18 e régiment de dragons

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Régiment du Roi dragons
18 e régiment de dragons

Insigne du drag 18.png

Association badge of the regiment
active 1744 to 1979
Country Flag of France.svg France
Armed forces Flag of France.svg French armed forces
Branch of service cavalry
Type Cavalry regiment / tank regiment
Strength 4 escadrons
Location Mourmelon-le-Grand
Patron saint Saint Georges
motto MULTORUM VIRTUS IN UNO
commander
commander Last: Lieutenant-Colonel Petit
Important
commanders

Colonel Marquis de Creil

The 18 e régiment de dragons was a tank regiment of the French army . Established in 1744 as Régiment du Roi dragons in the Kingdom of France during the War of the Austrian Succession , it was in service until it was dissolved in 1979.

Lineup and name changes

The Régiment du Roi dragons was the youngest of the French dragoon regiments. By order of January 24, 1744, the formation began on March 1 with one escadron each from the other 15 dragoon regiments. This was completed on April 4th.

  • March 1, 1744: Start of the establishment of the Régiment du Roi dragons
  • April 4, 1744: Formation completed with personnel from other dragoon regiments
  • 1776: By order of March 25, the 4th Escadron of the Chasseurs de la Légion royale was incorporated into the regiment as the 5th Escadron (Escadron de chasseurs à cheval - Escadron of the hunters on horseback).
  • January 1, 1791: renamed the 18 e régiment de dragons
  • August 1, 1814: after the restoration, renamed the 13 e régiment de dragons
  • 1815: renamed to 18 e régiment de dragons during the reign of the Hundred Days
  • 1815: dissolution
  • 1830: Re-established as Lanciers d'Orléans
  • 1848: Renaming to 6 e régiment de Lanciers
  • 1871: Renamed the 18 e régiment de dragons
  • August 1916: Dissolution of the regimental association. Two escadrons were assigned to the 55th Infantry Division and two escadrons to the 68th Infantry Division.
  • March 7, 1919: merged again in Rüdesheim
  • 1930: conversion to a mechanized regiment
  • 1936: Equipped with Somua and Hotchkiss H-35 tanks
  • 1940: Conversion into 18 e régiment de dragons portés (reinforced regiment)
  • 1940: dissolution
  • 1944: Reorganization of the 18th e régiment de dragons
  • 1945: dissolution
  • 1954: Reorganization of the 18th e régiment de dragons
  • 1964: dissolution. Then renaming of the 9 e régiment de hussards in 18 e régiment de dragons .
  • 1979: dissolution

Furnishing

Standard

  • You Roy drag av.png

Both sides of the blue side were embroidered with golden lilies. Over it was the royal sun, over it a red ribbon with the motto of King Louis XIV : NEC PLURIBUS IMPAR.

Uniforms

  • Régiment du Roi dragons 1762 to 1763

  • Régiment du Roi dragons 1776 to 1779

  • Régiment du Roi dragons 1779 to 1786

  • Régiment du Roi dragons 1786 to 1791

  • 18 e régiment de dragons after 1791

Dragoons and Sapeur de dragons of the Grande Armée , by Hippolyte Bellangé from Histoire de Napoléon by Paul-Mathieu Laurent de l'Ardèche, 1843

Regimental commanders

Mestre de camp was the rank designation for the regimental owner and / or the actual commander. Should the mestre de camp be a person of the high nobility who had no interest in leading the regiment (such as the king or queen), the command was given to the mestre de camp lieutenant (or Mestre de camp en second). The name "Colonel" was used from 1791 to 1793 and from 1803, from 1793 to 1803 the name Chef de brigade was used . From 1791 there were no more regimental owners.

  • March 1, 1744: Marquis de Creil
  • 1745: Marquis d'Ormenans
  • August 9, 1748: Alexandre Antoine de Montbelliard, comte de Scey
  • February 20, 1761: Charles-Marie de Sault, marquis de Crequi
  • March 3, 1779: Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier , marquis de La Fayette
  • January 27, 1782: Louis Marie, vicomte de Noailles
  • March 10, 1788: Antoine François de Gramont, comte d'Aster
  • October 21, 1791: Henri Courtais de Moreaux
  • January 2, 1793: Colonel Gaspard Hilarion Fornier d'Albe
  • June 15, 1793: Chef de brigade Jean-Baptiste Robert
  • September 27, 1793: Chef de brigade Denis Brochier
  • March 10, 1795: Chief de brigade Nicolas Berthot
  • June 25, 1796: Chef de brigade Joseph Thomas Ledée
  • 1797: Chef de brigade Joseph Thomas Ledée
  • 1798: Chef de brigade Louis-Nicolas Davout
  • December 30, 1802: Chef de brigade Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes
  • 1804–1805: Colonel Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes
  • 1805-1807: Colonel Laplanche
  • September 20, 1806: Colonel Justin de La Fitte
  • July 30, 1811: Colonel François Alexandre Thévenez d'Aoust
  • October 11, 1812: Colonel Benoît François, baron Dard
  • May 29, 1815: Colonel Charles Adam

...

  • 1902: Colonel Gauthier
  • 1907: Colonel de Bremond d'Ars
  • 1914: Colonel Éon, accidental death on August 4, 1914
  • 1916: Colonel Évain
  • 1940: Lieutenant-Colonel Pinon
  • 1954: Lieutenant-colonel de Lesperda
  • 1955: Lieutenant-colonel Jouitou
  • 1966: Colonel de Lencquesaing
  • 1971: Lieutenant-colonel de Lauzières
  • 1972: Lieutenant-colonel Yvenat
  • 1978: Lieutenant-colonel Petit

Battle calendar

War of the Austrian Succession

  • 1744: The regiment was first used immediately after commissioning, when it took part in the battle near Zabern. Fights followed during the attack on the entrenchments at Suffelsheim and during the siege of Freiburg im Breisgau . Winter quarters were moved into Swabia .
  • 1745: Patrol activities on the Rhine
  • 1746: Relocated to the army in Flanders, the dragoons fought at Mons , Charleroi and the battle of Roucourt . In November, the unit moved to Provence , fought in the siege of Antibes and in the driving back of the imperial troops over the Var .
  • 1747: In June the regiment marched into the field camp of Valence and was then billeted in the Briançon area .
  • 1748: Garrison in Schlettstadt

Peace time

Seven Years War

At the beginning of the war, it was transferred to the Armée du Bas-Rhin (Army on the Lower Rhine), which occupied the larger towns in the Duchy of Geldern and the Duchy of Jülich . The occupations of Meppen , Weener , Leer (Ostfriesland) and Emden followed . In December the regiment was sent to Celle to join the Armée du Hanovre (Hanover Army).

  • 1758: Participation in the battle of Krefeld . Seconded to the army of the Maréchal de Soubise in November . In that year there was only one reconnaissance after Schwarzhausen and the capture of a small troop billeted there.
  • 1759: Participation in the battle of Minden
  • 1760: In this year the regiment was used in the battle near Korbach and in the battle near Warburg . In the battle near Radern it was able to drive enemy cavalry from the heights and then moved to the siege of Ziegenhain. On September 13, the unit was able to distinguish itself in a battle on the Werra, in which Count Bülow was defeated.
  • 1761: The Régiment du Roi opened the campaign of the year in February with the battle at Kindelbrück .
  • 1762: Garrison in Einbeck
  • 1763: After the end of the war, the regiment moved into a garrison in Strasbourg and was placed on the peacetime state from April 11th.

Peace time

This was followed by the usual change of garrisons in peace: 1764 to Alby , 1767 to Douai , then to Valenciennes , 1770 to Saint-Dizier , 1771 to Vassy , 1772 to Besançon , 1773 to Lille , 1775 to Guise , Pont-Sainte-Maxence, Verberie and Senlis (Oise) , Pontoise and Mantes-la-Jolie , 1776 to Hesdin and Ardres , 1778 to Falaise and the field camp of Vausieux and then to Saintes , 1779 to Landernau and Angers , 1780 to Auch , 1782 to Libourne , 1784 to Sarreguemines , 1788 to Alby and Castres, 1789 to Aix-en-Provence , 1790 to Alby and Castres and 1791 to Carcassonne and Narbonne .

Wars of the Revolution and the First Empire

  • 1792: The current "18 e régiment de dragons" was assigned to the Armée des Alpes (Alpine Army).
  • 1793–1795: Service with the "Armée des Pyrénées Occidentales" (Army of the Western Pyrenees)
  • 1796–1798: Delegation to the Armée d'Italie (Italian Army). In the battle at Anghiari on January 15, 1797, the Chef de brigade Berthot was fatally wounded.
  • 1798–1800: Delegation to the Armée d'Orient (Orient Army), campaign in Egypt,
July 21, 1798: Battle of the Pyramids

After returning from Egypt, the regiment first moved into a garrison in Chagny in 1800 and was in Villers-Cotterêts from 1804 to 1805 .

  • 1805: Campaign in Germany, assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Reserve Corps
Participation in the Battle of Elchingen . Here it was the first regiment to cross the Danube bridge under the command of Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes .
Used in the Battle of Austerlitz and the Battle of Friedland
August 8, 1809: In the battle of Almonacid , the "18 e régiment de dragons" and the 19 e régiment de dragons seized the entrenchments of the Spanish artillery and then attacked the Spanish infantry, which was between 7,000 and 8,000 men strong.
18 e dragons in Melun, 1907

First World War

  • When the war started, the regiment was stationed in Lure (Haute-Saône) . It was assigned from August 1914 to July 1916 of the 8th Dragoon Brigade of Général Gendron (then Colonel Guéneau de Montbeillard) in the 8th Cavalry Division in the Conneau Cavalry Corps.

1914

Used in securing Belfort , Alsace
Fight at Altkirch and Colmar
first battle of the Marne, fights at Château-Thierry and Jonchery
Race to the sea , fighting in the Artois near Monchy
Autumn battle in Champagne, fighting near Main de Massiges

1915

  • No information is available for this year.

1916

The regimental association was dissolved in August. Two escadrons were assigned to the 55th Infantry Division and two escadrons to the 68th Infantry Division.

1917

  • No information is available for this year.

1918

  • No information is available for this year.

Interwar period

  • 1919: The regiment was initially stationed as an occupying force in Rüdesheim and moved to Trier at the end of the year .
  • 1930: The regiment returned to France from the interim garrison in Landau (Pfalz) and was stationed in Reims . There it was mechanized and equipped with Automitrailleuses . Together with the 4 e régiment de cuirassiers , it was in the "Quartier Jeanne d'Arc". It was assigned to the 1st light mechanized division. At the beginning of 1936 the unit was equipped with Somua S-35 and Hotchkiss H-35 tanks.
  • 1938: On the occasion of the Sudeten crisis and the associated French partial mobilization, Reims was left on September 25 and Verdun was reached in a forced march within a very short time . The unit stayed here until October 7th.
  • First battle tank
  • Hotchkiss-H-39-latrun-2bis.jpg
  • Char 1935 S Somua 1.jpg

Second World War

  • On September 12, 1939, the regiment was transferred from Mourmelon-le-Petit to Verdun.
  • May 10, 1940: The 1st light mechanized division, to which the four escadrons with Somua S-35 des 18 e dragons and the 4 e régiment de cuirassiers were assigned, marched north in the 2nd army group from Général Giraud.
  • An attack from Neuville-Saint-Vaast towards Mont-Saint-Éloi followed on May 22nd . After a break in combat, the units were in the line from Dyle to Gembloux, with the staff of the "2 e  DLM" in the forest of Mormal, the 18 e dragons in Quesnoy and the 4 e régiment de cuirassiers in Landrecies. The last Somua S-35 tanks successfully fought to the end. With Dunkirk already in mind, the crews then destroyed their last armored vehicles. Then the regiment disbanded.

post war period

  • 1954: In June the unit was reorganized as a tank regiment and assigned to the 11th Infantry Division. At the end of July it was transported to Tunisia, the regimental headquarters were in Teboursouk. Here it took part in various operations until October.
  • 1957: Relocation to Algeria. Here it was under the command of Colonel Journes, who was then replaced by Colonel Bouchard.
  • 1958: Used in the border battles in the course of the Algerian War . The regimental headquarters were transferred to Duvivier.
  • 1964: Return to France with garrison in the “Quartier Zurich” in Reims (two escadrons in Mourmelon-le-Petit).
  • 1967: Amalgamation in Mourmelon-le-Grand
  • In the early 1970s, the regiment was equipped with the AMX-13 tank destroyer .
  • 1973: The regiment was one of the first units to receive the AMX-30 main battle tank . The 1st Escadron of Capitaine Antoine Gouraud received the first three tanks, which were christened Antibes , Angoulême , Annecy Agen . They formed the 4th peloton of aspirant Pierre Gatti.

Standards and flags since the revolution

On the back of the regimental flag (since Napoleonic times) the campaigns and battles in which the regiment took part are listed in gold letters.

  • 1st Escadron 1794

  • 1st Escadron 1804

  • Last flag used (front)

  • Last flag used (back)

Awards

The flag ribbon is decorated with the Croix de guerre 1914-1918 with a palm branch and with the Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with a palm branch.

  • 1914-1918

  • 1939-1945

Motto

Multorum virtus in uno

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Pierre Lemau de la Jaisse: Cinquième abrégé de la carte générale du militaire de France, sur terre et sur mer. Depuis Novembre 1737 jusqu'en Décembre 1738. Gandouin et al., Paris 1739, OCLC 458013263 .
  2. ^ François-Guy Hourtoulle: L'Épopée napoléonienne. Histoire & Collections, Paris 1997, ISBN 978-2-908182-69-9 .
  3. ↑ Victoires, Conquêtes, Disasters, reverse et guerees civiles the français de 1792 à 1815. Ed .: Société de militaires et de gens de lettres. Volume 24. CLF Panckoucke, Paris 1821.
  4. ↑ Ordres, notes, comptes rendus d'opérations (July 31, 1914– May 10, 1915). Service historique de la Defense (SHD), cote 25N567.
  5. ↑ Journaux des marches et des opérations. SHD cote 26N881.
  6. ↑ Historique du 18 e régiment de dragons pendant la guerre 1914–1918. Berger-Levrault, Paris 1922 ( digitized on Gallica ).
  7. ↑ Provision No. 12350 / SGA / DPMA / SHD / DAT of September 14, 2007 relative aux inscriptions de noms de batailles sur les drapeaux et étendards des corps de troupe de l'armée de terre, du service de santé des armées et du service des essences des armées. In: Bulletin officiel des armées. No. 27, November 9, 2007.
  8. ^ Order AFN 1952–1962 relatif à l'attribution de l'inscription sur les drapeaux et étendards des formations des armées et services dated November 19, 2004 NORDEF0452926A (A) by Michèle Alliot-Marie.

literature

  • Pierre Lemau de la Jaisse: Cinquième abrégé de la carte générale du militaire de France, sur terre et sur mer. Depuis Novembre 1737 jusqu'en Décembre 1738. Gandouin et al., Paris 1739, OCLC 458013263 .
  • M. Pinard: Chronologie historique-militaire. Volume 4 ( digitized on Gallica ), 5 ( digitized ) and 7 ( digitized ). Claude Hérissant, Paris 1761, 1762 and 1764.
  • Sieurs de Montandre-Longchamps, de Roussel: État militaire de France pour l'année 1760. 11th edition. Guillyn, Paris 1769 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  • Ferdinand Cuel: Historique du 18 e régiment de dragons, 1744-1894. Paris 1894 ( digitized on Gallica ).
  • Historique du 18 e régiment de dragons pendant la guerre 1914–1918. Berger-Levrault, Paris 1922 ( digitized on Gallica ).

Web links