The 2nd Lancers Regiment (, RL2) is a unit of the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army () is the land component of the Portuguese Armed Forces, Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

responsible for the instruction, organization and maintenance of the Army Police (''Polícia do Exército'') operational units.

History

The origins of the 2nd Lancers Regiment date back to the creation of the Queen's Lancers Regiment in 1833, by the constitutional army during the

Liberal Wars The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War () and the War of the Two Brothers () was a civil war in Portugal that lasted from May 1828 to May 1834, fought between liberal progressive constitutionalists (led by former King P ...

. The idea for the creation of the regiment came from the observation of the success that resulted from the

lancer A lancer was a type of cavalryman who fought with a lance. Lances were used for mounted warfare in Assyria as early as and subsequently by India, Egypt, China, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The weapon was widely used throughout Eurasia during the M ...

s during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. Since its creation the regiment became an elite unit, responsible for the escort of the royal family, being mostly composed of aristocratic officers. Two lancer regiments were created by the 1834 army re-organization, the second unit of which was broken down as follows:: : 1834 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment : 1844 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the Queen's Lancers : 1884 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment : 1888 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment of Prince Charles : 1890 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the King's Lancers : 1911 - 2nd Cavalry Regiment : 1948 - 2nd Lancers Regiment : 1975 -

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

Regiment : 1976 - Lisbon Lancers Regiment : 1993 - 2nd Lancers Regiment The regiment continued employing the lance as a combat weapon until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, after which it was restricted to ceremonial use. At the beginning of the war, the unit was equipped with armored cars and

light tank A light tank is a Tank classification, tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller with thinner vehicle armour, armor and a less powerful tank gun, main gun, tailored for ...

s. In 1953 with the creation of the Military Police, the regiment assumed the function of organizing, training and maintaining the forces of this specialized force. The unit was renamed the Army Police in 1976. Its motto is "Death or Glory" as its first commander was Lt. Col. Sir Anthony Bacon, an English officer that served in the

17th Lancers The 17th Lancers (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1759 and notable for its participation in the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. The regim ...

, adopting its motto. The Portuguese lancers were given the mission (and created for the purpose) to defend the Queen Maria II. The Regiment was involved in the

Lisbon regicide The Lisbon Regicide or Regicide of 1908 () was the assassination of Carlos I of Portugal, King Carlos I of Portugal and the Algarves and his heir-apparent, Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal, by assassins sympathetic to Republicanism, Republic ...

in 1908 at various levels, the king's murderer, Manuel Buiça, served in the regiment as sergeant, the lieutenant that killed Buiça was serving in the Regiment (the Regiment still forms bodyguards), and Prince Dom Luís who became commander of the regiment (the royal family spent much time with the regiment, the officers were often invited to private events and referred to by their first names). The prince had a room in the regiment, where now is a library. The Regiment is nowadays responsible for Crowd and Riot Control (CRC), Bodyguard (personal bodyguards for the Army Chief of Staff), Traffic control of military vehicles and Control of individual movements (correct use of uniform, etc.), and K-9 unit for drug search and CRC (using Labrador Retrievers and Malinois and Rottweillers)

Equipment

Infantry equipment

* Glock 17 Gen 5; *

Benelli Supernova The Benelli Supernova is a pump action shotgun used for hunting, self-defense and law enforcement, made by Italian firearm manufacturer Benelli Armi SpA. The Supernova features a recoil reducer, which is attached to the interior of the stock, a ...

Heckler & Koch MP5K The Heckler & Koch MP5 (, ) is a submachine gun developed in the 1960s by German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It uses a similar modular design to the Heckler & Koch G3, and has over 100 variants and clones, including selective fire, ...

* FN SCAR L STD * FN Minimi Mk3 * FN40GL

Grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially designed, large caliber projectile, often with an explosive, Smoke screen, smoke, or tear gas, gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary gre ...

Vehicles

* Yamaha TDM 900 * Mitsubishi L200 * Land Rover Defender 110 *

Toyota Land Cruiser The , also sometimes spelt as LandCruiser, is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than 1 ...

Citroën Berlingo The Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner are a range of vans produced since 1996 and marketed under the Citroën and Peugeot marques. They are sold as light commercial vehicles or as a passenger Minivan, multi-purpose-vehicle variant with rear ...

Mercedes-Benz Vito The Mercedes-Benz Vito is a mid-sized light commercial vehicle (LCV) produced by Mercedes-Benz, available as a panel van, chassis cab, or multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), carrying cargo or up to eight passengers. In the Mercedes-Benz van lineup, it ...

* Unimog 1750L * DAF YA 4440 D * Mercedes-Benz Atego 4X2

References

{{coord missing, Portugal Cavalry regiments of Portugal Military provosts of Portugal Military units and formations established in 1834