31 e régiment de dragons
31 e régiment de dragons
|active||1893 to 1959|
|Armed forces||French armed forces|
|Branch of service||cavalry|
|Insinuation||2nd Cavalry Division|
|Patron saint||Saint Georges|
|equipment||Somua S-35 , M47 (main battle tank)|
The 31 e régiment de dragons was a French cavalry regiment established in 1893. It existed with interruptions until 1959.
Lineup and significant changes
- 1893: Listed as 31 e régiment de dragons
- 1940: Dissolution after the Compiègne Armistice (1940)
- 1945: briefly re-established as the 31st e régiment de dragons and dissolution in the same year
- 1948: Re-established as 31 e régiment de dragons
- 1955: dissolution
- 1958: Re-established as the 31st e régiment de dragons
- 1959: dissolution
- 1907: de Robieu
- 1912-7. November 1914: Colonel Dezauney
- November 7, 1914-12. May 1915: Lieutenant-Colonel Lejay
- April – 12. May 1915: Colonel Waddington
- April 1918: Colonel Waddington
- June 1918: Colonel Pascal († July 1918)
- July 1918: Colonel Bouchez
- August 1918: Colonel de Breuille
- 1939: Colonel Schlesser
- May 1940: Colonel Rey
- 1954: Colonel Combourieu
- 1958: Colonel Raffer
- 1959: Colonel Oddo
On the reverse of the regimental flag, the campaigns and battles in which the regiment took part are listed in gold letters.
- The flag ribbon is decorated with the Croix de guerre 1914–1918 with two palm branches.
- The members of the regiment have the right to wear the Fourragère in the colors of the Croix de Guerre from 1914 to 1918.
- 1910 : The regiment was stationed in Épernay . On October 16 of the year , around 10,000 winegrowers gathered in Épernay at a call from the Fédération des syndicats viticoles de la Champagne (Association of Champagne Winegrowers' Associations). After their taxation had been decided in several wine-growing communities, the first unrest began on November 4th. In the days that followed, the wine merchants' cellars and storerooms were looted more and more. In this situation, which was almost like a rebellion, the "31 e régiment de dragons" was mobilized to reinforce the other four regiments that had already been deployed. These had been used to block the access routes to the main locations and to protect the traders. On January 20, the prefect reassured the winemakers with a promise to stop buying foreign wines.
First World War
The regiment was subordinate to the 2nd Cavalry Division, to which it belonged from August to 1914 to November 1918.
- August 1914: Reconnaissance operations in Lorraine
- September 1914: Fighting in the Woëvre plain
- 1915: Autumn battle in Champagne
- 1916: Battle of the Somme
- 1917: Battle of the Aisne
- 1918: Company Michael - fights at Villers-Cotterêts
- 1918: Battle of the Matz
- September 28 to November 11, 1918: Persecution battles in Belgium
The regiment had a total of 62 fallen and missing persons, including the regiment commander Colonel Pascal, who died in July 1918 of a sustained wound.
Second World War
The 31 e régiment de dragons formed together with the 8 e régiment de dragons the 4th cavalry brigade. This brigade was part of the 2nd Cavalry Division. In February 1940 the cavalry divisions were converted into light cavalry divisions (Divisions légères de cavalerie - DLC) and assigned to the brigade of the 4th Light Cavalry Division. This division was to operate as part of the 9th Army in the Ardennes as part of the Dyle Plan, according to which the banks of the Meuse between Fort de Dave and Yvoir were to be occupied first, and then, crossing the river, the advance of the left wing of the Army cover.
The regiment fought as far as possible with the 4th Cavalry Brigade in Groupement nord (northern grouping), which had set up in the line La Capelle (Aisne) - Trélon - Mettet - Saint-Gérard - Godinne - Assesse - Durbuy .
It was used in the battle of Dinant and, after the armistice, it was dissolved.
- 1945 : In that year the unit was briefly set up again, but disbanded soon after the end of the war. It is not known whether she was involved in the invasion of Germany.
The regiment was re-established for use in the Algerian War in 1958, but disbanded the following year after only a short deployment in Algeria.
" Honneur, Patrie " (honor, fatherland)
Well-known personality in the regiment
- Claude Simon , as a conscript from 1934 to 1935, then mobilized on August 27, 1939
- Provision No. 12350 / SGA / DPMA / SHD / DAT of September 14, 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. In: Bulletin officiel des armées. No. 27, November 9, 2007.
- Order AFN 1952–1962 relatif à l'attribution de l'inscription sur les drapeaux et étendards des formations des armées et services dated November 19, 2004 NORDEF0452926A (A) by Michèle Alliot-Marie.