The French foot battalions consisted of a grenadier company of 49 men and 12 fusilier companies of 54 men each. The du Roi Regiment had battalions of a grenadier company and 16 fusilier companies each. Squadrons of horse, as of the Orginance of 6 March, 1743, had 4 companies each. There were four squadrons per regiment. Each company consisted of 41 troopers. The Carabiniers had 10 squadrons of 40 companies totalling 1275 men. The regiments of the Maison du Roi varied in numbers of companies, but the basic squadron strength didn't vary. much from those of the horse. In 1744, the dragoon squadron consisted of 3 companies of 38 mounted and 16 dismounted men. The hussar squadrons also had four companies of about 28 men each. The tactics of the French Army were archaic even for its time. The French infantry were still using four rank battalions with each rank four yards behind the other. A cadence step and three rank line was not formally introduced until 1754. One needs little imagination to envision the difficulty this formation presented to maneuver. Firing was by rank and more ineffective than the British. During the war the French began to use " closed up" battalions before attempting to maneuver. Firing ability also improved. Piquets were chosen from the more agile men and teamed up with the grenadier companies in performing outpost duty. occasionally the piquets performed screening duties in front of the battalion line where terrain was suitable. A squadron formed in three ranks, but the third rank actually pushed its way forward into the first two ranks during an advance to charge. FRENCH INFANTRY Rank Name Cuffs Buttons Notes 5 Normandie white tin - 6 La Marine white tin - 9 Auvergne white tin - 12 Du Roi blue copper blue vest, turnbacks, pants; orange button lace except on cuffs 13 Royal blue tin blue vest, collar, pants 16 Dauphin blue copper - 18 Touraine blue tin - 20 De Eu blue copper - 26 Vaisseax blue copper red vest 28 La Couronne blue tin - 29 Crillon white copper - 32 Aubeterre red tin - 40 Beauvoisis white tin - 48 Bettens (SW) blue tin blue vest, turnbacks, pants 63 Biron red copper - 72 Hainault red copper - 87 Soissonais blue copper - 100 Diesbach (SW) blue tin blue vest, turnbacks, pants 101 Courten (SW) blue tin blue vest, turnbacks, pants 102 Bulkeley (IR) green tin green collar; red vest, pants; white button lace on coat 103 Clare (IR) yellow tin yellow turnbacks; red vest, pants 104 Dillon (IR) black copper - 109 Lally (IR) green copper green vest; white pants 115 Rooth (IR) blue copper blue vest, turnbacks, pants 116 Berwick (IR) white tin white cuff, turnbacks, vest, pants 121 Royal Corse green copper green vest 4 Piedmont black copper - The French infantry uniform consisted of a greyish white coat, vest, trousers and gaiters. Generally, the coat was not worn turned-back. Collars and lapels were rare. Swiss (SW) and Irish (IR) regiments wore red coats. Scottish regiments wore blue. The various cuff colors are shown on the chart. Buttons were tin or copper. Black neck stocks were worn. The black tricorne hat was laced with the same color as the button color and had a black rosette. Belts were buff color. Sword scabbards were brown. Cartridge boxes were black leather with no plate. Muskets were walnut with iron fittings and a red sling. Officers had better quality uniforms with gold or silver buttons. They were further distinguished by hatsand vests bordered in the button color. officers wore metal gorgets around their necks. They would be armed with sword and partizan or spontoon. Sergeants were armed with halberds. Their rank was denoted by a lace border in button color (gold or silver) on the outside edge of the cuff. An alternative would be vertical button lace on cuffs with three buttons. There were no regulations. Corporals would sometimes have their cuffs laced with colored wool. Many of the regiments have left no record as to the color of the musicians' coats. The Royal, Provincial and most regiments of noble patronage wore the royal livery. One can feel safe if blue faced units have drummers with blue coats, faced and lined red. Red faced regiments would have the reverse - red coats faced and lined blue. Lace would be color of buttons, laced on coat front, side, sleeve and pockets. Grenadiers wore moustaches and their sabre belts over their right shoulders. The fur hat was not worn in this period. The two Guards regiments were present at Fontenoy but not listed on my uniform chart. The Gardes-Francaises had six battalions of five fusilier companies and one half a grenadier company each. Each fusilier company had 140 men; the grenadier company 110 men. The Cardes-Suisses had four battalions of three companies each. There were no grenadiers. Each company had 200 men. The Gardes-Francaises wore a royal blue coat with red cuffs, vest, trousers and turnbacks. The vests, cuffs, and buttonholes were laced white. Buttons and hat tape were silver. The Cardes-Suisses wore a red coat with blue cuffs, trousers, turnbacks and vest. The vests, cuffs and buttonholes were laced white. Buttons and hat tape were silver. Officers' coats of both units were richly lace in silver. Arquebusiers de Grassin The Arquebusiers de Grassin consisted of 1000 foot in 9 companies of 100 men and 2 grenadier companies of 50 men; and, 300 mounted men. They wore an unusual uniform. The open coats were medium blue lined with white fur. Breeches were medium blue. Vests, collars, shabraque and epaulette on left shoulder were red. Hat was a red hussar militron, taped medium blue with a brass f ront plate, white and red bow with white plumes. Cuffs and gaiters were black. Buttons were brass. Shabraque was bordered yellow. Buff belts were worn. De Saxe's personal guard was a squadron of Negro uhlans on white horses. The loose blouse and trousers were green. Sash, shirt, pouch, pouchbelt, edging of blouse and trouser seam was red. Brass helmet had brown turban laced red with red horsetail. The Royal Artillery Regiment of the French Army consisted of five battalions known by their colonels' names: 1. De Chabrie; 2. Viscomte cle Richecourt; 3. De Fontenay; 4. Gaudechart d'Henneville; 5. De Pumbecque. The battalions 2, 3 and 5 were at Fontenoy. From the Ordinance 30 September 1743 each company was raised to 100 men. There were 25 companies of cannoniers, 5 of sapeurs and 10 of bombardiers. The Valleire system included guns of 4, 8, 12, 16 and 24 pounds, 8 and 12 inch mortars. No howitzers were authorized, but some were used. Gun carriages were painted deep red. Each infantry battalion had two 4-pounders crewed by the infantry. Artillerymen wore blue coats with red cuffs, turnbacks, trousers and vest. Buttons were copper. Hat was taped gold (yellow) with black cockade. POSTSCRIPT I have not sought to describe either the regimental standards or colours in this article. Neither have I discussed French cavalry uniforms. Both of these subjects are quite complicated. For those seeking information on flags, I refer you to Pengel, Lawson, Funcken or Niemeyer. As to French cavalry, my own article "Uniforms and Flags of the French Army during the Seven Years War", Vol. II, No. 1 of THE COURIER (July-August 1980) discussed this at some length. BIBLIOGRAPHY Barthorp, Michael British Cavalry Uniforms Since 1660 (1984). Barthorp, Michael British Infantry Uniforms Since 1660 (1982). Carman, W.Y. British Military Uniforms from Contemporary Pictures (1968). Cart, Alex Uniformes des regiments Francais (1945). Funcken, Liliane & Fred The Lace Wars (1977). Grant, Charles The Battle of Fontenoy (1975). Houlding, J.A. Fit for Service (1981). Lawson, C.C.P. A History of the Uniforms of the British Army, Vol. 2 (1963). Miller, A.E.H. & Dawnay, N.P. Military Drawings and Paintings in the Royal Collection 2 Volumes (1970). Neimeyer, J. & Ortenburg, C. The Hanoverian Army During the Seven Years War (1977). Pengel, R.D. French Infantry Regiments (1982). Pengel, R.D. French Cavalry Dragoons (1981). Pengel, R.D. Maison du Roy (1981). Quimby, Robert S. The Background of Napoleonic Warfare (1957). Rigo Le Plumet AR Series of Plates Rogers, H.C.B. The British Army of the Eighteenth Century (1977). Schirmer, Friedrich Das Celler Soldatenbuch (1937). Skrine, Francis H. Fontenoy (1906). Susane, Louis Histoire de artillerie Francaise (1874). Susane, Louis Histoire de la cavalerie Francaise (1874). Susane, Louis Histoire de Vancrenne infanterie Francaise White, Jon M. Marshal of France (1962). Wrede, A.F. von Geschichte der K. und K. Wehrmacht, 1/1 Volume (1901). More Fontenoy 1745 The Campaign The Battle Uniforms and Organization: British Uniforms and Organization: Hanoverians Uniforms and Organization: Dutch and Austrians Uniforms and Organization: French Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. VII #4 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1987 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com