1st Armoured Division (France, 1940) explained

Unit Name:	1st Armoured Division
Native Name:	1 Division Cuirassée
Dates:	January - August 1940
Branch:	French Army
Type:	Armoured Division
Role:	Armoured warfare
Garrison:	Châlons-en-Champagne
Motto:	J'en suis (I am in)
Battles:	World War II Battle of France

The 1st Armoured Division (fr|1<sup>re</sup> Division Cuirassée, 1<sup>re</sup> DCR) is a unit of the French Army formed during World War II that took part in the May-June 1940 Battle of France.

History

Formed 16 January 1940 at Châlons-sur-Marne. Missing half of its motorcycles and artillery caissons on 10 May 1940. Division took serious losses on 15-16 May and lost all of its tanks.^[1] It had to be reformed from 31 May until 4 June.^[2] Campaigns: Battle of the Meuse, Battle of the North, Battle of the Somme and Retreat of the Center. Division disbanded in July and August 1940. Final command post at Le Dognon, northeast of Limoges. Subordination: XI Corps of the 9th Army until 17 May, 6th Army from 1–25 June.^[3]

Composition

In May 1940:^[4] ^[5] ^[6]

28th Tank Battalion (B1 bis tanks)
37th Tank Battalion (B1 bis tanks)
25th Tank Battalion (H39 tanks)
26th Tank Battalion (H39 tanks)
5th Motorized Rifle Battalion (bataillon de chasseurs portés)
305th Artillery Regiment

Bibliography

(GUF) Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre. Guerre 1939–1945 Les Grandes Unités Françaises. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1967.

Notes and References

French. Jacques. Belle . Près de 2800 blindés perdus en 26 jours . Histoire de Guerre, Blindés et Matériel. 133 . Histoire & Collections . July 2020 . 33-44.
French. Jacques. Belle . De nouvelles unités mécaniques pour la Ligne Weygand. Histoire de Guerre, Blindés et Matériel. 135 . Histoire & Collections . January 2021 . 53-64.
GUF, Vol. 3, pp. 458-475.
François. Vauvillier . La division cuirassée en France en 1940 et ses perspectives : 1 - Les chars et les chasseurs portés . Histoire de Guerre, Blindés et Matériel . 79 . October 2007 . 38-49 . Histoire & Collections . French.
François. Vauvillier . La division cuirassée en France en 1940 et ses perspectives : 2 - l'artillerie d'accompagnement, l'artillerie antichars et la défense contre avions. Histoire de Guerre, Blindés et Matériel . 80 . January 2008 . 40-49 . Histoire & Collections . French.
Web site: Capitaine . Bonal . Les divisions cuirassées . defense.gouv.fr . 2 November 2016. French.