3rd Cuirassier Regiment (France)
Encyclopedia
The 3rd Cuirassier Regiment was a cavalry regiment of the French Army, later reequipped as an armored regiment.
as a part of that regiment. During this time the unit became the Esclainvilliers Cavalry, the ancestor of the 3rd Cuirassier Regiment.
The regiment distinguished itself fighting in Flanders in 1650. In 1652, under the command of Turenne
, it fought against the fronde
rs in Paris and was present at Stenay. The regiment was renamed the Commissaire General Regiment in April 1656.
The regiment set up six companies in 1665 for the reconquest of Flanders. The regiment took part in the siege of Maastricht
in 1673, and then served as a garrison for a time in Franche-Comté
before it returned to Flanders. It stayed in Flanders during both the Nine Years' War and the War of Spanish Succession.
The regiment joined the Army of the Rhine at Landan in 1742; with it the regiment distinguished itself at Ratisbon. It was sent to the Army of the Alps in 1746, but the war ended the next year with the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. During the Seven Years' War
it was sent to Saint-Lô in 1762 to defend the French coastline. In 1791, the regiment was renamed 3rd Régiment de Cavalrie. In 1802/03 the Regiment was renamed the 3rd Cuirassiers.
and the Napoleonic Wars
, the regiment fought in the battles of Valmy
, Marengo, Austerlitz
, Jena
, Eylau
, Heilsberg
and Friedland
.
In 1807 a detachment was sent to Spain where it was combined with detachments from the 1st and 2nd Cuirassiers and the 1st and 2nd Carabiniers to form the 1st Provisional Heavy Cavalry (designated the 13th Cuirassiers at the end of 1808).
From 1809 on it served in the battles of Eckmühl
, Essling
, Wagram
, Ostrowono, Smolensk
, Borodino
, Dresden
, Liebertwolkwitz, Leipzig
, Champaubert
, Fère-Champenoise.
During the First Restoration
(1814), the regiment was named the Régiment de Cuirassiers du Dauphin. With the return of Napoleon I
in 1815, the regiment was renamed 3eme Régiment de Cuirassiers. It fought at Ligny
and Waterloo
. It was disbanded with the Second Restoration on 25 November.
mean that the regiment once again becomes the 3rd Cuirassier Regiment. Between 1830 and 1869, the regiment is garrison in Lyon
and Lunéville
.
When war
was declared between France and Prussia in 1870, the regiment was garrisoned in Lunéville. The regiment entered Haguenau on 2 August, then Reichshoffen, where it fought in the Battle of Wörth. There it took part in the great cavalry charge. The remains of the regiment withdrew in good order and arrived at Saverne on 7 August and after a short rest there marched to join the Army of Châlons
, which it did on 20 August 1870. After passing through Floing the regiment retreated to Sedan on the 1st of September, with the rest of its division.
In the evening of 4 March 1871, the regiment was sent to Paris. The March Regiment became the 3rd Cuirassier Regiment again on 1 April 1871.
. It then held the trench lines until March 1918 in the North, Somme and Champagne, at which time the German had exhausted their last resources.
The regiment is part of the 4th Cavalry Division, which took part in the offensive that brings victory to the allies, particularly in July 1918 at Saint-Pierre-Aigle and in August at Montdidier. The regiment was at Detergheim in Flanders, when the armistice was signed on 11 November 1918. It took part in the victory parade in Brussels
ten days later.
The regiment received two new inscriptions on the standard for its service during the war: "Belgique 1914-1918" and "Picardie 1918". The regiment was dissolved in 1919 in the aftermath of the war.
tanks and becoming part of the 1st Cuirassier Division.
The regiment moves on Abbeville
on 27 May, where it resists the Germany push, before being forced to retreat to Beauvais. During its retreat it fought rearguard actions at Cormonville and Cheverny. Hostilities were suspended on 25 June and cease fire orders were given to all units; the regiment was dissolved on 31 July 1940.
, Algeria, first moving to Tlemcen
then Sebdou. It took part in the operations to maintain law and order, guarding the Moroccan-Algerian border. The regiment took part in several operations in the area.
The regiment was reorganized to a reconnaissance regiment normally used in Algeria on 1 April 1957. It would be reorganized several times during the war and in October 1962 it is attached to the 43rd Brigade, based at Mers El Kébir.
After eight years of service in Algeria, the regiment embarked for France on 4 June 1964. The regiment was dissolved on 15 June 1964 at Camp Sissonne.
. It was original equipped with AMX-13
tanks, but reequipped with the AMX-30 tanks in 1973.
The regiment was reorganized again in 1992, when some regiments of the French Force in Germany were dissolved after the fall of the Berlin Wall
and the end of the Cold War
. The regiment absorbed the 2nd Squadron of the 5th Cuirassier Regiment and the E.E.D. of the 57th D.B., a new squadron was also created and equipped with the AMX-30B tanks.
A squadron was sent to former Yugoslavia
in 1994 as a part of the United Nations Protection Force
; it was in Croatia
for its four months deployment. The regiment also detached some officers as observers for the UN to the Western Sahara
in 1997. The regiment was dissolved for the final time in 1998 in the reforms that swept the French Army.
http://www.3rdcuirassiers.org/
Ancien Régime
Timoléon de Sercourt d’Esclainvilliers inherited his fathers company of Light horse in 1635, when he was three years old. The same year in May, Cardinal Richelieu decided to reorganize the French Cavalry, Esclainvilliers' company became part of the Cardinal Duc regiment. It fought in the Battle of RocroiBattle of Rocroi
The Battle of Rocroi was fought on 19 May 1643, late in the Thirty Years' War. It resulted in a victory of the French army under the Duc d'Enghien, against the Spanish army under General Francisco de Melo.-Prelude:...
as a part of that regiment. During this time the unit became the Esclainvilliers Cavalry, the ancestor of the 3rd Cuirassier Regiment.
The regiment distinguished itself fighting in Flanders in 1650. In 1652, under the command of Turenne
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne,often called simply Turenne was the most illustrious member of the La Tour d'Auvergne family. He achieved military fame and became a Marshal of France...
, it fought against the fronde
Fronde
The Fronde was a civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The word fronde means sling, which Parisian mobs used to smash the windows of supporters of Cardinal Mazarin....
rs in Paris and was present at Stenay. The regiment was renamed the Commissaire General Regiment in April 1656.
The regiment set up six companies in 1665 for the reconquest of Flanders. The regiment took part in the siege of Maastricht
Siege of Maastricht
The Siege of Maastricht was one of the key elements in King Louis XIV's plans to attack the Netherlands, in order to revenge the humiliating conditions enforced on him by the Triple Alliance when he tried to fully conquer the Spanish Netherlands...
in 1673, and then served as a garrison for a time in Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
before it returned to Flanders. It stayed in Flanders during both the Nine Years' War and the War of Spanish Succession.
The regiment joined the Army of the Rhine at Landan in 1742; with it the regiment distinguished itself at Ratisbon. It was sent to the Army of the Alps in 1746, but the war ended the next year with the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. During the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
it was sent to Saint-Lô in 1762 to defend the French coastline. In 1791, the regiment was renamed 3rd Régiment de Cavalrie. In 1802/03 the Regiment was renamed the 3rd Cuirassiers.
French revolutionary and Napoleonic Period
During the French Revolutionary WarsFrench Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, the regiment fought in the battles of Valmy
Battle of Valmy
The Battle of Valmy was the first major victory by the army of France during the French Revolution. The action took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops commanded by the Duke of Brunswick attempted to march on Paris...
, Marengo, Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
, Jena
Battle of Jena-Auerstedt
The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Prussia...
, Eylau
Battle of Eylau
The Battle of Eylau or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, 7 and 8 February 1807, was a bloody and inconclusive battle between Napoléon's Grande Armée and a Russian Empire army under Levin August, Count von Bennigsen near the town of Preußisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians...
, Heilsberg
Battle of Heilsberg
The Battle of Heilsberg took place on 10 June 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars.-Overview:On 24 May 1807, the Siege of Danzig ended when Prussian General Friedrich Adolf, Count von Kalckreuth capitulated to French Marshal Francois Joseph Lefebvre. With Gdansk secured, Napoleon was now free to turn...
and Friedland
Battle of Friedland
The Battle of Friedland saw Napoleon I's French army decisively defeat Count von Bennigsen's Russian army about twenty-seven miles southeast of Königsberg...
.
In 1807 a detachment was sent to Spain where it was combined with detachments from the 1st and 2nd Cuirassiers and the 1st and 2nd Carabiniers to form the 1st Provisional Heavy Cavalry (designated the 13th Cuirassiers at the end of 1808).
From 1809 on it served in the battles of Eckmühl
Battle of Eckmühl
The Battle of Eckmühl fought on 21 April – 22 April 1809, was the turning point of the 1809 Campaign, also known as the War of the Fifth Coalition...
, Essling
Battle of Aspern-Essling
In the Battle of Aspern-Essling , Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles...
, Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
, Ostrowono, Smolensk
Battle of Smolensk (1812)
The Battle of Smolensk, the first major battle of the French invasion of Russia took place on August 16–18, 1812, between 175,000 men of the Grande Armée under Napoleon Bonaparte and 130,000 Russians under Barclay de Tolly, though only about 50,000 and 60,000 respectively were actually engaged...
, Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
, Dresden
Battle of Dresden
The Battle of Dresden was fought on 26–27 August 1813 around Dresden, Germany, resulting in a French victory under Napoleon I against forces of the Sixth Coalition of Austrians, Russians and Prussians under Field Marshal Schwartzenberg. However, Napoleon's victory was not as complete as it could...
, Liebertwolkwitz, Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
, Champaubert
Battle of Champaubert
The Battle of Champaubert was the opening engagement of the Six Days Campaign. It was fought on February 10, 1814 by a French force under Napoleon I against Russians and Prussians under General Olssufiev...
, Fère-Champenoise.
During the First Restoration
First Restoration
The First Restoration, or Première Restauration in French, refers to Louis XVIII of France's accession to the throne after Napoleon's exile to Elba. It lasted from 6 April 1814 to 20 March 1815, on which day Napoleon arrived back in Paris....
(1814), the regiment was named the Régiment de Cuirassiers du Dauphin. With the return of Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in 1815, the regiment was renamed 3eme Régiment de Cuirassiers. It fought at Ligny
Battle of Ligny
The Battle of Ligny was the last victory of the military career of Napoleon I. In this battle, French troops of the Armée du Nord under Napoleon's command, defeated a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher, near Ligny in present-day Belgium. The bulk of the Prussian army survived, however, and...
and Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. It was disbanded with the Second Restoration on 25 November.
July Monarchy and Second Empire
The final fall of the Bourbons and the establishment of the July MonarchyJuly Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
mean that the regiment once again becomes the 3rd Cuirassier Regiment. Between 1830 and 1869, the regiment is garrison in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
and Lunéville
Lunéville
Lunéville is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department and lies on the Meurthe River.-History:...
.
When war
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
was declared between France and Prussia in 1870, the regiment was garrisoned in Lunéville. The regiment entered Haguenau on 2 August, then Reichshoffen, where it fought in the Battle of Wörth. There it took part in the great cavalry charge. The remains of the regiment withdrew in good order and arrived at Saverne on 7 August and after a short rest there marched to join the Army of Châlons
Army of Châlons
The Army of Châlons was a French army which took part in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. It was formed in August 1870 from parts of the Army of the Rhine not blockaded at Metz...
, which it did on 20 August 1870. After passing through Floing the regiment retreated to Sedan on the 1st of September, with the rest of its division.
In the evening of 4 March 1871, the regiment was sent to Paris. The March Regiment became the 3rd Cuirassier Regiment again on 1 April 1871.
World War I
The regiment crossed the Franco-Belgian border on 6 August and took part in the operations around Florenville. It also took part in engagements of the Great retreat and the following Race to the SeaRace to the Sea
The Race to the Sea is a name given to the period early in the First World War when the two sides were still engaged in mobile warfare on the Western Front. With the German advance stalled at the First Battle of the Marne, the opponents continually attempted to outflank each other through...
. It then held the trench lines until March 1918 in the North, Somme and Champagne, at which time the German had exhausted their last resources.
The regiment is part of the 4th Cavalry Division, which took part in the offensive that brings victory to the allies, particularly in July 1918 at Saint-Pierre-Aigle and in August at Montdidier. The regiment was at Detergheim in Flanders, when the armistice was signed on 11 November 1918. It took part in the victory parade in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
ten days later.
The regiment received two new inscriptions on the standard for its service during the war: "Belgique 1914-1918" and "Picardie 1918". The regiment was dissolved in 1919 in the aftermath of the war.
Battle of France
The regiment was reformed on 16 May 1940 in the region of Fontevraud-Saumur, as a part of the mobilization for the war with Germany. It was equipped with SOMUA S35 and Hotchkiss H35Hotchkiss H35
The Hotchkiss H35 or Char léger modèle 1935 H was a French light tank developed prior to World War II.Despite having been designed from 1933 as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank, the type was initially rejected by the French Infantry because it proved difficult to steer...
tanks and becoming part of the 1st Cuirassier Division.
The regiment moves on Abbeville
Abbeville
Abbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and northwest of Amiens...
on 27 May, where it resists the Germany push, before being forced to retreat to Beauvais. During its retreat it fought rearguard actions at Cormonville and Cheverny. Hostilities were suspended on 25 June and cease fire orders were given to all units; the regiment was dissolved on 31 July 1940.
Algerian War
The regiment was reformed in 1952 and on 23 March 1956, the regiment disembarked in OranOran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
, Algeria, first moving to Tlemcen
Tlemcen
Tlemcen is a town in Northwestern Algeria, and the capital of the province of the same name. It is located inland in the center of a region known for its olive plantations and vineyards...
then Sebdou. It took part in the operations to maintain law and order, guarding the Moroccan-Algerian border. The regiment took part in several operations in the area.
The regiment was reorganized to a reconnaissance regiment normally used in Algeria on 1 April 1957. It would be reorganized several times during the war and in October 1962 it is attached to the 43rd Brigade, based at Mers El Kébir.
After eight years of service in Algeria, the regiment embarked for France on 4 June 1964. The regiment was dissolved on 15 June 1964 at Camp Sissonne.
Last reformation
The regiment was reformed in 1968 in Chenevières, France, as an armored regiment of the 8th Motorized Brigade in LunévilleLunéville
Lunéville is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department and lies on the Meurthe River.-History:...
. It was original equipped with AMX-13
AMX-13
The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced from 1953 to 1985. It served with the French Army and was exported to over twenty-five other nations...
tanks, but reequipped with the AMX-30 tanks in 1973.
The regiment was reorganized again in 1992, when some regiments of the French Force in Germany were dissolved after the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
and the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. The regiment absorbed the 2nd Squadron of the 5th Cuirassier Regiment and the E.E.D. of the 57th D.B., a new squadron was also created and equipped with the AMX-30B tanks.
A squadron was sent to former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
in 1994 as a part of the United Nations Protection Force
United Nations Protection Force
The United Nations Protection Force ', was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav wars. It existed between the beginning of UN involvement in February 1992, and its restructuring into other forces in March 1995...
; it was in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
for its four months deployment. The regiment also detached some officers as observers for the UN to the Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
in 1997. The regiment was dissolved for the final time in 1998 in the reforms that swept the French Army.
Battle Honors
- Marengo 1800Battle of Marengo (1800)The Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy...
- Austerlitz 1805Battle of AusterlitzThe Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
- La Moskowa 1812Battle of BorodinoThe Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
- Champaubert 1814Battle of ChampaubertThe Battle of Champaubert was the opening engagement of the Six Days Campaign. It was fought on February 10, 1814 by a French force under Napoleon I against Russians and Prussians under General Olssufiev...
- Belgique 1914-1918Western Front (World War I)Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
- Picardie 1918Operation MichaelOperation Michael was a First World War German military operation that began the Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France...
Decorations
- Croix de guerre 1914-1918Croix de guerre 1914-1918 (France)The Croix de guerre 1914–1918 is a French military decoration.-Creation:Soon after the outbreak of World War I, French military officials felt that a new military award had to be created...
with a silver star
Lineage
- 1645: D'Esclainvilliers
- 1654: Commissaire Général
- 1791: 3rd Cavalry Regiment
- 1803: 3rd Cuirassier Regiment
- 1815: Cuirassiers du Dauphin
- 1815: 3rd Cuirassier Regiment
- 1815: Dissolved
- 1816: Cuirassiers d'Angoulème
- 1824: Cuirassiers de Bordeaux
- 1830: 3rd Cuirassier Regiment
- 1919: Dissolved
- 1940: 3rd Cuirassier Regiment
- 1940: Dissolved
- 1952: 3rd Cuirassier Regiment
- 1964: Dissolved
- 1968: 3rd Cuirassier Regiment
- 1998: Dissolved
http://www.3rdcuirassiers.org/