The 3rd Light Armoured Brigade (), the previous 3rd Mechanised Brigade, was a unit of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

. The brigade was heir to the traditions of the 3rd Armored Division, an heir of the

3rd Algerian Infantry Division The 3rd Algerian Infantry Division () was an infantry division of the Army of Africa which participated in World War II. Following the liberation of French North Africa, the division fought in Tunisia, Italy, metropolitan France and in Germany. ...

. The 3rd Light Armoured Brigade was dissolved on 16 June 2016. The 3rd Division was recreated on 20 June 2016 within the cadre of the reorganization of the French Army.

History of the brigade

3rd Algerian Infantry Division

The 3rd Mechanised Brigade is heir of the

3^e DIA which illustrated capability during

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 ...

under the orders of général de Monsabert puis du général Guillaume.

3rd Armoured Division

The 3rd Division was reconstituted in 1951 at the corps of the

French Forces in Germany French military forces were stationed in Germany after the surrender of Germany after the end of World War II; France was one of four Allied powers allocated an occupation zone. The French occupation zone ( [], ) existed from the end of the war ...

(). This was a grand unit of almost 15000 men covering the Western part of Germany and comprising three brigades: * The 5th Mechanised Brigade at

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

; * The 12th Mechanised Brigade at Offenbourg; * The 13th Motoryzed Brigade at

Konstanz Konstanz ( , , , ), traditionally known as Constance in English, is a college town, university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the Baden-Württemberg state of south Germany. The city ho ...

the division became the 3rd Armoured Division in 1978. Three

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiments, two tank regiments, two

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

regiments, one engineer regiment, and one command and support regiment. During the transformation of the FFA into FFECSA () (French Forces and Civilian Element), the division was redimensioned and dissolved in 1991.

3rd Mechanised Brigade

In 1999, the 3rd Mechanised Brigade was created within the cadres of reforms of the

. The brigade adopted the traditions of the 3rd Armoured Division. The brigade regrouped six tactical regimental formations with a mission to prepare for engagement in an interarm, national and multinational context. The headquarter staff of the Mechanised Brigade garrisoned at Clermont-Ferrand on 1 July 2011.

3rd Light Armoured Brigade

On 18 March 2014, the brigade became designated as 3rd Light Armoured Brigade. This formation counted at that date 5 regiments with an effectif of 5000 men. Following the modeling presentation of the French Army in 2016, the brigade disappeared, the headquarter staff at Clermont-Ferrand was retaken by the headquarter staff of the 4th Aero-Combat Brigade (4^e BAC), newly created, and the regiments integrated in the following brigades - 1^er RIMa d'angoulème: 9^e BIMa de Poitiers - 126^e RI de Brive: 9^e BIMa de Poitiers - 92^e RI de Clermont: 2^e BB de Strasbourg - 68^e RAA de la Valbonne:7^e BB de Besançon - 31^e RG de Castelsarrasin: did not join a brigade, directly subordinated to the 3rd Division

Composition until 2009

Besides of the 31st Engineer Regiment (), the 3rd Mechanised Brigade consisted of the following units from 1999 to 2009 : * 1^er Régiment d'infanterie de marine, 1^er RIMa * 92nd Infantry Regiment () * 126^e Régiment d'infanterie, 126^e RI * Company anti-tank (CAC) * 68th Artillery Regiment () * Command and Transmission Company

Composition since 2009

* The 3rd Mechanised Brigade counted 7000 in: * 1^er Régiment d'infanterie de marine de Angoulême ; * 126^e Régiment d'infanterie de Brive-la-Gaillarde ; * 92^e régiment d'infanterie de ligne de Clermont-Ferrand ; * 68^e régiment d'artillerie d'afrique de La Valbonne ; * 31^e régiment du génie de Castelsarrasin.

Heraly & Traditions

Origin

It was under the signs of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

traditions that général de Monsabert wanted to place the

3^e DIA during creation on 1 May 1943. The insignia of "Victory" () of Cirta (province of

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

, today Constantine (provence in Algeria)) is supported by three crescents representing the

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, which composed the majority of the division, allied to the "métros" (blue white red
Origin of the insignia, La Victoire
The "Victory" () was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

protector of the

Emperors The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/ grand empress dowager), or a woman who rule ...

that the

Legio III Augusta Legio III Augusta ("Third Augustan Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army The Imperial Roman Army was the military land force of the Roman Empire from 27 BC to 476 AD, and the final incarnation in the long history of the Roman army ...

de Cirta particularly venerated. She was found within a search at Constantine in the 19th century.

Emblem & insignia

The units of the 3rd Mechanised Brigade bore the shoulder insignia of 3 tricolor crescents on champ d'azur. The 3 crescents, formed themselves a styled "3", symbolizing the union in 1943 of the Muslim volunteers (the crescents) and metropole (the three colors) for the Liberation of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Motto

The motto of the 3rd Brigade was : "Un seul but : La victoire" which translated to "One purpose : La victoire".

References

External links

*Official site �
3 BM
*www.defense.gouv.fr {{CFAT Light Armoured Brigade, 3rd Military units and formations established in 1999 1999 establishments in France Military units and formations disestablished in 2016