Bataljon Grenswielrijders Limburg Tweede Wereldoorlog

The Frontier Cyclists (; , officially abbreviated as CyFr) were

bicycle infantry Bicycle infantry are infantry soldiers who maneuver on (or, more often, between) battlefields using military bicycles. The term dates from the late 19th century, when the "safety bicycle" became popular in Europe, the United States, and Austra ...

who served as part of the

Belgian Army The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land ...

from 1934 to 1940. A number of independent Units of Frontier Cyclists (''Unités Cyclistes-frontière'') were formed in 1934 in order to guard the advanced frontier posts along the country's eastern frontiers in the provinces of Limburg,

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. As part of a reorganisation in October 1937, these units were brought together as part of a single Regiment of Frontier Cyclists (''Régiment Cyclistes-frontière'', ''Regiment Grenswielrijders'') still spread over the same territory. At the time of its formation, it was intended that the units should be formed from professional soldiers rather than conscripts. Its personnel wore a distinctive

royal blue Royal blue is a deep and vivid shade of blue. It is said to have been created by a consortium of mills in Rode, Wiltshire (in Somerset as of 1937), which won a competition to make a robe for Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III. I ...

Basque-style beret. Following the mobilisation of the Belgian Army after the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, the Frontier Cyclists Regiment was expanded and split into two separate regiments in March 1940, namely the 1st Frontier Cyclist Regiment () and 2nd Frontier Cyclist Regiment (). An independent battalion was also retained in Limburg. The formations were issued with some

T-13 tank destroyer The T-13 was a tank destroyer in use with the Belgian armed forces before World War II and during the Battle of Belgium. It was designed by Vickers-Armstrong, and produced by Vickers, Miesse and and outfitted with armament from ''Fonderie Royal ...

s. After the German invasion of Belgium, the Frontier Cyclists participated in the retreat and were notably involved in the fighting at the

Willebroek Canal Willebroek (, old spelling: ''Willebroeck'', also ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of , Heindonk, , Klein Willebroek, and Willebroek proper. In 2021, Willebroek had a total popul ...

in May 1940. After the war, the Frontier Cyclists were not revived as part of the reformation of the Belgian Army. The regimental traditions of the two units were passed, respectively, onto the 1st and 4th Battalions of Heavy Tanks (''Bataillon de Tanks Lourds'') formed in 1951 and 1952.

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