The 92nd Regiment suffered heavy losses in the 1940 Battle of France and their flag was lost in the sinking of the French destroyer Siroco off Dunkirk on 31 May.[1] The unit was re-established in 1944 from a group of Maquis operating in Auvergne.[1]
The 92nd Regiment deployed during the War in Afghanistan and built the bell tower at the Tora Bora base. The unit successfully petitioned for permission to relocate the tower back to France before handing the base over to the Afghan National Army.[1]
The 92nd Regiment was the first equipped with the Véhicule blindé de combat d'infanterie to be deployed to Mali in 2013. It has deployed as part of Opération Sentinelle, the post-2015 security assistance provided by the army in France.[1] In 2017 the 92nd Regiment deployed on Opération Chammal in Iraq, from 2018 to 2019 was on Operation Barkhane in Chad and in 2020 deployed on the same operation to Mali.[2] In September 2021 a detachment of 600 men of the regiment were deployed to Mali and to Lebanon.[3][4]
Structure
A soldier of the regiment in 2014
The 92nd Regiment is currently part of the French Army's 2nd Armoured Brigade.[1] It amounts to 1,500 personnel in five combat companies, a support company, a command and logistics company and two reserve companies.[1]
The regimental flag also bears the wording "Honneur et Patrie" and the Croix de Guerre 1914-1918 with three palms. The regimental insignia shows a Gaul's head on a silver shield with red enamel edging from which the members of the regiment are known as Gauls (French: Gaulois).[1] The garrison is near to Gergovie which is associated with the victory of Gallic chief Vercingetorix over the Romans at the Battle of Gergovia. The regimental motto is "Debout soldats d'Auvergne, debout ça va barder! À moi...! Auvergne... !" (French for "Stand-up, soldiers of Auvergne, stand-up, it will be tough! To me! Auvergne!") which comes from words spoken by Nicolas-Louis d'Assas, of the Auvergne Regiment, at the Battle of Kloster Kampen in 1760.[1]
