1st Armored Division (France)

1st Armored Division
1re Division Blindée
Emblem of the Division
ActiveMay 1, 1943 – March 31, 1946
1948 – July 1, 1999
July 1, 2016 – present
CountryFrance
BranchFrench Army
TypeArmored division
RoleArmoured warfare
Size~ 25,000 [1]
Garrison/HQBesançon
Nickname(s)division Saint-Louis
Motto(s)Nomine et Virtute Prima (First by Name and Valor)
AnniversariesMay 1st
EngagementsWorld War II

The 1st Armored Division (French: 1re Division Blindée, 1re DB) is a unit of the French Army formed during World War II that took part in the Liberation of France.[2]

The division was dissolved for the first time in 1946, and was recommissioned in 1948. It was dissolved again in 1999 as a consequence of the professionalization of the French military.[2]

The 1st Mechanised Brigade (1re BM), created on July 1, 1999, inherited the division's traditions. The 1st Mechanised Brigade was again dissolved on July 21, 2015.[3] The 1st Division (1re DIV) was recreated in 2016.

  1. ^ "1re division - Armée française". www.defense.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  2. ^ a b "1re division - Armée française". www.defense.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  3. ^ "Composition". www.defense.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2022-01-28.