The 1 DIM (1re Division d'Infanterie Motorisee), or 1st Motorized, is one of these. In structure it is almost identical to a German motorized division of the type found in Case White, that is, before they were reduced in size to two regiments in 1940. It was built around three infantry regiments, each of three battalions. The divisional artillery was also comparable with 36 75mm, 12 105mm and 12 155mm guns, all either tracked or with tracked prime movers with excellent crosscountry capability. Antitank strength was very similar, a total of 60 pieces. So was its AA equipment, each of the three regiments having a 20mm AA detachment. It scored over its German opponent in having a much stronger recon element with a full establishment of 12 Panhard 178 armored cars and 20 AMR recon tanks.

All in all the 1 DIM was an excellent formation. It should have been since the French tended to concentrate their best material in their Active (the 1 DIM for example) and their First Line Reserve of "A" Divisions. Of course, this inevitably meant that the Second Line Divisions, the "B" Divisions (they are mainly shown as 2-4 or 3-4 units in FoF), were pitiable in both equipment and troop quality. The Germans divided up their assets far more equitably between their Welle or"waves" of divisions. Presumably the French thought it was just bad luck that the divisions that ended up defending the Meuse against the Panzers were nearly all "B" class units!

All but one of the seven French motorized divisions are rated at 7-8. The exception is the 12 DIM, rated an 8-8 since it had an extra group of 155mm howitzers. Equal to their German equivalents of 1939 (7-10 in Case White) in strength, they should in theory have equal or better mobility. This was reduced to an 8 movement value to reflect the lethargic French command style.

Before leaving the 1 DIM its regiments bear looking at. These were the 1st, 43rd, and 110th. The last two were old enough, the 43rd first formed in 1638 as Royal-Vaisseaux (as the name suggests, initially as Marines), the 11Oth in 1773 as the Regiment Port-au-Prince. But the other regiment, the First, was something else. It claimed direct descent through the Napoleonic 1st Regiment of the Line back to 1585, when the Regiment Picardy, the oldest and most senior of all French units, was formed. Enthusiasts even claimed continuity back to 1480, when the Bands de Picardie were created. If so, this made the 1st Regiment of the 1st Division the longest continually existing unit ever, even outlasting the IV Macedonian Legion of the Roman Army.

With all this military heritage, it is not surprising that the 1 DIM fought well, it futilely, in the French Campaign (we often forget that German and French casualties were very high in 1940 - the campaign, though short, was no walkover). After the armistice its traditions were assumed by the 9th Division Milktaire, a much weaker walking infantry unit of Vichy France (a 4-6 in Europa terms), which was forcibly disarmed by the Germans in 1942.

As for Picardy: in 1942 it hid its colors, many of its troops joining the resistance until it was reformed in 1944. It was the ONLY French regular infantry regiment to be honored with the Croix de Guerre (the equivalent of the Presidential Unit Citation) for its services in the Second World War. It is still the 1st Regiment, having celebrated its 500th anniversary in 1980.

First Divisions 1940 France

Introduction
1 DIM (1re Division d'Infanterie Motorisee)
1 DLM (1re Division Legere Mecanique)
1 DLC (1re Division Legere de Cavalrie)
1st Divisions: Tirailleurs
1 DIC (1re Division D'Infanterie Coloniale)
1 DCR (1re Division Cuirassee)