6th-12th Cuirassier Regiment

12e Régiment de Cuirassiers
Active July 1994 - August 2009
Country France
Branch French Army
Type Armoured Cavalry
Role Armoured
Size One regiment
Part of 2nd Armoured Brigade
Garrison/HQ Olivet, France
Nickname Leclerc Cavalry
Motto They do not stop Leclerc cavalry!
Equipment Leclerc
Commanders
Current
commander		 Colonel Lafont-Rapnouil

The 12th Cuirassier Regiment (French: 6e-12e Régiment de Cuirassiers,6e-12e RC) was an armoured cavalry (tank) regiment of the French Army. It was the armoured component of the 2nd Armoured Brigade.

History

The Chief of Staff of the French Army decided on 1 September 1990 to create a new experimental armoured regiment of 80 tanks with two squadron groups (Groupes d’Escadrons, GE). Each group would consist of three combat squadrons and one command and logistics squadron.

The 6e-12e RC was formed in 1994 by merging the 6th Cuirassiers Regiment (Roi Cavalerie) and the 12th Cuirassiers Regiment (Dauphin Cavalerie). It retained this unified structure after the 2nd Armoured Division downsized to a brigade-level command.

It participated in overseas operations in Kosovo, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Chad, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

On 1 August 2009 the unified regiment was disbanded with the deactivation of the 6th Cuirassiers. The 12th Cuirassier Regiment continues in existence.

Organization

The regiment was composed of around 1200 personnel organization into 13 squadrons.

References