7 ^e regiment de cuirassiers

Régiment Royal-Étranger cavalerie 7 e régiment de cuirassiers
Internal association badge
active	1659 to 1962
Country	France
Armed forces	french army
Armed forces	cavalry
Branch of service	Cuirassiers
Type	Training unit
Location	Noyon
Patron saint	St. George
Awards	no
commander
commander	last: Colonel Bouchet
Important commanders	Mestre de camp Comte de Roye

The Régiment Royal-Étranger cavalerie (last as 7 ^e régiment de cuirassiers ) was a regiment of heavy cavalry, established in the Kingdom of France during the Ancien Régime . Composed of various foreign regiments in the service of France, the king gave the regiment the name "Royal étranger" for the sake of honor. Today the tradition is the one ^he régiment étranger de cavalerie continued.

Lineup and significant changes

• 1657: Establishment of a cavalry regiment by the Comte de Roye ("Régiment du comte de Roye cavalerie")
• 1659: Establishment of the Royal-Etranger Regiment by personnel from various foreign regiments and incorporation of the Régiment du comte de Roye
• 1791: renamed 7 ^e régiment de cavalerie
• 1803: renamed 7 ^e régiment de cuirassiers
• 1815: Dissolution after the rule of the Hundred Days
• 1825: re-establishment through conversion of the 7 ^e régiment de dragons
• 1919: Dissolution after the end of the First World War
• 1940: re-established as 7 ^e régiment de cuirassiers and dissolution after the armistice of Compiègne
• 1945: re-established as 7 ^e égiment de cuirassiers
• 1962: dissolution

Regimental commanders

Mestre de camp was from 1569 to 1789 the rank designation for the regiment owner and / or the actual commander of a cavalry regiment. The name Colonel was used from 1789 to 1793 and then again from 1803. 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 ”). From 1793 to 1803, the French army used the term Chef de brigade . From 1791 there were no more regimental owners.

• 1657: Mestre de camp Comte de Roye
• 1673: Mestre de camp de Coigny
• 1704: Mestre de camp de la Tournelle
• 1706: Mestre de camp de Saint-Chamans
• 1710: Mestre de camp de Valentinois
• 1720: Mestre de camp de Saint-Maure
• 1740: Mestre de camp de Charleval d'Auneuil
• 1756: Mestre de camp de Chabot
• 1763: Mestre de camp de Vernassal
• 1764: Mestre de camp d'Hautefort
• 1770: Mestre de camp d'Havrincourt
• 1782: Mestre de camp de Montsoreau
• 1788: Mestre de camp de Sully
• 1789: Colonel Comte Charles de Lameth
• 1791: Colonel Pierre Louis Auguste De Villoutreys de Faye
• 1793: Mathurin Gondaud - Chef de brigade
• 1802 - 1805: François-Joseph d'Offenstein - Chef de brigade , then Colonel from 1803
• 1807: Jacques Charles Dubois de Thimville - Colonel
• 1812: Michel Ordener - Colonel
• 1813: Colonel Claude Francois Richardot - Colonel
• 1813: Colonel Eugène d'Astorg - Colonel
• ?
• 1835: Colonel de Barbeyrac de Saint-Maurice
• 1847: Colonel Salmon
• 1851: Colonel Mavet
• 1853: Colonel Ameil
• 1855: Colonel Tixedor
• 1862: Colonel Nitot
• 1870: Colonel Boré-Verrier
• 1875: Colonel Bignon
• 1881: Colonel Burnes
• 1898: Colonel Henri Magon de La Giclais
• 1907: Colonel Desprez
• 1913: Colonel de Maison Rouge
• ?
• 1959: Colonel Bouchet

Battle calendar

Bernhard von Sachsen Weimar, to whom the regiment goes back

Ancien Régime

In France's entry into the Thirty Years' War in 1635 gave Bernard of Saxe-Weimar the Cardinal Richelieu his services. He brought with him 16 experienced regiments who distinguished themselves in the service of France and remained in the French army even after the death of their leader in 1639.

After the Peace of the Pyrenees , regular units of the French crown were formed from the foreign associations, which then also included the later cavalry regiment "Royal étranger", which was commissioned by the "Comte de Roye" as the first mestre de camp on February 10, 1657. The "Régiment de Roye" received its baptism of fire in the battle in the dunes , where it made a decisive contribution to the victorious outcome.

In the War of Devolution , it was involved in the sieges of Tournai , Douai and Lille . After the Peace of Nijmegen , the regiment moved into garrison in Caen

In the Palatinate War of Succession , it fought in the Battle of Fleurus and the Battle of Mons (1691).

In the War of the Spanish Succession , it fought in the Battle of Ramillies in the army of Nicolas de Neufville, duc de Villeroy .

It fought in the War of the Austrian Succession in the Battle of Fontenoy .

• On August 1, 1759, took part in the Battle of Minden .

• July 10, 1760: Battle near Korbach

After heavy use in the Battle of Warburg , it withdrew together with the French troops in good order.

Wars of the Revolution and the Empire

In 1789 it was garrisoned at Arras and was under the command of Mestre de camp Comte Charles de Lameth .

In March 1792 the regiment was garrisoned at Commercy . On September 14th of the same year, it distinguished itself in the battle at La Croix-aux-Bois. On September 20, it attacked the Hungarians during the cannonade near Valmy . After the battle of Jemappes on November 6th, it was assigned to the "Armée des Ardennes" , where it took part in the capture of Charleroi and the siege of Namur on November 14th, together with the "16 ^e régiment de cavalerie" . The regiment took up winter quarters in the area of ​​Namur.

• 1793

Battle of Neerzüge (1793) ,

Battle of Hondschoote ,

Battle of Wattignies

• 1794

April 24th: Battle of Solesmes , where it repulsed three massive enemy attacks.

Battle of Menen .

Battle of Aldenhoven .

• 1795

April: Siege of Luxembourg (1794-1795).

• 1799

Battle of Stockach

• 1800

The regiment took part in the campaign of the Rhine Army in the division of Général Souham. It fought in the battle of Ulm . In early December, command of the regiment passed to Colonel François-Joseph d'Offenstein . Battle of Höchstädt . After the peace agreement, it was placed in garrison in Trier .

• 1802 : On December 23, the regiment in its Stenay garrison was renamed “7 ^e régiment de cuirassiers” .
• 1805

Crossing over the Tagliamento

Battle of Caldiero

• 1807

The regiment consisted of four escadrons under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Dubois and distinguished itself in the Battle of Heilsberg and the Battle of Friedland .

• 1809

Battle of Aspern (In this battle the regiment lost its eagle ) and Battle of Wagram .

• 1812 Russian campaign

Lieutenant colonel Ordener was in command at the time. Together with the 4 ^e régiment de cuirassiers and the "14 ^e régiment de cuirassiers" it formed the reserve cavalry of the Doumerc division. After the First Battle of Polotsk , in which the regiment was able to force Russian troops to withdraw, it was withheld to cover the departure of the Grande Armée . The Second Battle of Polotsk followed . Between November 26 and 29, it carried out several surprise attacks to prevent the Russian pursuers from advancing. These actions allowed Général Eblé's pontooners to build two pontoon bridges during the Battle of the Beresina .

On May 23, 1813, the regiment was in the Latour-Maubourg cavalry corps. It fought against the Russians near Reichenbach, but could not exploit the success achieved by pursuing the defeated.

After taking part in the Battle of Bautzen , it took part in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig and then returned to France.

During the campaign in France in 1814, the regiment was used in the battle of Champaubert and the battle of Vauchamps , where it attacked on the evening of February 14th. Finally it fought in the battle at Claye-Souilly on March 28, and in the battle at Villeparisis

• 1815

Battle of Ligny . On June 17, the regiment was assigned to Maréchal Grouchy's reserve cavalry in Wavre . The next day, at the Battle of Waterloo , the cuirassiers succeeded in dispersing General Ponsonby's brigade of dragons.

On March 23, 1816 the regiment was disbanded, the remaining riders were incorporated into the "4 ^e régiment de cuirassiers" (new name: de Berry cavalerie).

restoration

In 1825 the regiment was re-established by order of February 25 from the dismissed 7 ^e régiment de dragons . From 1848 to 1848 it belonged to the Armée des Alpes . Until July 1870 it was in various garrisons, such as in Lyon , Meaux , Versailles , Maubeuge , Haguenau , Lunéville , Verdun and other locations.

Second empire

Cuirassiers in Metz 1870

In 1870 the regiment was assigned to the "Armée du Rhin" (Rhine Army) under Marshal Mac-Mahon . Together with the 10 ^e régiment de cuirassiers , it formed the 2nd Cavalry Brigade in Gramont ( Tarn-et-Garonne Department ), which in turn belonged to the 3rd Reserve Cavalry Division. On July 23, the regiment was transported by rail from Chartres to Pont-à-Mousson . On August 16, at Rezonville near Metz, there was a battle with parts of the Prussian cavalry brigade from Bredow. However, the success achieved here could not be exploited. The regiment was then used in the battle of Gravelotte . On August 21, the remnants of the regiment were released and with the surrender of Metz on August 28, the regiment officially ceased to exist.

With the personnel still in the Chartres depot, a new regiment was set up. Lieutenant-colonel Bergeron became the commander. It joined the cavalry brigade of Général Tripart and took on the task of covering the left flank of the "Armée de la Loire" (Loire Army). It was called "7 ^e cuirassiers de marche".

1871-1914

In the course of the general withdrawal of the French troops, the regiment's route led from December 4, 1870 from Orléans , via Tours (December 17) and then to Mans , where it fought for the last time on January 12, 1871. With the armistice of January 18, the "Armée de la Loire" was dissolved. With Décret on February 4, 1871, the previous marching regiment was converted back into the regular "7 ^e régiment de cuirassiers".

• 1891: The unit belonged to the 5th Brigade of the 4th Cavalry Division under Général Viel d'Espeuilles. The commanding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel Burnez.

Officers in the casino 1905

• 1907: Garrison in Lyon . Used in the winemaking rebellion in Languedoc . In June it covered the troops who were acting against the insurgents who were besieging the sub-prefecture in Narbonne . The use of firearms resulted in one fatality - a cafe owner unrelated to the matter - 15 of the insurgents were seriously injured.

• 1913: Garrison in Lyon under the command of Colonel Arnoux de Maison Rouge.

First World War

→ Main article : French cavalry in World War I

• 1914

During the mobilization in 1914, the regiment under Colonel Arnoùx de Maisonrouge with garrison in Lyon was assigned to the "5 ^e brigade de cuirassiers" ("6 ^e division de cavalerie") under Général Levillain. The mobilization was ordered on July 31st.

It was loaded at Charmes train station on the evening of August 2nd and arrived in the Hablainville region on August 3rd. It had its first enemy contact on August 6 with a reconnaissance patrol led by Lieutenant de Montfort. On August 15, the regiment was assigned to the Conneau Cavalry Corps to take part in the offensive towards Saarburg . On the morning of August 18, it crossed the former German-French border on the Paris-Strasbourg road, overtook the infantry heads near Lörchingen and reached the heights south of Saarburg. It acted as the rear guard on the retreat on August 20

August 24th: Battle at Rozelieures

August 26th: Retreat towards Magnières-Gerbéviller with stabilization of the front. The regiment was sent to the reserve in St. Boingt.

September 8-12: Relocation to the Dommartin-sur-Yèvre region and persecution of the retreating German troops there.

October 3: Participation in the race to the sea . Then fight in the First Battle of Flanders near Ypres , Roeselare and Paschendaele

November 22nd: The regiment is transported to the Croix-Saint-Ouen region (near Compiègne ).

1915

January 13th: The 6th Cavalry Division was hastily moved on the road to Soissons to repel a German attack. However, no intervention was necessary and the riders returned to their camps on January 15th.

January 25th: Rail loading into Alsace , where the regiment dug trenches in front of the village of Balschwiller .

May 11th: Relocation to the Artois - without commitment

June 28: Relocation to Lorraine - positions in the Saint Jean d'Ormontcelles-Hermenpère region filled

July 22nd: At the disposal of the 41st Infantry Division. Assistance in an attack on the Ban de Sapt.

August 31: Removal to take part in the autumn campaign in Champagne .

October 18: Relocation to Lorraine. Occupation of the trenches in the Forêt de Parroy section (Bois Legrand). A quiet section, with only educational tasks to be carried out

1916

On August 10th, the regiment was transferred to Lyon to be disbanded there and the horses handed over to the artillery. On August 16, the order was revoked, the regiment was transferred to Paris and held there at special disposal.

1917

From August the Bois Carré (Fresnes sector) and Monplaisirgilotin (Folembray sector) sections were occupied. After the Germans were pushed back, extensive work had to be done here in order to halfway restore the necessary infrastructure in the former battlefield. On November 20, the regiment with the 5th Cavalry Division was loaded onto the railway and transported to the Somme, where the division should try to expand a British attack success. However, the regiment was not used and returned to its old accommodations. It was now subordinated to the 3rd Cavalry Division with its brigade.

1918

On February 25, the 3rd KD was loaded and relocated to the Sancerre region. Here the division was under the command of the VIII Military Region ( Bourges ). After the start of the German offensive , the regiment was transported to the Somme on March 26, where it was in reserve until April 5, when it was moved west. On April 12th, it was alerted and hurriedly sent north, where it arrived in the Cassel area on April 15th . It had covered more than 200 kilometers, 120 of them in the first 24 hours alone. It was one of the first French troops to arrive in support of the British. On April 17, the regiment bivouacked in Bois Brabant, five kilometers south of Poperinge near the front line. On April 20, the unit assembled a battalion on foot, under the command of Chef d'escadrons Testart. The horses stayed behind in the bivouac. This was followed by trench warfare in the area of ​​the 28th Infantry Division on the road from Zeevecote to Locre and on the Kemmelberg . On May 4, the cavalry left the region and marched in stages to Kormerie. On May 14th, the 5th Cuirassier Brigade moved back from the 3rd to the 5th Cavalry Division and marched to Saint-Omer-en-Chausée to be loaded there on May 16 and transported to the Epernay region . On the night of May 28, the regiment was alerted and hastily dispatched to Port-à-Bison and Brouillet. The Germans had overcome the Chemin des Dames and threatened to march on Paris, trying to take Fère-en-Tardenois . The cavalry division had received orders to repel this attack. Thereafter, the regiment was at Chapelle-Monthodon until it marched on June 1 to Ferme Lesnars, where a half battalion was set up on foot. This replaced a battalion of colonial infantry at Mezy on the Marne on June 6th . After five days it was pulled out again and transported to Paris on June 21st to be refilled. On August 23, the transfer to Vitry-le-François took place and from there on September 20, the march to Suippes in Champagne, where it arrived on August 27. Here it was to be used in the fighting against the retreating German troops. On October 5, the Hindenburg line was crossed, the village of Sainte-Marie-à-Py and the heights of Notre-Dame-des-Champs were passed and advanced to the south of Saint-Etienne-à-Ames. On October 19th, the regiment was one of the troops destined to take part in the great offensive east of Nancy to Lorraine in November. When the armistice was concluded , the cuirassiers were still at Vaucouleurs on the Meuse, from where they set off for Metz on November 15th . On November 19, they crossed the former imperial border and bivouacked in Sanry-sur-Nied near Metz.

On November 22nd, the regiment had been assigned as a divisional vanguard and set off for the Rhine. On November 25th, the train was loaded in Héricourt and transported back to Lyon. In total, horses and riders had covered 1,100 kilometers since September 20.

Since leaving the garrison four and a half years ago, the riders had commuted between the Vosges and the sea, had been loaded onto the train 17 times and had covered some 7,000 kilometers on horseback.

Interwar period

At the beginning of 1919 the regiment was disbanded.

Second World War

Hotchkiss H-39

Samoua S-35

Due to the war with Germany, the regiment was re-established in May 1940 and equipped with 38 Hotchkiss H-39 tanks and 25 Somua S-35 tanks. It was assigned to the “4 ^e division légère mécanique”. After only one skirmish at Amiens, it was initially held in reserve on May 28th. On June 5, it participated in a counterattack near Airaine on the Somme. The French group consisted of 85 tanks (only 25 of which were of the stronger Somua S-35 type). The German troops with strong artillery support crushed the counterattack, with 73 French tanks being lost. The remnants withdrew to the Avre, where the regiment was disbanded in June 1940.

After 1945

• 1945 - 1962: Noyon Garrison

After the end of the war, the regiment was set up again. First it was equipped with the M4 Sherman tank , which was then replaced by the AMX-13 tank destroyer. In 1954, after the events of November 1st in Algeria , the regiment was converted into a training unit for the cavalry units destined for the Algerian war . The regiment's tanks were stored with the exception of one AMX-13 train. In July 1962 the unit in Noyon was disbanded.

Standard

Standard in the royal army

The last standard carried bears the names of the battles in which the regiment honored in gold letters:

• Valmy 1792
• Essling 1809
• La Bérézina 1812
• Dresden 1813
• L'Yser 1914
• Flandres 1914-1918

Awards

The regiment did not receive any awards ( Croix de guerre et cetera).

Uniforms of the Ancien Régime

• 

  Uniform according to the decree of 1740

• 

  Uniform according to ordinance of 1757

• 

  Uniform according to the decree of 1767

• 

  Uniform according to the decree of 1776

• 

  Uniform from 1776 to 1779

• 

  Uniform from 1779 to 1786

• 

  Uniform from 1786 to 1791

Historical

The "1 ^er régiment étranger de cavalerie" continues the tradition of the regiment. In 1706 King Louis XIV transferred the regiment “Royal etranger cavalerie” to Monsieur de Saint-Chamans - more than 300 years later, Colonel de Saint-Chamas took over command of the “1 ^er régiment étranger de cavalerie” in 2003 history has come full circle.

literature

• Général de brigade Philippe Peress 31, rue Hoche 49400 Saumur .
• Musée des Blindés ou Association des Amis du Musée des Blindés 1043, route de Fontevraud, 49400 Saumur.
• Cinquième abrégé de la carte générale du militaire de France, sur terre et sur mer (Depuis novembre 1737, jusqu'en décembre 1738) , Lemau de la Jaisse, Paris 1739
• Chronique historique-militaire , Pinard, tomes 5 et 6, Paris 1762 et 1763

Footnotes

1. ↑ Son of General Michel Ordener
2. ↑ G. Guiraudet, La Révolte des vignerons de 1907 ( Memento of the original from June 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , bulletin no. 2 de la SSH, 1992, en ligne, consulté le 3 août 2008 
3. ↑ DECISION n ° 12350 / SGA / DMPA / SHD / DAT du 14 septembre 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
4. ↑ Regulations ° 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 industry. Published with the Official Army Bulletin No. 27 of November 9, 2007
5. ^ 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. (This arrangement also applies to units that have already been disbanded, as it is not uncommon in France to reactivate them at some point.)

Web links

• 7th Regiment de Cuirassiers (Royal-Etranger)