The 155th mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian army received broad support from France. She therefore decided to pay tribute to him with her motto, in reference to Verdun.
Words spoken in Verdun in 1916 are found on the badge of a brigade of the Ukrainian army in the midst of war against Russia. “We don’t pass”: this is the new motto of the 155th mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian army, the latter revealed on Facebook this Tuesday, October 29. The inscription was added above a scorpion on a red and black background, under which we can read the name of the city of «Verdun». The brigade created in May 2024 and trained and equipped by France wanted to pay tribute to France.
These words were spoken by General Robert Nivelle during the Battle of Verdun on June 23, 1916. “You will not let them pass”he told his troops, according to the National World War I Museum and Memorial. This phrase was shortened to: “We are not passing”became a rallying cry in the trenches. A song was even composed and sung by the civilians.
The scope of this speech went beyond the war since it was taken up two years later by the president of the time Raymond Poincaré during the presentation of the Legion of Honor to the city of Verdun. “Here are the walls where the supreme hopes of Imperial Germany were shattered. It was here that she had sought to achieve noisy and theatrical success. It is here that with quiet firmness, France replied “we are not passing””he declared.
French support for Ukraine
Thanks to this new motto, the sentence spoken by Robert Nivelle now crosses not only time but also borders. The brigade wishes, through this gesture, to thank France for its support and contribution. 2,300 soldiers out of the 4,500 in the regiment were trained in the Grand Est region by French soldiers. The brigade is also fully equipped by France, which has delivered 128 armored vehicles and 18 Caesar cannons. The latter are capable of firing six shells at the same time.
The 155th brigade will pay double homage to France since it is also called: «Brigade Mother in Kyiv »named after a Ukrainian princess who became queen of France by marrying Henry I in 1051.
France
