The 4th Armored Division () was a short-lived armoured unit of the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

. Formed on 10 May 1940 on the battlefield, it comprised mainly tank battalions. It fought without interruption for forty days and was initially commanded by

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

Battle Of France

Formation

The division was formed under Colonel

De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...

on 15 May 1940.

Fighting The Blitzkrieg

The 4DCr launched an attack on 17 May at the

Battle of Montcornet The Battle of Montcornet, on 17 May 1940 took place during the Battle of France. The French 4e Division cuirassée (Colonel Charles de Gaulle), attacked the German-held village of Montcornet with over 200 tanks. The French drove off the Germans b ...

, where it successfully threw back the German defenses but had to retreat on its starting positions for lack of support and air cover. It then moved south of

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

to attack German bridgeheads across the Aisne river, fighting the

Battle of Abbeville The Battle of Abbeville took place from 27 May to 4 June 1940, near Abbeville during the Battle of France in the Second World War. On 20 May, the 2nd Panzer Division advanced to Abbeville on the English Channel, overran the 25th Infantry Brigad ...

on 28/29 May with the aim of breaking through to the encircled Allied units trapped in

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

. On 1 June, the 4e DCr was relieved by the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division and regrouped at

Marseille-en-Beauvaisis Marseille-en-Beauvaisis () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. Marseille-en-Beauvaisis station has rail connections to Beauvais and Le Tréport. See also * Communes of the Oise department The following is a list of the 67 ...

to attach itself to the armoured group under General

Charles Delestraint Charles Delestraint (12 March 1879 – 19 April 1945) was a French Army lieutenant general and member of the French Resistance during World War II. He also befriended Charles de Gaulle. Delestraint was killed by the Gestapo in 1945. Early life H ...

. On 6 June, De Gaulle was relieved of his command to rejoin his new commission as State under-secretary for War in the government. De Gaulle was replaced by Colonel Chaudesolle for one day. General

Pierre Jules de la Font Pierre Jules André Marie de La Font (9 July 1885 – 7 July 1963) was a French general of cavalry. Biography Graduating from Saint-Cyr in 1906, he took courses at the Cavalry School at Saumur 1907. In 1915, at his request, he left the cavalr ...

took command of the division on 7 June. On 10 June, the armoured group was attached to the Paris Army, and on 12 June, the division was assigned to the 10th Army Corps. From then on, it took part in rear-guard fights during the retreat, notably on the Loire river from 12 to 19 June, and until the cease-fire on 26 June.

Composition

The division was composed of the following units: * 46^e bataillon de chars de combat * 19^e bataillon de chars de combat * 4^e bataillon de chasseurs portés * 24^e bataillon de chars de combat * 303^e régiment d'artillerie tractée * 4^e groupe autonome d'artillerie * 322^e RATTT / 1^er groupe (from 17 May) * 322^e RATTT / 2^e groupe (from 17 May) * 10^e régiment de cuirassiers - One squadron equipped with the

Panhard 178 The Panhard 178 (officially designated as ''Automitrailleuse de Découverte Panhard modèle 1935'', 178 being the internal project number at Panhard) or "Pan-Pan" was an advanced French reconnaissance 4x4 armoured car that was designed for the ...

(from 18 May) * 3^e cuirassiers / 1^er groupe d'escadron - One squadron equipped with

SOMUA S35 The SOMUA S35 was a French cavalry tank of the Second World War. Built from 1936 until 1940 to equip the armoured divisions of the Cavalry, it was for its time a relatively agile medium-weight tank, superior in armour and armament to its Frenc ...

tanks (from 18 May) * 10/80^e BDAC (from 20 May) * 11/86^e BDAC (from 20 May) * 47^e bataillon de chars de combat (from 21 May) * 44^e bataillon de chars de combat (from 21 May) * 44^e bataillon de chars de combat (from 21 May) * 1020^e batterie, 404^e DCA (from 23 May) * 305^e RATTT / 1^er groupe (105) (from 23 May) * 2^e bataillon du 7^e régiment de dragons portés (from 24 May) * 3^e cuirassiers / 2^e groupe d'escadron - One squadron equipped with

Hotchkiss H35 The Hotchkiss H35 or was a French cavalry 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 becaus ...

tanks (from 25 May) * 665^e batterie divisionnaire antichar (from 25 May) * 51^e batterie antichar autonome (from 25 May) * 661^e batterie divisionnaire antichar (from 28 May)

Equipment

The division was equipped with the following vehicles: * 58

Char B1 The Char B1 was a French heavy tank manufactured before World War II. The Char B1 was a specialised break-through vehicle, originally conceived as a self-propelled gun with a 75 mm howitzer in the hull; later a 47 mm gun in a turre ...

bis heavy tanks * 44

Char D2 The Char D2 was a French medium tank of the interwar period. In 1930, at a time the Char D1 had not even entered production, the Renault company agreed to build a better armoured version called the Char D2. By not using old-fashioned rivets, it ...

medium tanks * 135

medium tanks * 40 Hotchkiss H39 light tanks * 48

armoured cars

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:4e Division cuirassee French World War II divisions Armored divisions of France Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940