1st Artillery Regiment (France)

For the infantry regiment, see Régiment de La Fère.
1st Artillery Regiment

Insignia of the 1st Artillery Regiment
Active 1765–
Country  France
Branch French Army
Type Artillery
Part of 7th Armoured Brigade
Garrison/HQ Belfort
Motto Royal d'abord premier toujours
Conflicts
Decorations

Croix de guerre 1914-1918

with two palms

The 1st Artillery Regiment is a regiment of artillery in the French Army.

Colours of the Régiment de La Fère

It was raised as the Régiment de la Fère in 1765, from the 1st battalion of the Régiment Royal-Artillerie. In 1791, after the French Revolution, it had the title of its aristocratic patron removed and was given the number 1, as the seniormost French regiment of artillery. In 1785, Napoleon Bonaparte was commissioned into this regiment as a sous lieutenant. He officially served until 1790, but he spent most of that time on leave in Corsica, where he led a battalion of Republican volunteers.[1]

References

  1. Cronin, Vincent (1973). Napoleon. Harmondsworth, UK: Pelican Books. ISBN 978-0140217162, p. 47.