Name given to the reserve cadets of the Ecole d'Application de la Cavalerie, in Saumur, when they, in June 1940, armed with their training equipment, opposed the German advance on the Loire in a fight of sacrifice.
In May 1940, the French armies engaged in Belgium and in the North of France were unable to stop the German divisions on the Somme and on the Aisne. Faced with the German advance towards the Seine, the government asks that the rivers and rivers be put in defense to stop the progression of the armies of the Reich towards the South of France. The Loire, given its layout and its width, must become a major obstacle.
The sector from Candes-Saint-Martin to Thouriel (Maine-et-Loire) was entrusted to the Cavalry School of Saumur, commanded by Colonel Michon. This sector includes in particular 4 bridges constituting crucial crossing points for the German armies.
However, on June 15, 1940, the Cavalry School received the order to evacuate Saumur to join Montauban. Colonel Michon, refusing to be led by the spirit of abandonment and recoil, obtained to keep the executives and students of the School to put the allocated sector in defense. The evacuation therefore only concerns the non-combatant elements of the Cavalry School.
On June 17, 1940, Marshal Pétain sent a message to the French armies asking them to stop fighting in view of the armistice. Colonel Michon gathers his executives to explain the situation to them, all are volunteers to continue the armed resistance, despite very weak means, and thus do honor, in a spirit of sacrifice, to the French army. This is the first act of armed resistance on national territory.
The troops are mainly made up of 550 Cavalry Reserve Aspirants and 240 ÉARs from the train (equivalent to the current EORs) of the 4th Training Division, supervised by their instructors.
There are also 360 soldiers from various Training Centers in the region under the orders of Captain de Cadignan, 80 men commanded by Captain Monclos, 200 infantry and machine gunners from the 13th Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs, a battalion of 350 men from the School of 'Infantry of Saint-Maixent, a Franc Motorized group under the orders of Captain Neuchèze, a Reconnaissance Squadron (Captain Gobble) and a handful of Cavaliers of the 19th Dragoons. That is about 2500 men armed with 24 armored vehicles, 5 75mm guns, 13 anti-tank guns and 15 mortars to hold 40 km in front. These will block for more than two days more than 2 German divisions (including the 1st Cavalry) or about 40,000 men equipped with 150 armored vehicles and 300 artillery pieces without forgetting the support of the Luftwaffe.
The heroic battles led by this handful of soldiers equipped with their training weapons, against very superior forces both in men and in armaments, were recognized by their winners, General Feldt Cdt 1st Div. of Cavalry which will give them the name of "Cadets" and which will allow them to leave free towards the line of demarcation, at the orders of their Officers, without German escort, a section of the Wermacht giving them military honors when crossing the bridge at Beaulieu the Loches.
The losses of this battle are 250 killed or wounded on the French side and 132 killed and several hundred wounded on the German side