8 e régiment d'infantry

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Régiment de Ponthieu
Régiment d'Austrasie
8 e régiment d'infanterie

8e Rég infanterie motorisé.png

Association badge of the 8th e regiment d'infanterie motorisé
active 1776 to 1998
Country Blason France modern.svg Flag of France.svg France
Armed forces Blason France modern.svg Flag of France.svg french army
Armed forces infantry
Type regiment
Location Lille
Patron saint Saint-Maurice d'Agaune
motto " Toujours en avant "
(Always forward)
Infantry beret badge

The 8 e régiment d'infanterie de ligne or (8 e RI - 8th Infantry Regiment) was a regiment of the French army that was active under changing names. It was set up in 1776 in Calais from parts of the "Régiment de Champagne". The dissolution took place in the course of the reduction of the French armed forces in 1998.

Before regiments were numbered on January 1, 1791, it was last named Régiment d 'Austrasie in the royal French army .

List and name changes in chronological order

  • March 25, 1776: Formed under the name "Régiment de Ponthieu" from the 2nd and 4th battalions of the " Régiment de Champagne "
  • May 31, 1776: Renamed "Régiment d'Austrasie"
  • 1791: Renamed to "8 e régiment d'infanterie de ligne"
  • 1793 First army reform The regiment was than 1 he bataillon (ci-devant Austrasie) for 15 e demi-brigade de Bataille and 2 e bataillon (ci-devant Austrasie) for 16 e demi-brigade de Bataille off. This ends the regimental association and the line of tradition
  • 1803: Renaming of the "8 e demi-brigade d'infanterie de ligne" to 8 e régiment d'infanterie de ligne (de facto continuation of the regiment tradition)
  • 1814: during the first restoration , renamed: "8 e régiment d'infanterie de ligne-Condé"
  • 1815: renamed during the Hundred Days to: "8 e régiment d'infanterie de ligne"
  • 1815: The regiment was released during the Second Restoration
  • 1816: re-established as: "8 e légion-Ariège-infanterie de ligne"
  • 1820: Renaming to: "8 e régiment d'infanterie de ligne"
  • 1854: Renamed to: "8 e régiment d'infanterie"
  • 1914: During the mobilization it provided the tribe for the swin reserve regiment, the "208 e régiment d'infanterie"
  • 1942: As part of the Army of the Vichy regime dissolved
  • 1945: Re-established as the “8 e régiment d'infanterie”.
  • 1946: Reclassified to "8 e battalion d'infanterie".
  • 1955: Reclassified to "8 e régiment d'infanterie motorisé".
  • 1968: Renamed to: "8 e régiment d'infanterie"
  • 1998: dissolution

structure

When it was set up, the regiment had:

  • 1 colonel
  • 1 colonel en second as representative of the commander or as de facto commander
  • 1 colonel lieutenant (lieutenant colonel) as assistant to the commandant
  • 1 major as head of the regional administration
  • 1 Quartier-maître trésorier (Quartermaster / Paymaster)
  • 2 porte-drapeaux (flag bearers)
  • 1 adjutant (sergeant major)
  • 1 major surgery (Feldscher)
  • 1 Armurier (armorer)
  • 1 drum major
  • 1 Aumonian (clergyman)

These formed the regimental staff.

The two battalions each consisted of a grenadier company of 108 men, a hunter company and seven fusilier companies of 171 men each.

Relegation to the regimental association

From February 18, 1808, the regiment consisted of four field battalions and one depot battalion. The field battalion was divided into four fusilier companies and one voltigeur and one grenadier company. The depot battalion consisted of only four companies . In addition to the voltigeur company, the grenadier company formed the regiment's elite. Particularly experienced and reliable soldiers were gathered here.

Mestres de camp and Colonels

Mestre de camp was from 1569 to 1661 and from 1730 to 1780 the designation of rank for the regiment holder and / or the actual commander of an infantry regiment. The name Colonel was used from 1721 to 1730, from 1791 to 1793 and from 1803. Should the Mestre de camp / Colonel 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") or the "Colonel lieutenant" or "Colonel en second". From 1793 to 1803, the French army used the term Chef de brigade . From 1791 there were no more regimental owners.

  • from July 25, 1791 to November 23, 1791: Colonel Jean-Marc de Chalup
  • from December 20, 1791 to February 2, 1792: Colonel de Haack
  • from February 5, 1792 to May 16, 1792: Colonel Chalup de Fareyron de Boulon
  • from May 16, 1792 to May 27, 1792: Colonel d'Albert
  • from May 27, 1792 to March 8, 1793: Colonel Robon Antoine Marie Lecouturier – Darménoville
  • from November 5, 1803 to March 5, 1811: Colonel Jean-Francois Étienne Autié
  • June 21, 1811 to July 2, 1814: Colonel Joseph Braun
  • from July 2, 1814 to March 29, 1815: Colonel Staglieno
  • from March 29, 1815 until dissolution: Colonel Ruelle
  • from August 16, 1815 to November 17, 1820: Colonel Rapatel
  • November 1, 1914 to May 24, 1915: Colonel Mangin
  • 1915: Lieutenant-Colonel Roubert
  • .
  • ? -?: Général Gaston Constant Gustave Adolphe Duffour

Officers of the regiment killed and wounded between 1804 and 1815:

Liked: 18
Died of her wound: 14
Wounded: 134

Former uniforms

  • 1776-1779

  • 1779-1791

  • 1791

Mission history

Ancien Régime

  • from 1781 to 1785: Campaign in India
July 3, 1782: Naval battle at Négapatam (parts of the regiment were on board the liner Le Souffren during the sea battle )
September 30, 1782: Battle of Trinquemalay (Ceylon).
June 13, 1783: Battle of Gondelour.

Revolution and First Empire

  • 1792 and 1793 :
Campaign in Belgium
Battle of Neerhaben ,
Battle of Nijmegen
Battle of Tirlemont.
  • December 5, 1804:
The regiment received its eagle on the Field of Mars from Paris
  • 1805: Again sent to the Hanover Army , the regiment was assigned to the "1er corps d'armée" (1st Army Corps) under the " Maréchal d'Empire " Jean de Bernadotte , and marched with him to Austria. It passed Munich on September 2nd, crossed the Danube on November 15th, and then turned to Bohemia where it reached Iglau on November 25th. On November 29th it received the order to march to Austerlitz where it arrived on the evening of December 1st. During the battle it was part of the reserve, but then took part in the pursuit battles. After the Peace of Pressburg it was placed in garrison in Iglau .
  • 1806: Marshal Bernadotte's "l e corps d'armée" moved to Bavaria and stayed there until September. Then it was marched into the Kingdom of Saxony . It was not involved in the battle of Jena and Auerstedt , but fought in the battles near Halle on October 17th (the regiment was mentioned in the 11th bulletin of the "Grande Armée" for its achievements) and at Kriwitz on November 3rd . Participation in the Battle of Lübeck on November 6th under the command of Géneral Michel-Marie Pacthod . When storming the mill gate, the unit suffered heavy losses.
  • 1807: Fighting against the Russians in the battle near Mohrungen on January 25th and the Battle of Ostrołęka on February 16th. Capture of Danzig and Battle of Friedland .
  • 1808: Only one battalion remained in Germany, the rest of the regiment moved to Spain , where it arrived in Madrid on December 3rd.
November 10th and 11th: Participation in the "Battle of Espinosa" (Espinosa de los Monteros in the Cantabrian Mountains)
the other battalions fought in the corps of Marshal Perrin in the "Battle of Alcantara" on May 14th, the Battle of Talavera and Zamora on October 1st.
  • 1810: Fighting at Villaruibie on March 28th, at Montecy on April 14th, at Santa-Crux on May 3rd. Fight in front of Fort Matagorda and on San Luis Island on July 27th and at Villalon on October 7th. Participation in the siege of Cadiz from August to December.
  • 1811: On March 5th, the regiment suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Barrosa . So it lost its commander, its eagle and 726 of 1,468 soldiers. It then took part in the battle of Fuentes-d'Onoro on May 5th and that of Albuere on May 16th. Fighting in the Cadiz area followed in June and July.
  • 1812: The 4th battalion was assigned to the "30 e division d'infanterie" (30th Infantry Division), which operated in East Prussia under the command of Géneral Étienne Heudelet de Bierre . Then it was sent to the garrison in Danzig and came under the command of General Rapp .
Stèle des 8e regiment d'infanterie de ligne on the battlefield of Waterloo
  • 1813: The 4th Battalion was in the line of defense during the siege of Danzig by the Russians and Prussians from January 21 to December 29.
The 1st and 2nd battalions fought at Segovia on February 3rd, at Lignenza and Vittoria on June 21st. For the rest of the year, more fights took place at Pampelune, the Maya Pass, Brienza and Vera in the Pyrenees. The 3rd Battalion was in Germany and fought in the battle of Großgörschen , in the battles near Dohny and in the battle of Dresden
  • 1814: The majority of the regiment was assigned to the "7 e division d'infanterie" (7th Infantry Division) and fought in the Battle of Bar-sur-Aube on February 27 and the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube on March 21 . The remainder were assigned to defend the forts of Cuxhaven and Venlo .
  • 1815: During the "Rule of the Hundred Days" it was part of the "4 e division d'infanterie" (4th Infantry Division) in the 1st Corps and fought in the Battle of Ligny and the Battle of Waterloo

Second restoration 1825–1848

Solférino. The 8th regiment in action at Medole

Second empire

  • from 1848 to 1853 the regiment was in Algeria

Sardinian war

Franco-German War

First World War

Award certificate of the Fourragère

At the beginning of the war, the regiment in Saint-Omer was garrisoned . It was part of the "4 e Brigade" of the "2e Division d'infantry" (2nd Infantry Division) in the "I he Corps d'Armée" (1st Army Corps).

  • 1914
from August 21 to August 23 the regiment was in Charleroi and Dinant .
from August 28th to August 29th: retreat to Guise .
  • 1915
Trench warfare in Champagne (near Mesnil les Hurlus from February 16 to 23)
Trench warfare on the Meuse (near Les Eparges from April 4th to 10th)
  • 1916
Battle of Verdun : Fights on the Douaumont in February and July
  • 1917
Attack battles on the Chemin des Dames in the course of the Aisne offensive
Aggressive fighting in Flanders (Offensive des Flandres) from July to October
  • 1918
Aggressive fighting in the Second Battle of the Marne July 15 to 31
At the end of the year the regiment was in Salonika

3492 soldiers of the regiment were killed or have been missing since then.

Second World War

The regiment moved on May 10, 1940 from Givet on the Meuse to Godinne in Belgium. Here it repelled a German attack and inflicted heavy losses on the attackers who wanted to conquer the bridge over the Meuse. After two days of fighting, the regiment still consisting of 1,500 men withdrew because the bridge could no longer be held by the heavy artillery bombardment from Annevoie-Rouillon . The attacking Germans recognized the situation, crossed the bridge and then pushed forward several kilometers to the south.

The 8 e RI, commanded only by a lieutenant, initially remained in place, knowing that the route to the south was already cut off. Besides, there was no connection and no care. When a truck convoy of the Belgian armed forces approached on May 14, 1940, it was believed that it was the expected reinforcement. However, these trucks were already being used by the Germans who had recently confiscated them. The 8e RI fell victim to this mistake and was shot down. The rest were taken prisoner.

post war period

After being re-established in 1945, the regiment was garrisoned in the "Quartier Berniquet" in Noyon and in Landau (Palatinate) in the 1970s .

It was then assigned to the territorial defense "CMD" (Circonscription militaire de défense) in Lille and, in the course of the downsizing of the army, it was dissolved by the abolition of conscription in 1998.

The tradition is continued today by the Régiment de marche du Tchad (Chad March Regiment) in Noyon.

Flags

  • Flag as Regiment Ponthieu and Austrasie

  • Flag of the 1st Battalion 1791 (With the royal lilies)

  • Flag of the 2nd Battalion 1793 (without the royal lilies)

  • Flag of the regiment in the Napoleonic era

  • Last regimental flag used (front)

  • Last regimental flag used (back)

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.

Fourragère in the colors of the ribbon of the Légion d'honneur

Awards

With retroactive effect to October 17, 1916, the regiment was granted the right to use the Fourragère des Croix de guerre on the flag on May 15, 1917 .

Most recently, the flag was decorated with the Fourragère in the colors of the ribbon of the Legion of Honor. The regiment received this award on September 20, 1920.

In addition, the association was awarded the gold medal of the city of Milan , the Croix de guerre 1914–1918 with six palm branches and a gold star, and the “Croix de guerre 1939–1945” with a silver palm branch.

  • Gold Medal of the City of Milan

  • Croix de Guerre 14-18 with six palm branches

  • Croix de Guerre 39-45 with a palm branch

French President Poincaré said of the regiment in 1920:

"Magnifique regiment. Engagé dans toutes les grandes actions de la campagnes, ne recula jamais devant les attaques de l'ennemi; jamais l'ennemi ne put résister au choc de ses assauts. "

(An excellent regiment. Participated in all major campaigns, it never withdrew from an enemy attack, never could the enemy withstand the thrust of its attack.)

In the event of a possible reconstruction, the members of the regiment have the right to wear the Fourragère in the colors of the Legion of Honor .

Motto

"Toujours en avant"
(always forward)

literature

  • Henry Bordeaux: Mon régiment dans la Fournaise de Verdun et dans la bataille de la Somme. préfacé par édition Plon, 1917.
  • William Sarr: The 8e Regiment d'Infanterie de ligne. YesterYear Books o J. Dunstable (GB).

Web links

Commons : Flags of the 8 ° regiment d'infanterie  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ which had nothing to do with the previous 8 e regiment d'infanterie
  2. ↑ The regiment owner was always a colonel, but didn't necessarily have to be the commander
  3. ↑ If the regimental owner was in command only pro forma
  4. ↑ This designation only in the army of the Ancien Régime
  5. ↑ a better medic
  6. ↑ died after the battle of Barrosa / Chiclana on March 5, 1811
  7. ↑ The regiment's war diary in French for the time of the First World War with exact details can be found here
  8. ↑ «  Décision n ° 12350 / SGA / DPMA / SHD / DAT du 14 September 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, Bulletin officiel des armées, n ° 27, 9 November 2007  »(German:“ Provision n ° 12350 / SGA / DPMA / SHD / DAT of September 14, 2007 on the appearance of the inscriptions on the flags and standards of the Troops of the army, the medical service and the fuel supply branch. Published with the official army bulletin No. 27 of November 9, 2007 ")
  9. ↑ "  Arrêté relatif à l'attribution de l'inscription AFN 1952–1962 sur les drapeaux et étendards des formations des armées et services, du 19 novembre 2004 (A) NORDEF0452926A Michèle Alliot-Marie  " (German: "Order AFN 1952–1962 on the assignment of the inscriptions on the flags and standards of the formations of the army and the services of November 19, 2004 (A) NORDEF0452926A Michèle Alliot-Marie ")
  10. ↑ This also applies to units that have already been disbanded, as they can (theoretically) be put back into active service at any time