Jutland Dragoon Regiment

Jutland Dragoon Regiment
Jydske Dragonregiment
Insignia
Active	1657–present
Country	Denmark
Branch	Royal Danish Army
Type	Armor
Role	Armoured warfare and Mechanized infantry
Size	Three battalions
Part of	Army Staff
Garrison/HQ	Holstebro
Nickname(s)	JDR Dino'er
Motto(s)	Fortes Fortuna Juvat (Fortune favours the Brave)
Regimental belt
March	Danmarks Blå Dragoner (Denmark's Blue Dragoons)
Anniversaries	Formation (1 November 1679) The Rytterfægtning by Rosengarten (12 Oktober 1813) Battle of Rahlstedt (6 December 1813) Battle of Sehested (10 December 1813) Niels Kjeldsen's Battle by Højen (28 February 1864) Rytterfægtningen at Vorbasse (29 February 1864)
Engagements	Second Nordic War (1657−60) Scanian War (1675−79) Great Nordic War (1700 & 1709−20) First Schleswig War (1848−51) Second Schleswig War (1864) Operation Weserübung-Süd (1940) Operation Bøllebank (1994) War in Kosovo (1998−1999) War in Afghanistan (2001–present) Iraq War (2003−07)
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Bjarne Højgaard Jensen
Ceremonial chief	HM The Queen
Colonel of the Regiment	Bjarne Højgaard Jensen
Notable commanders	Col. Lars Møller

The Jutland Dragoon Regiment (Danish: Jydske Dragonregiment) is the only regiment of the Royal Danish Army that has an armored (MBT) battalion, and is one of the Danish combat regiment in which soldiers are entitled to wear the black beret of the Armoured corps.

The Regiment traces its roots back to the 3rd Dragoon Regiment formed in 1657, but did not become the Jutland Dragoon Regiment until 1932, with the amalgamation of the 3rd Dragoon Regiment in Århus and the 5th Dragoon regiment in Randers. The regimental fusion eventually necessitated a relocation to Holstebro in 1953, where the Dragoons have remained ever since.

The Regiment acquired international fame in recent time, when it served with UNPROFOR in Bosnia, where the Dragoons of Jutland assaulted Serb AT-3 Sagger positions in one of the largest skirmishes between UNPROFOR forces and military units involved in the war in Bosnia, and the largest Danish battle engagement since The Second Schleswig War of 1864. The battle, known as Operation Bøllebank,^[1] was later characterized by the commander at the time as the time when "the mouse ate the cat".

On July 19, 2005, another traditional regiment, Prinsens Livregiment was merged with Jydske Dragonregiment, and personnel serving as Dragoons became entitled to bear the insignia of the Royal Danish Prince Consort, Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark

From the 1960s to 2004 the regiment had responsibility for three armoured battalions, one reconnaissance battalion and three motorized infantry battalions. The three armoured battalions were assigned to different brigades, the recce battalion and later (1992) one armoured battalion as independent battalions in Danish Division. From 1992−2004 the regiment also had to form three light reconnaissance squadrons assigned to three of the five brigades. With the three infantry battalions and regimental staff, in war time, the regiment could form a battlegroup, with combat support/artillery troops from other regiments.

The regiment today serves only in its armoured role as well as in an educational role for new conscripts, in a separate battalion.

• Units
  • I/JDR (1953−present) Armoured Battalion
  • II/JDR (1953−present): Armoured Battalion (1961–2004), Training Battalion (2004−2011), Armoured Infantry Battalion (2011−present)
  • III/JDR (1961−2004) Armoured Battalion
  • IV/JDR (1961−2004) Infantry Battalion, also as Training Battalion in mid '80s
  • V/JDR (1974−2004,2011−present) Recon Battalion (1974−2004) Training Battalion (2011−present)
  • VI/JDR (1986-2004)Tank Destroyer Battalion(1986-1992), Infantry Battalion, merged in from other regiments (1992-2004), only as reserve
  • VII/JDR (1992−2004) Infantry Battalion, merged in from other regiments, only as reserve

The regiment has in recent time served on the frontline in Danish involvements in Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The regiment's tank battalion won the Top 120mm Fire Team category at the Ex Worthington 16 competition, held at CFB Gagetown, Canada on September 23 to 30, 2016.

The Regimental logo is inspired by the coat of arms of Denmark, and features a blue lion above 9 red hearts, and the monogram C5, in reference to King Christian 5th who ordered the formation of the original 3rd Dragoon Regiment. The lion and its red hearts are also a symbol of Jutland and are featured on the stern of Fregatten Jylland.

References

1. Raids magazine