HOME | DD

Description
The picture shows the badges of 2nd Armored Division (2e Division Blindée) and its regiments. This division was an armored cavalry unit of the French Armed Forces from 1943 to 1946, operating most of the time independently of the higher French tactical compounds. It was formed on May 30, 1943, as the 2nd Free French Division (the name was changed after the reconstitution of the regular army in August of the same year), based on Force "L", which had existed since 1940 (until March 1943, the grouping was called the Leclerc/Chad Column). The entire war this unit was commanded by General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (After his death, the Marshal of France; www.deviantart.com/sonthisland… ).

Between August 1, 1944 and May 4, 1945, the division followed the combat route from Utah Beach to Berchtesgaden and the Berghof (Adolf Hitler's beloved home), reporting successively to the American 3rd Army (until December 5, 1944), the 1st French Army "Rhine and Danube". (December 5, 1944 - February 10, 1945), the French Atlantic Operations Group (March 27 - April 28, 1945) and the US 7th Army (after April 28, 1945). The division became most famous for providing assistance to the Paris uprising and the liberation of Strasbourg. The 2 DB was de-formed on March 31, 1946, but was reconstituted in 1977 (in 1999 it was reformed into a 2nd Armored Brigade).

First row: badge of the 2nd Armored Division (since 1999 2nd Armored Brigade)
Second row: armored regiments (left to right) 501st Combat Tank Regiment, 12th Regiment of Chasseurs d'Afrique and 12th Cuirassiers Regiment
Third row: reconnaissanc 1st Regiment of March Moroccan Spahis
Fourth row: anti-tank destroyer Armored Fusiliers-Marine Regiment
Fifth row: motorized-infrantry Ad hoc Regiment of Chad
Sixth row: artillery (left to right) 3rd Colonial Artillery Regiment, 40th North African Artillery Regiment and 64th Artillery Regiment
Seventh row: 22nd Anti-Aircraft Colonial Group
Eighth row: 13th Engineer Battalion
Ninth row: 13th Medical Battalion
Tenth row: supply/services (left to right) 15th Repair Squadron Group, 97/84th Joint Signal Company and traffic branch
Eleventh row (left to right): 1st Medical Company and Ambulance Drivers Group "Rochambeau" of 13th Medical Battalion (the only company with its own badge!), fabric badge of the 2nd DB (worn during the Cold War by veterans on active duty at the top of the left shoulder, and later and modern by current soldiers of the 2nd Armored Division/Brigade) and badge of soldier of French Far East Expeditionary Corps previously serving in 2 DB

The other Supply and Services units (97th Headquarters Company, 197th Transport Company, 207th Transport Company, 397th Movement Control Company, 497th Services Company and 13th operating group) did not have their own badges.

For the French, the 2nd Armored Division is what the 101st Airborne Division is to the Americans, the 150th Idrits Rifle Division is to the people of the former USSR, the 7th Armored Division is to the Germans, and the 1st Warsaw Tadeusz Kosciuszko Infantry Division (Wojsko Polskie on Eastern Front) and the 1st Armored Division (Polskie Siły Zbrojne on Western Front) is to the Poles, etc..

Description
The picture shows the badges of 2nd Armored Division (2e Division Blindée) and its regiments. This division was an armored cavalry unit of the French Armed Forces from 1943 to 1946, operating most of the time independently of the higher French tactical compounds. It was formed on May 30, 1943, as the 2nd Free French Division (the name was changed after the reconstitution of the regular army in August of the same year), based on Force "L", which had existed since 1940 (until March 1943, the grouping was called the Leclerc/Chad Column). The entire war this unit was commanded by General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (After his death, the Marshal of France; www.deviantart.com/sonthisland… ).

Between August 1, 1944 and May 4, 1945, the division followed the combat route from Utah Beach to Berchtesgaden and the Berghof (Adolf Hitler's beloved home), reporting successively to the American 3rd Army (until December 5, 1944), the 1st French Army "Rhine and Danube". (December 5, 1944 - February 10, 1945), the French Atlantic Operations Group (March 27 - April 28, 1945) and the US 7th Army (after April 28, 1945). The division became most famous for providing assistance to the Paris uprising and the liberation of Strasbourg. The 2 DB was de-formed on March 31, 1946, but was reconstituted in 1977 (in 1999 it was reformed into a 2nd Armored Brigade).

First row: badge of the 2nd Armored Division (since 1999 2nd Armored Brigade)
Second row: armored regiments (left to right) 501st Combat Tank Regiment, 12th Regiment of Chasseurs d'Afrique and 12th Cuirassiers Regiment
Third row: reconnaissanc 1st Regiment of March Moroccan Spahis
Fourth row: anti-tank destroyer Armored Fusiliers-Marine Regiment
Fifth row: motorized-infrantry Ad hoc Regiment of Chad
Sixth row: artillery (left to right) 3rd Colonial Artillery Regiment, 40th North African Artillery Regiment and 64th Artillery Regiment
Seventh row: 22nd Anti-Aircraft Colonial Group
Eighth row: 13th Engineer Battalion
Ninth row: 13th Medical Battalion
Tenth row: supply/services (left to right) 15th Repair Squadron Group, 97/84th Joint Signal Company and traffic branch
Eleventh row (left to right): 1st Medical Company and Ambulance Drivers Group "Rochambeau" of 13th Medical Battalion (the only company with its own badge!), fabric badge of the 2nd DB (worn during the Cold War by veterans on active duty at the top of the left shoulder, and later and modern by current soldiers of the 2nd Armored Division/Brigade) and badge of soldier of French Far East Expeditionary Corps previously serving in 2 DB

The other Supply and Services units (97th Headquarters Company, 197th Transport Company, 207th Transport Company, 397th Movement Control Company, 497th Services Company and 13th operating group) did not have their own badges.

For the French, the 2nd Armored Division is what the 101st Airborne Division is to the Americans, the 150th Idrits Rifle Division is to the people of the former USSR, the 7th Armored Division is to the Germans, and the 1st Warsaw Tadeusz Kosciuszko Infantry Division (Wojsko Polskie on Eastern Front) and the 1st Armored Division (Polskie Siły Zbrojne on Western Front) is to the Poles, etc..