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This list covers the regiments of the Belgian Army from 1939 to 1945, from mobilization to the ensuing Battle of Belgium and the Battle of France, along with Free Belgian regiments till 1945. This article is based on one source , [ 1 ] which covers up every detail on the 18 day campaign (1940) in the Belgian Perspective.
Museum display of the uniform and equipment of the Frontier Cyclists at the time of the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940. The Frontier Cyclists (French: Cyclistes-frontière; Dutch: Grenswielrijders, officially abbreviated as CyFr) were bicycle infantry who served as part of the Belgian Army from 1934 to 1940.
In Britain, the concept of foreign enlistment into the British army, or the creation of foreign armed forces on British soil, had been approved in the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 and Allied Forces Act 1940. The first components of a Belgian military in Britain was created after the French surrender when the Camp Militaire Belge de ...
As the Belgian Army withdrew across the Meuse river on 10-11 May 1940, it proved impossible to establish a viable defensive position. The 1st Chasseurs Ardennais Division regrouped north of Namur and suffered heavy losses to German aerial attacks at Belgrade and Temploux suffering several hundred casualties. [ 1 ]
The Belgian fourragère of 1940 was created by Prince Charles of Belgium, Regent of the Kingdom to honor certain military formations that distinguished themselves during the Second World War. It consists of three cords terminated by a knot and a metal tag, and is braided in red and green; the colors of the Belgian Croix de guerre of 1940.
Training and discipline were slack, equipment inadequate and even field uniforms for active service were old fashioned and impractical. [15] Although improvements in the Belgian Army had been uneven during the 19th and early 20th centuries, one area of successful reform had been that of increasing the professionalism of the officer corps.
On 10 May 1940, Nazi Germany, which aimed to dominate Europe, attacked Belgium as part of their war with France. By 28 May 1940 the Belgian mainland had surrendered to German forces, although the colony of Belgian Congo remained independent throughout the war. Belgian power was not restored until final Axis collapse in late 1944.
When the 1st Cavalry Division was mobilized in late 1939, most of its regiments were at full strength. Two regiments of the 1st Cavalry Division (the 3rd Lancers regiment, and the 1st Cyclist regiment) left, weakening the division in 1940. The 1st Cavalry Division was positioned at the Belgian border near the Ardennes. [2]