, Germany between soldiers of the Kingdom of Prussia led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, who were retreating from defeat at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt, and troops of the Fi ...
(1806) Result: French Victory • Battle of Liebstadt (1807) Result: French Victory •
Battle of Mohrungen In the Battle of Mohrungen on 25 January 1807, most of a First French Empire corps under the leadership of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte fought a strong Russian Empire advance guard led by Major General Yevgeni Ivanovich Markov. The French ...
(1807) Result: French Victory •
Battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by Count von Bennigsen. Napoleon and the French obtai ...
(1807) Result: French Victory ''Battles in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
:'' •
Battle of Alcañiz The Battle of Alcañiz resulted in the defeat of Major-General Louis Gabriel Suchet's French army on 23 May 1809 by a Spanish force under General Joaquín Blake y Joyes. The victory is credited to General Martín García-Loygorri's superb c ...
(1809) Result: Spanish/Coalition Victory • Battle of Belchite (1809) Result: French Victory •
Battle of Stella (1811) A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
Battle of Chiclana (1811) Result: Coalition Victory •
Battle of Saguntum The Battle of Saguntum (25 October 1811) saw the Imperial French Army of Aragon under Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet fighting a Spanish army led by Captain General Joaquín Blake. The Spanish attempt to raise the siege of the Sagunto Castle ...
(1811) Result: French Victory • Battle of Tecla (1813)
Battle of Ordal The Battle of Ordal on 12 and 13 September 1813 saw a First French Empire corps led by Marshal Louis Gabriel Suchet make a night assault on a position held by Lieutenant General Lord William Bentinck's smaller Anglo-Allied and Spanish advance ...
(1813) Result: French Victory ''Battles in modern day
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
:'' • Battle of Gross Beeren (23 August 1813) Result: Coalition Victory •
Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...
/Battle of the Nations (16–19 October 1813) Result: Coalition Victory ''Battles in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
:'' • The 4th Hussar Regiment becomes part of the 7th Cavalry Corp. They will clash against Austrian troops near Bourg, then was pushed back by Austrian counterattacks in Macon. (1814) • The
Battle of Limonest The Battle of Limonest (20 March 1814) saw 30,000-53,000 Austrian and Hessian troops led by Prince Frederick of Hessen-Homburg defeat 20,000-23,000 French troops under Marshal Pierre Augereau. Background While Napoleon faced the main Allied ...
took place, in which was followed by the abdication of
Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. (20 March 1814) Result: Coalition Victory ''Battles in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
:'' • Following the return of Napoleon, the 4th Hussar Regiment was among the amphibious Invasion force that swept through southern Belgium. This force would ultimately be routed at Waterloo, and Napoleon finally ended his military career. •
Battle of Ligny The Battle of Ligny, in which French troops of the Armée du Nord under the command of Napoleon I defeated part of a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, was fought on 16 June 1815 near Ligny in what is now Belgium. The result was a ta ...
(1815) Result: French Victory •
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
(1815) Result: Coalition Victory


1815 -1850

• The regiment would be reduced to a garrison sized force, and initially was stationed in Orlèans, and in 1848, was stationed at
Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...
. Throughout 1850, the regiment would be stationed at Sedan.


Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
s -1914


Crimean Wars

• In the Crimean Wars, the regiment took part in the Battle of Kanghil (1855) and won fame, capturing multiple Russian
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
pieces. After the Crimean Wars settled down, there was the new threat of Prussia in mainland Europe.


Franco- Prussian War

• The 4th Hussar Regiment took part in the defense of France, moving from
Phalsbourg Phalsbourg (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Phalsburch'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, with a population of about 5,000. It lies high on the west slopes of the Vosges, northwest of Strasbourg by rail. I ...
, to
Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Territo ...
, to
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 ...
. ''Notable battles:'' •
Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies, ...
(1870) Result: Prussian/German Victory


Before 1914

• The 4th Hussar Regiment would take part in the campaign of colonial French troops, based in
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
, leading to the expansion in colonial territory.


World Wars


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 ...

• At the start of World War I, 4th Hussar Regiment's transport Corp was based in the city of Reims, with the rest of the regiment in
Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
, but didn't stay at Verdun, which means that they didn't participate in the
Battle of Verdun The Battle of Verdun (french: Bataille de Verdun ; german: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...
. ''Notable battles:'' •
Battle of Guise The Battle of St. Quentin (also called the First Battle of Guise (french: 1ere Bataille de Guise) was fought from 29 to 30 August 1914, during the First World War. Battle On the night of 26 August 1914, the Allies withdrew from Le Cateau to St ...
(1914) Result: German Victory •
Second Battle of Belgium The Battle of Courtrai (also known as the Second Battle of Belgium (french: 2ème Bataille de Belgique) and the Battle of Roulers (french: Bataille de Roulers)) was one of a series of offensives in northern France and southern Belgium that took ...
(1918) Result: Allied Victory


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 ...

Notable services: • Phony Wars (1940) Result: Bought the Germans valuable time to gather up forces •
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 Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
(1940) Result: German Victory •
Liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...
(1945) Result: Successful


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 ...

• The most recent armed battles of the 4th Hussar Regiment took place in
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
, where they kept order in the French protectorate until it's independence in 1962.


See also

''Other French Hussar Regiment pages:'' • 9th Hussar Regiment5th Hussar Regiment7th Hussar Regiment11th Hussar Regiment


References

{{Reflist Cavalry regiments of France Regiments of the French First Republic Regiments of France in the French Revolutionary Wars