War Memorial 4th Lancers Regiment

Monument in Spa in memory of the soldiers of the 4th Lancers Regiment of the Belgian Army who lost their lives during the First World War.

The 4th Lancers Regiment was a cavalry that remained in Spa after the First World War. The slogan "quatre, pas de quartier!" (four lances, no quarter) came into being during that period. After all, the city had no military quarters and the regiment had four squadrons.

The monument was inaugurated on July 21, 1932. It bears the names of soldiers who died in both World War I and World War II.

The 4th Lancers regiment was a tank unit of the Belgian army.

The unit '4ème Régiment de Lanciers' was founded in 1863. The regiment fought at the front during the entire First World War and distinguished itself by, among other things, capturing a German submarine in 1917 near Wissant (Pas-de-Calais). After the armistice, the regiment was deployed on the Rhine. It was disbanded in 1926 for reasons of austerity.

During the mobilization in 1939, the '4th Lancers' regiment was re- established in Tienen. The regiment took part in the Eighteen Days Campaign and distinguished itself in 1940 on the Leie.

After World War II, the regiment was disbanded but re -established in 1952 as a tank battalion at Leopoldsburg, equipped with Patton tanks . In 1957 the regiment, which had been converted into a reconnaissance battalion, moved to a new garrison in Werl (Germany). In 1961 the '4th Lancers' again became a fully-fledged tank battalion. It was billeted in Soest (Germany) where it was equipped with Leopard tanks from 1968 .

In 1994 it merged with the 2nd Lancers Regiment to form the 2/4th Lancers Regiment , which was quartered in Leopoldsburg. In 2010 the regiment was disbanded.

Willem Vandenameele