| 2nd Armored Division | |
|---|---|
| 2e Division Blindée | |
 Original badge of the 2nd Armored Division. The divisional badge features theCross of Lorraine | |
| Active | 24 August 1943 – 31 March 1946 1977–1999 |
| Country |  France |
| Branch | French Army, ex-Free French |
| Type | Armored division, later2nd Armored Brigade |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Philippe Leclerc |
The French2nd Armored Division (French:2e Division Blindée, 2e DB), commanded by GeneralPhilippe Leclerc, fought during the final phases of World War II in theWestern Front for theliberation of France. The division was formed around a core of units that had fought in theNorth African campaign, and re-organized into a light armored division in 1943.The division embarked in April 1944 and shipped to various ports in Britain. On 29 July 1944, bound for France, the division embarked atSouthampton. During combat in 1944, the division liberated Paris, defeated aPanzer brigade during the armored clashes in Lorraine, forced the Saverne Gap and liberated Strasbourg. After taking part in the Battle of theColmar Pocket, the division was moved west and assaulted the German-held Atlantic port ofRoyan, before recrossing France in April 1945 and participating in the final fighting in southern Germany, even going first into Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" (Americans captured the town below). Deactivated after the war, the 2nd Division was again activated in the 1970s and served through 1999, when it was downsized to the now2nd Armored Brigade.
The division was formed around a core of units that had raided Italian Libya at the end of 1940 and Tripoli in 1943 underLeclerc, but was most known for its role in thefight at Kufra in 1941.[1] Later renamed the 2nd Light Division, in August 1943, it adopted the same organizational structure as a US light armored division.[1]
The division's 14,454 personnel included men from the 2nd Light Division, which included escapees from metropolitan France, as well as 3,600 Moroccans and Algerians and about 350Spanish Republicans.[2][3] Other sources give about 2,000, official records of the 2e DB show fewer than 300 Spaniards as many hid their nationality, fearing retaliation against their families in Spain.[4][5][1]
Combat formations:
Supply and services:
The division landed atUtah Beach in Normandy on 1 August 1944, about two months after theD-Day landings, and served underGeneral Patton as part ofThird Army. The division played a critical role in thebattle of the Argentan-Falaise Pocket (12–21 August), the Allied breakout from Normandy, when it served as a link between American and Canadian armies and made rapid progress against German forces. They all but destroyed the9th Panzer Division and defeated several other German units. During the Battle for Normandy, the 2nd Division lost 133 men killed, 648 wounded, and 85 missing. Division material losses included 76 armored vehicles, 7 cannons, 27 halftracks, and 133 other vehicles. In the same period, the 2nd Division inflicted losses on the Germans of 4,500 killed and 8,800 taken prisoner, while the Germans' material losses in combat against the 2nd Division during the same period were 117 tanks, 79 cannons, and 750 wheeled vehicles.[6][7]
The most celebrated moment in the unit's history was theLiberation of Paris. Allied strategy emphasized destroying German forces retreating towards theriver Rhine and considered that attack on Paris would risk destroying it, but when the French Resistance underHenri Rol-Tanguy staged an uprising in the city from 19 August,Charles de Gaulle threatened to send the division into Paris, single-handedly, to prevent the uprising being crushed as wasthen happening in Warsaw.Eisenhower agreed to let the French armored division and theU.S. 4th Infantry Division liberate Paris. In the early morning of 23 August, Leclerc's2e DB left the south ofArgentan on its march to Paris, a march which was slowed by poor road conditions, French crowds, and fierce combat near Paris. On 24 August, General Leclerc sent a small advance party to enter the city, with the message that the Second Armored would be there the following day. This party, commanded by CaptainRaymond Dronne, consisted of the 9th company (La Nueve)[note 1] of the 3rd Battalion of theRégiment de marche du Tchad. Dronne and his men arrived at theHôtel de Ville, in the center of Paris, shortly before 9:30 pm on the evening of 24 August. On 25 August, the 2nd Armored and the U.S. 4th Division entered Paris and liberated it. After hard fighting that cost the 2nd Division 35 tanks, 6 self-propelled guns, and 111 vehicles,von Choltitz, the German military governor of Paris, capitulated at theHôtel Meurice. The following day, 26 August, a great victory parade took place on theChamps Élysées, which was lined with a jubilant crowd acclaiming General de Gaulle and the liberators of Paris.
The 2nd Division later fought in the tank battles inLorraine. On 13 September 1944 at the town of Dompaire 'Groupement Langlade'destroyed the German 112th Panzer Brigade. Subsequently, the 2nd Division operated with U.S. forces during the assault into theVosges Mountains. Serving as the armored exploitation force for theU.S. XV Corps, the 2nd Division forced theSaverne Gap and thrust forward boldly, unbalancing German defenses in northernAlsace and liberatingStrasbourg on 23 November 1944. ThePresidential Unit Citation was awarded to the division for this action.
Fighting in Alsace until the end of February 1945, the 2nd Division was later deployed to reduce theRoyan Pocket on the western coast of France in March–April 1945.
After forcing the Germans in the Royan Pocket to surrender on 18 April 1945, the 2nd Division crossed France again to rejoin the Allied6th Army Group for final operations in Germany. Operating with theU.S. 12th Armored Division, elements of the French 2nd Armored Division pursued the remnants of German Army Group G acrossSwabia andBavaria, occupying the town ofBad Reichenhall on 4 May 1945. Eventually, the 2nd Division finished its campaigning at theNazi resort town ofBerchtesgaden in Southeastern Germany.[8]
According toDefence Historical Service, the unit counted 1,224 dead (including 96Maghrebis) and 5,257 wounded (including 584 Maghrebis) at the end of the campaign in northwestern Europe.[9] It had killed 13,000 Axis soldiers, captured 50,000 and destroyed 332 heavy and medium tanks, 2,200 other vehicles, and 426 cannons of various types.[10] According to another source, the unit counted 1,687 dead, including 108 officers, and 3,300 wounded .[11]
On 13 May 1945,SHAEF relinquished operational control of the 2nd Armored Division to France. From 23 to 28 May 1945, the 2nd Division moved to its new garrison in the region of Paris, where it was deactivated on 31 March 1946.
There are records from the late 1960s and early 1970s of501 Régiment de Chars de Combat (501 RCC) being part of the 2nd Brigade of the 8th Armored Division, part of the1st Corps of theFirst Army (France). The 2nd Brigade of the 8th Armored Division 'qui est l'heritière des traditions de la 2e DB' – carried on the traditions of the 2nd Armored Division.[12]
The French Army was extensively reorganised in 1977, with three-brigade divisions being dissolved and small divisions of four or five manoeuvre regiments/battalions being created.[13] The 2nd Armored Division appears to have been reformed at this time. From the late 1970s until 1999, the 2nd Division was headquartered inVersailles and was subordinated to theIII Corps (France).[14][15][16]
It became the2nd Armoured Brigade in 1999.
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| Free France | ||
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| Free French Africa | ||
| Liberation of France | ||
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