It has been a long standing tradition in the French Army, as well as in many other continental armies, to have some Foreign Regiments in their ranks.
Among the most famous and the oldest is certainly the company of The Hundred Swiss which was raised in the reign of Charles VIII of France (1483 - 1498) as guards for the King’s person and his palace. These elite troops performed their duty for almost four centuries from 1496 until the end of the reign of Charles in 1830, with of course, the interruption of the French Revolution and the First Empire. Their dedication is legendary. An excellent picture of the flags and uniforms of this company during the reign of Louis VIII can be found in the book “Collecting Toy Soldiers” by Jean Nicollier, page 119.
The list is endless. The purpose of this series of articles is to try to cover at least partially, the Foreign Regiments and Corps Hors Ligne in the service of the French Imperial Army. At first I only planned to deal with the Foreign Units, but it soon became evident that it was difficult to draw a line between Foreign Regiments and Corps Hors Ligne, so I decided to cover them both luring the periods of 1804 to 1814 and 1814 to 1815.
I should note that the units considered here must be distinguished form the other foreign contingent’s like the Saxons or Westphalians. The Westphalians for instance were more or less allies of France and fought willingly or unwillingly with the French Army but always under their own colors.
To the best of my knowledge, all these units carried French flags in one form or another and were considered as French as part of the French Army. The First Empire brought to existence a multitude of such troops. Some had a very short life while others managed to survive even the turmoil of the first abdication in 1814 and remained in the King’s service. The Foreign Regiments in 1815 at the return of Napoleon from Elba are a subject in themselves and will be covered in a separate article. The list is quite extensive and by no means complete. Some units are well known, some less:
The Legion du Midi, The Portuguese Legion, the Irish Legion, the Hanoverian Legion, the Valais Battalion, the Tirailleurs Corsicans, the Tirailleurs du Po, the Regiment of Prussia, the Isembourge Regiment, the Regiment of Westpahlia, the Regiments of Hesse-Cassel, the four Swiss Regiments, the Neuchatel Battalion, the La Tour D’Auvergne Regiment, the Regiment of Illyria, the Dalmation Regiment, the Croatians Regiments and Regiment of Catalonia, the 2nd Battalion franc de l’ile d’Elbe, the Battalion des Gen de Couleurs and the famous Polish Legion, etc. and the list is not complete.
All of them existed one time or another between 1804 and 1814. Some had a very short life and a surprising history. The story of the Battalion de Pionniers Noirs can show the difficulties in drawing the line between Foreign Units and Corps Hors Ligne.
In 1803, some companies of black people from various origins were working for the French Navy in harbors like Brest, Rochefort, Toulon, etc. An executive order of May 11, 1803, converged them in one battalion in the city of Mantoue in Italy, where extensive fortification work was carried out. In a letter dated December 9, 1804, its Chef de Battalion, office of the Legion of Honor requested an Eagle for his newly formed unit. The request was given to General Dejean by Berthier and the Eagle was granted to the Battalion. Perhaps, the fact that the chef de Battalion, Joseph Dominique Hercules had an outstanding reputation for in 1796 he was a non-commissioned officer in the famous ‘guides” of the General-en-chef of the Army of Italy. He was a man who contributed to the success of the battle or Arcole. He was the one who, on the fourth day of the battle, upon an order of Massena, forded the river, unseen by the Austrians. He proceeded to make such a noise with only 4 trumpeters and a handful of guides, that the Austrians fearing a rear attack retreated rapidly to rejoin their main body. General Augereau was then able to connect with Massena in Arcole (See Chandler “Campaigns of Napoleon” for details.).Needless to say that the events of the Campaign of Italy were never recalled to Napoleon without the proper reward.
In 1806, the Battalion de Pionniers Noirs stationed in Caste was transferred to the Neapolitan Army where it became the Royal African Regiment. At that time the Eagle was certainly sent back to Paris.
In 1811, a radical change appears to take place, certain units are disbanded like the Valais Battalion and the Corsican Tirailleurs for instance and four foreign regiments were made from some of the units:
However, before one should conclude that foreign units were limited to the four Foreign Regiments, remember the usual prolific diversity of Corps Hors Ligne and Foreign units like the Neuchatel Battalion and some new ones like the Regiments of Belle-Isle, of Walcheren, de Rhe, etc., such units are nothing more than regiments made with refractory conscripts (so-called Penal Regiments) which are denied the honor to carry a Flag.
The colors carried by these contingent’s are not their only interesting aspect. They also usually wore different colorful uniforms. Their addition to a wargame army can break the monotony of a line of battle. For instance a battalion of red-coated Swiss or of the Hanoverian Legion in French service when fighting the British always bring some unexpected comments.
Furthermore, some regiments had a morale and a desertion problem, while others, like the Swiss, were outstanding. All that can bring some interesting situations to the wargamer willing to consider such possible variations (the old subject of national differences again).
Also the organization of the units may vary widely. For instance, one can find the 4th Battalion of the Regiment d’Isembourg going to Spain in 1810 with 992 men in 9 companies, if my source is right, yet the Valais Battalion had only 5 companies, i.e., 1 grenadier company and 4 center companies but no voltiquers company.
Flags or Eagles?
The question of flags or Eagles was raised for the first time in 1806 by the General Dejean (minister of war) for the Regiments of La Tour D’Auvergne and Isembourg. General Dejean asked Napoleon if the two above Regiments carrying the name of their Colonels as in the old Royal Army should receive some Eagles or some flags only? The question is bizarre since the 1804 regulation provided only Eagles for an emblem. On May 8,1806, Napoleon answered: Give them Eagles like the other units. So, the Regiments of La Tour d’Auvergne and d’Isembourg received an Eagle for each Battalion and kept them. In 1811 they became the 1st and 2nd Foreign Regiments respectively.
On November 15, 1806, the Prince of Isembourg was again entrusted by Napoleon to raise a new Regiment to be called Regiment of Prussia to be recruited from Prussian prisoners of war. On December 11 and 13, 1806, Napoleon ordered the raising of 3 new units; the Regiment of Westphalia and two Regiments of Hesse-Cassel from the troops of these countries.
In 1807, new series of questions to Napoleon from General Dejean after a letter from the Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Colonel of the Regiment of Westphalia, requesting a Flag or an Eagle for his regiment. Should we give the Regiment of Westphalia a flag or an Eagle? Same request for the Regiment of Prussia and also on July 3, 1807 from the first Battalion of the Regiment of Hesse-Cassel. For an unknown reason this time Napoleon’s answer was: No, and the answer was of importance since the new decision has the effect of making a new type of Regiment; the regiment with a flag (in a French: Regiment, un drapeau). The Regiment of Westphalia was to receive flags and no Eagle. The other new foreign regiments in France service were also to receive only flags. So the scrupulous General Dejean, confused, asked again a series of questions of Napoleon on the size of the flags, etc., and also on the status of the foreign regiments that have already received some eagles. The question No. 3 of his letter says: ‘the Swiss, Irish, La Tour d’Auvergne and Isembourg Regiments and the Valais battalion have already some Eagles. Should we take them away?”
It should be noted that if the list is of interest, the foreign units that already received an Eagle are not limited to the ones mentioned. For instance the Hanoverian legion received an Eagle for its light infantry battalion late in 1804 or early 1805.
Napoleon’s answer is clear. “Give a flag in the old fashion to the units that don’t have one. Leave Eagles to the Regiments that already have one.
On September 3, 1807 General Dehean reports the disposition taken to provide the new flag to the four new regiments. The new flag is due to the initiative of Dejean since Napoleon did not bother to answer questions on the size, etc.
The flag was huge (almost 64 inches by 64 inches) but the pattern of the color and the inscription followed the 1804 regulation with the exception of the angle crowns which had no number inside them. The flags were mounted on the poles of the old flag of the demi-brigades send back to artillery central depot in 1794.
The regiment of Prusse was the first one to receive its new flags on November 21, 1807 in Versailles.
The regiment of Westphalia appears to be next on January 6, 1808 in Periguez. The flags of the 3rd battalion of the regiment of Westphalia and the 2nd battalion of the 2nd regiment of Hesse-Cassel still existed in 1912 at the Neu Buhleh Gallery in the city of Cassel The flag of the 2nd and 3rd battalion are displayed in the chapel of Chelsea Hospital in London. It is interesting to note that they are labeled: “taken in Spain” when they were taken at the capitulation of Flessingue on August 16, 1809.
The Foreign Regiments were not the only ones to receive new flags and many other formations hors ligne were provided them. Among these are five Legions created by executive order on March 25, 1807 for the defense of the French coasts. It is a racial departure from the 1804 Regulations since it:
The story can go on and on. It looks like every unit has to be considered by itself and that alone should keep up busy for the next few years. I deliberately used “us” for the very simple reason I am very far from having all the answers and I am very likely to add many questions to the list of the “10 most wanted” begun by Fred Vietmeyer in this magazine. No doubt that many of The Courier readers will help to shed light on some of the obscure points, and it is the purpose of this series of articles. I don’t have anything else on the Battalion de Pionniers Noirs and that is a first question.
Les Aigles Imperiales 1804 - 1815 by General Jean Regnault
The 1st Foreign Rgt from the La Tour D’Auvergne Rgt.
The 2nd Foreign Rgt from the Isembourg Rgt.
The 3rd Foreign Rgt from the Irish Legion.
The 4th Foreign Rgt from the Rgt of Prussia.1. Created the regiments of battalion (A Drapeau) with a flag.
2. Cancels the right of all these units to have an Eagle.
3. Opens the road to the new Flag regulation of 1811.References
Le Briquet Plates
Austerlitz by Claude Manceron
Jena by Houssaye
1815 by Houssaye
Collecting Toy Soldiers by Jean Nicollier
Soldiers Of the Peninsular War by Rene North
Campaigns of Napoleon by David Chandler
Uniforms Of the Napoleonic Wars by Jack Cassin-Scort
War In The Penninsula by C.W.C. Oman
History of the Consulate And the Empire by Thiers
History Of The War In The Penninsula by Napier
The French Campaign In Portugal, An account by Jean Jacues Pelet edited, annotated and translated by Donald D. Horward.
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