7th North African Infantry Division: Difference between revisions
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By 25 June the division had suffered such high loses that it was disbanded.<ref name="ob"/> |
By 25 June the division had suffered such high loses that it was disbanded.<ref name="ob"/> |
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== Commanders of {{7e}} DINA == |
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* '''[[1940]]''': [[Georges Edmond Lucien Barré|Général '''Barré''']] |
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==Composition== |
==Composition== |
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Revision as of 22:06, 25 June 2013
The 7th Infantry Division North African ( 7 e DINA) was an infantry division of the French Army that participated in the Second World War.
Combat history
The Division formed at Camp Valdahon from March 16 to April 20 1940 as part of the General Headquarters Reserve.[1] The 97th Reconnaissance Group was a motorized cavalry unit composed of members of the French Foreign Legion.[2] At the end of May the divisiaon was attached to the 1 Army Corps, of the newly formed 7 Army and assigned a defensive sector on the Somme near Aubingy[3] It was then transported to the front by rail from the training area.
On 9 June, attempting to cover the retreat of the division , the 97th Reconnaissance Group defended the village of Quesnel, and launched repeated counter attacks against German amour, but in the process lost half their vehicles and suffered serous casualties. By the end of June the unit had lost half of its officers and two thirds of its men.[4]
By 25 June the division had suffered such high loses that it was disbanded.[1]
Commanders of Template:7e DINA
Composition
- 97th Reconnaissance Group of the Infantry Division
- Tunisians 20th Rifle Regiment (20th RTT)
- 31st Regiment of Tirailleurs Algerians (31e RTA)
- 10th Regiment of Moroccan Tirailleurs (10th RTM)
- 81st Artillery Regiment North African (81e RANA)
- 281st Regiment Heavy Artillery (81st RAL)
References
- ^ a b Pettibone, THE Organization and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II: VOLUME VI ITALY and FRANCE, p 429
- ^ Geraghty, Tony (1986). March or Die. London: Grafton Books. p. 183. ISBN 0-246-11975-6.
- ^ Grandes Unités Françaises, Vol. I, pp. 69-71
- ^ Lepage, The French Foreign Legion: An Illustrated History, p 143