2nd / 4th Regiment Mounted Rifles The 2nd / 4th Regiment Mounted Rifles ( , ) was a cavalry regiment in the Land Component of the Belgian Armed Forces . The regiment was the armoured reconnaissance regiment of the 7th Brigade . History . 2nd Regiment of Mounted Rifles . In March 1814 , Prince Ferdinand de Croÿ received permission to create a Regiment of Hussars . It was part of Légion Belge until 1 September 1814 , when it was integrated in the army of the United Netherlands . When William I became King of the Netherlands , the Belgian Regiment of Hussars of Croÿ becomes the 8th Regiment of Hussars . The Regiment kept its original uniform until after the Battle of Waterloo , where it was part of the Dutch - Belgian cavalry . After the Belgian Revolution , the 8th Hussar Regiment become the 2nd Regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval ( Chch ) , by decree of the Belgian Provisional Government in October 1830 . Its first commander was Colonel d ' Hanne de Steenhuyse in Ghent . On 20 August 1914 , the Regiment distinguished itself during the operations surrounding Antwerp . On 16 October 1914 the Battle of the Yser began , leading to 4 years of battles in the trenches on the Yser front . On 6 March 1918 , the 2nd ChCh was able to withstand a massive attack by the enemy at Reigersvliet . The Regiment was part of a counter - attack together with other units of the Cavalry Division . After the Occupation of the Rhineland , the 2 ChCh moved to Namur . On 10 May 1940 , the regiment ( by then motorized ) occupied bridges over the river Ourthe in the Ardennes . On 13 and 14 May 1940 , it took part in a hard battle behind the river Gette . From 25 May 1940 until the end of the hostilities , the 2 ChCh is able to stop all enemy attacks on the river Lys . The Regiment was definitively reformed in 1952 . From then onwards , it was based in Germany at Camp Vogelsang , Arnsberg Kassel and Ludenscheid . An American organizational structure and material was adopted . It was equipped with American Patton tanks . In 1973 , its was re - equipped with the CVR - T tank which was replaced in 1986 by the Leopard 1 . The regiment remained a tank battalion until 1992 . From then onwards the 2 ChCh , with its surveillance radars , was revised in a reconnaissance role . It leaft Altenrath in Germany for Saive in 2003 with the disbanding of the Belgian Forces in Germany ( FBA - BSD ) . 4th Regiment of Mounted Rifles . The 4th Regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval was founded during the re - organisation of the army in 1913 , and was thus the youngest cavalry unit of the Belgian army . It participates in World War I and helps the Second Army Division in a reconnaissance role . It distinguishes itself during the Siege of Antwerp between 30 August and 8 October 1914 . During the second break - out of Antwerp , the 4th Chch made it as far as the surroundings of Leuven . During the retreat of Antwerp , its defense of the Lisse canal , near Somerghem on 12 October 1914 , was able to repulse an enemy attack , though with significant losses . Thanks to this , the Division was able to retreat intact to Bruges . The regiment adapted to the trench warfare of the Yser Front as an infantry regiment . It was dissolved in February 1918 , though it was resurrected in 1919 . From October 1921 it was based in Mons . Another reorganization of the army in 1923 lead to its second dissolution on 3 August . It was not re - mobilized during the Second World War , though former members of the regiment served in other units . On 1 February 1961 , the 4th Regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval was re - created as the Regiment of reconnaissance of the 1st Belgian Corps . It has its base in Quartier Houhulst in Werl in Germany . In July 1964 the Regiment moved to a new base at Quartier Reigersvliet in Arnsberg . As a consequence of a re - organisation of the Armed Forces , the Regiment was being reduced to a Squadron in 1993 . On 3 June 1994 the unit leaves Arnsberg after 30 years of stay . That same day the Squadron 4th Chasseurs à Cheval was officially installed as an independent reconnaissance squadron of the 1st Mechanized Division in Altenrath , between Cologne and Bonn , until the end of 2001 . On 1 January 2002 , it becomes the unit of reconnaissance of the 7th Mechanized Brigade in Marche - en - Famenne . The 4th Chch Squadron remained in Altenrath until September 2003 when they returned to Belgium . After this move to Saive , near Liège , the unit was promoted to the status of Regiment again . Under the new expansion , it included a regimental headquarters , a support squadron and one Recce Squadron ( 5 platoons , being three of reconnaissance , one of infantry and one ATk ( anti - tank ) platoon ) . On 29 September 2004 , as a result of the fusion of the 2 units , the 2 / 4 Regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval was created . The first deployment of the new combined unit was BELKOS 22 in Kosovo between July to December 2006 Disbandment . As part of the restructuring of the Belgian defense in January 2011 , the regiment joined with the 1st Regiment of Mounted Rifles / Guides to form the ISTAR Battalion ( Intelligence , Surveillance , Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance ) based at Heverlee