The 4th Regiment de Dragons Porte was a mechanised Dragoons unit and part of a Division Legere de Cavalerie.
Details of this type of unit here:
The division's mechanised infantry component, the
Régiment de Dragons Portés (type DLC), was in fact little more than a reinforced battalion. In order to turn the peacetime
Dragons Portés battalions into regiments, the battalions were reduced from two to a single squadron of
fusiliers although the regiment as a whole did benefit from an increase in support weapons and the addition of the division's AMR reconnaissance squadron. However, due to shortages of dedicated cross-country vehicles, the second battalion was equipped with light trucks instead of Citroën-Kégresse P 19 halftracks (
7). For the second battalion, simply substitute light trucks instead of P 19 halftracks in the description below.
Each
Bataillon de Dragons Portés (type DLC) was made up of one mixed reconnaissance squadron, one
fusiliers squadron and one heavy weapons squadron.
The mixed reconnaissance squadron had two reconnaissance platoons each of five Renault AMR 1933 VM (
8) and two motorcyclist platoons organised in the same way as those of the
Régiment d'Autos-Mitrailleuses.
The
fusiliers squadron was organised into one command and services platoon, three
fusiliers platoons, one machine gun platoon and one 60mm mortar group.
Each
fusiliers platoon was in turn divided into one platoon command group (eight men, including one VB rifle grenadier, mounted on one P 19 halftrack and one motorcycle combination) and three
groupes de combat (sections) of twelve men each. The
groupe de combat was made up of one staff sergeant in command, one corporal, one Chatellerault FM 24/29 LMG gunner, one LMG loader, three ammunition bearers (
pourvoyeurs), two scouts (
éclaireurs), one VB rifle grenadier and two drivers carried in two P 19 halftracks. Both of these vehicles mounted an additional Chatellerault FM 24/29 and this second LMG was manned by the two scouts when the section's firepower needed to be increased.
The machine gun platoon, organised in the same manner as those of the heavy weapons squadron, had thirty-one men, five Hotchkiss machineguns, two halftracks and one motorcycle combination. The mortar group was made up of seven men and one 60mm mortar in one P 19 halftrack and one motorcycle combination.
The heavy weapons (
mitrailleuses et engins d'accompagnement) squadron had one command platoon of forty-one men, two MG platoons, one 81mm mortar platoon and two 25mm anti-tank groups .
Each machinegun platoon was organised into one command goup and two machinegun groups. The command group was made up of one officer and seven men carried with one Citroën P 19 halftrack (mounting a machine gun for AA use) and one motorcycle combination. Each machinegun group had two Hotchkiss
Mle 1914 MGs, twelve men and two halftracks.
The mortar platoon was likewise organised into one command goup of nine men, one halftrack, one solo motorcycle and one motorcycle combination and two mortar groups. Each mortar group had two Brandt
Mle 1927/31 81mm mortars and twelve men carried by two halftracks.
Finally, each anti-tank group had one command goup of five men, one halftrack, one solo motorcycle and one motorcycle combination and two Hotchkiss
Mle 1934 25mm anti-tank guns. Each of the guns was crewed by seven men plus two drivers and a motorcycle dispatch rider. Initially, the anti-tank guns were towed by a specific version of the Citroën-Kégresse, the P 19BT tractor which had a slower speed of 32 km/h (
9), but in 1937 the 3e BDP developed a method for carrying the guns on their halftracks. These
canons portés (later adopted by the British as portee guns) proved altogether more satisfactory since they could keep up with the rest of the unit while being able to fire from the vehicles. As a result, each gun was mounted, facing forward, on a modified Citroën-Kégresse P 19 which also carried the gun commander, the firer and loader besides the driver. The ammunition and its four bearers were carried by a second halftrack. Given the shortage of halftracks, the second battalion's AT guns were most probably towed instead.
Source:
The Division Légčre de Cavalerie