12th Cuirassier Regiment (France) explained

Unit Name:	12th Cuirassier Regiment
Native Name:	12 Régiment de Cuirassiers
Dates:	1794–1814 1815 1854–1928 1940–1942 1943–1994 2009–Present
Country:	France
Type:	Cavalry
Size:	940 personnel
Command Structure:	2nd Armoured Brigade
Garrison:	Quartier Valmy, Olivet
Motto:	In periculo ludunt (Amidst danger, they play)

The 12th Cuirassier Regiment (French: 12e Régiment de Cuirassiers, 12e RC) is an armoured cavalry (tank) regiment of the French Army. It provides the armoured component of the 2nd Armoured Brigade.^[1] Currently stationed at Quartier Valmy, Olivet, Loiret, France.^[1]

Formation to the First World War

The Dauphin's Regiment of Cavalry (Régiment du Dauphin Cavalerie) was established in 1688 under the Ancien Régime. It fought in the Revolutionary Wars.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the regiment took part in most of the major battles, including Austerlitz (1805), Jena (1806), Friedland (1807), Wagram (1809), Borodino (1812), Leipzig (1813) and Waterloo (1815).

During the post-revolution reorganisations of the army, it was redesignated as the 12th Regiment of Cavalry (12éme Régiment de Cavalerie). It saw service in Germany, Italy, and later for a short time in Belgium.

The writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline volunteered for this regiment in 1912.

First World War

French: Garnison de Départ : Rambouillet.Turned into the French: 12e régiment de cuirassiers à pied

Interwar Period

Became the 12e Régiment de cuirassiers again in 1919. It was disbanded in 1928.

World War 2

January 1940: The regiment was serving as the Régiment de Découverte (Discovery Regiment) in the 3rd Light Mechanized Division (3e division légère mécanique), equipped with Panhard P178 armoured cars and Gnome et Rhône motorcycles
Summer 1940 : Regiment preserved within the framework of the Armée d'Armistice, as a garrison force at Orange
1942 : Armée d'Armistice dissolved
1943 : Regiment reconstituted as the Régiment de Chars (Tank Regiment) in North Africa, by the splitting of the 12e régiment de chasseurs d'Afrique (12th Regiment of Chasseurs of Africa), and added to the 2e Division Blindée (2nd Armoured Division).

Recent

After having been a garrison force at Müllheim in Germany for a long time in the post-1945 period, it was amalgamated, in 1994, with the 6th Cuirassier Regiment to form the 6th-12th Cuirassier Regiment, based at Olivet in Loiret.

In 2009, the two units were delinked and the 6th Cuirassiers deactivated; the 12th Cuirassiers was re-established as an individual unit.

Symbol

Their symbol is a white dolphin on a blue shield.

Organization

The regiment is composed of around 940 personnel organization into 10 squadrons.^[1]

Escadron d'administration et de soutien (EAS) – Administration and Support Squadron
Escadron de commandement et de logistique (ECL) – Command and Logistics Squadron
1er escadron – 1st Squadron
2e escadron – 2nd Squadron
3e escadron – 3rd Squadron
4e escadron – 4th Squadron
Escadron d'éclairage et d'investigation de la 2e Brigade blindée (EEI) – Brigade Reconnaissance Squadron
Escadron de maintenance régimentaire (EMR) – Regimental Maintenance Squadron
5e escadron de réserve – 5th Reserve Squadron
6e escadron de réserve – 6th Reserve Squadron

Lineage

1668 : Raised as a regiment under the name of the régiment Dauphin – cavalerie or, in English, Dauphin's Regiment (Cavalry).
1791 : Became 12e régiment de cavalerie
1803 : Became 12e régiment de cuirassiers
1815 : Dissolved at Niort
1854 : Became régiment de cuirassiers de la Garde impériale
1855 : Became 1er régiment de cuirassiers de la Garde Impériale (1st Regiment of Cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard) after the creation of a second regiment of Imperial Guard cuirassiers
1865 : Merged with the 2e régiment de cuirassiers de la Garde impériale (2nd Cuirassiers Regiment of the Imperial Guard) to form the new régiment de cuirassiers de la Garde impériale (Regiment of Cuirassiers of the Imperial Guard)
1871 : Became the 12e régiment de cuirassiers again after the fall of the Second French Empire
August 1914 : The 12e régiment de cuirassiers was assigned to the 6e brigade de cavalerie (6th Cavalry Brigade), which was itself attached to the 7e division de cavalerie (7th Cavalry Division).
January 1918: Became 12e régiment de cuirassiers à pied and was reattached to the 2e division de cavalerie à pied (2nd Cavalry Division on foot)

Commanding officers

1791 : Charles Michel de Lanay de Vallerie – colonel
1792 : Francois Durand Tauzia de la Litterie – colonel
1793 : Vrigny – chef de brigade.
1793 : Jean-Baptiste Colart – chef de brigade.
1795 : Jean Verreaux – chef de brigade.
1 May 1796 : Jacques Renard Belfort – chef de brigade then colonel in 1803 (*)
27 December 1805 : Joseph Dornes – colonel (*)
1809 : Jean-Louis Matheron de Curnieu – colonel
1813 : Michel Jean Paul Daudies – colonel
1815 : Charles Nicolas Thurot – colonel

*These officers became generals de brigade after this.

Battle honours, garrisons, campaigns, events

French Revolutionary Wars

As part of the Army of the Rhine from 1792 to 1800:

1793 : Stromberg, Alzey, Brumpt, Haguenau and Gambsheim
1794 : Rebutte, Spire and Schweigenheim
1795 : Frankenthal
1796 : Mindelheim, Friedberg, Ulm, Biberach and Müllheim
1797 : Crossing of the Rhine
1799 : Siege of Philippsburg
1800 : Battles of Engen, Moeskirch and Hohenlinden

Napoleonic Wars

1805 : Wertingen, Elchingen, Hollabrunn and Austerlitz (*)
1806 : Jena (*)
1807 : Heilsberg and Friedland
1809 : Eckmühl, Ratisbonne, Essling, and Wagram
1812 : Mohilev, Borodino (*) and Winkowo
1813 : Bautzen, Reichenbach, Jauer, Dresden, Wachau and Leipzig
1814 : La Rothière, Rosnay, Champaubert, Vauchamps, Valjouan, Athies, Reims, Fere-Champenoise, and Paris
1815 : Ligny and Waterloo (within 2e brigade, called the brigade Travers, in the 13e division de cavalerie, called the division Wathier, in the IVe corps de cavalerie under général de division comte Édouard Jean Baptiste Milhaud, of the army reserve)

(*) Battle honour on this regiment's flag

Colonels killed and wounded in command of the 12e Cuirassiers:

Colonel de Curnier : wounded November 1812

Officers killed and wounded whilst serving in the 12e Cuirassiers during the 1805-1815 period:

Officers killed : 25
Officers died of wounds: 9
Officers wounded : 57

Battle honours

Austerlitz 1805
Iena 1806
La Moskova 1812
Solferino 1859
L'Yser 1914
L'Avre 1918
St Mihiel 1918
Paris 1944
Strasbourg 1944

Decorations

Fourragère Croix de guerre 1914–1918
Fourragère Croix de guerre 1939–1945
Gold Medal from the town of Milan 1859–1909
Presidential Unit Citation (American decoration). (1945)

Quotations about the regiment

1776 : Charles Juste de Beauvau, Prince de Beauvau:

This regiment, long known as one of the best trained cavalry regiments, entirely merits the reputation it has gained in that sphere. (Ce régiment, qui depuis longtemps passe pour l'un des mieux exercés de la cavalerie, mérite toute la réputation qu'il s'est acquise dans ce genre.)

1918 : General Marie-Eugène Debeney:

A regiment of the highest morale and proudly held under fire. (Régiment d'un moral très élevé et d'une superbe tenue au feu.)

1940 : General Maxime Weygand:

Thanks to an elite personnel and despite heavy losses, it knew how to preserve a high morale and a magnificent aggressive fervor (Grâce à un personnel d'élite et malgré de lourdes pertes, a su conserver un moral élevé et une ardeur combative magnifique.)

1945 : General Charles de Gaulle:

A tank regiment impregnated with the purest traditions of the cavalry, that distinguished itself by the rapidity and audacity of its actions (Régiment de chars imprégné des plus pures traditions de la cavalerie, qui s'est distingué par la rapidité et l'audace de ses actions.)

Notes and References

Web site: 12e régiment de cuirassiers. Armée de Terre. 20 January 2012.