Armoured Cavalry Branch (France)



The Armoured Cavalry Branch (Arme blindée cavalerie, ABC) is a component of the French Army. It was formed after World War II by merging tank and cavalry branches. It operates the majority of France's armoured vehicles, though a small minority of France's armour is still operated by infantry regiments. It continues the traditions and mission of the French cavalry and horse artillery. Its training establishment is the Armoured Cavalry Branch Training School at Saumur.

Military doctrine
The employment doctrine of the arme blindée et cavalerie includes the traditional missions of the cavalry adapted to a modern context:

List of regiments
In 2013, the Armoured Cavalry Branch of the French Army consists of:

4 Tank regiments, which field 52x Leclerc main battle tanks each:
 * 1er Régiment de Chasseurs (1er RCh) in Verdun
 * 4e Régiment de Dragons (4e RD) in Carnoux-en-Provence (Dissolved in July 2014)
 * 12e Régiment de Cuirassiers (12e RC) in Olivet
 * 501e Régiment de Chars de Combat (501e RCC) in Mourmelon-le-Grand

4 Cavalry regiments, which field a mix of AMX 10 RC and ERC 90 wheeled tanks:


 * 1er Régiment de Spahis (1er SPAHIS) in Valence
 * 1er Régiment de Hussards Parachutistes (1er RHP) in Tarbes
 * 3e Régiment de Hussards (3e RH) in Metz
 * 4e Régiment de Chasseurs (4e RCh) in Gap

5 combat support regiments:
 * 1er Régiment de Chasseurs d'Afrique (1er RCA) training regiment in Canjuers
 * 2e Régiment de Dragons - Défense Nucléaire Biologique et chimique (2 RD-NBC) NBC-defense regiment in Fontevraud-l'Abbaye
 * 2e Régiment de Hussards (2e RH) reconnaissance regiment in Haguenau
 * 4e Groupe d'escadrons de Hussards (4e GEH) support unit of the Region de Terre North-East (RTNO) in Metz - however, the land forces regional commands have been replaced since 2011 with joint commands. The former regional commands (RT, régions Terre) have been progressively replaced by Defense support headquarters (EMSD).
 * 13e Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes (13e RDP) long range reconnaissance regiment in Martignas-sur-Jalle