There are several striking points to the student of the Napoleonic era Art of Warfare. One of them is the falsehood perpetuated by some authors on the French light troops (see footnote # 1). When reading Oman's "STUDIES IN THE NAPOLEONIC WARS" and "WELLINGTON'S AMY" for instance, one is under the impression that the French discovered light infantry at the beginning of the French Revolution etc. It is not so. Oman bases his conclusions on pamphlet published in England in the early eighteen hundreds and completely ignores the facts and even the regulations pertinent to the French light troops prior to the French Revolution. Light troops are an old tradition in the French Army. One can go back to Louis the XIV and find some light troops in French service. As a matter of fact, light troops were very active during the War of the Spanish Succession (1733-1738). They were not of the strict skirmisher type as we have a tendency to understand it in the Napoleonic period or were they organized on the regular army basis by regiment or battalion. They were usually acting as independent bodies They usually attacked or disrupted the enemy convois, disturbed or stopped the action of the enemy eclaireurs and also tried to act as such for the French Army. Of the many TROUPES LEGERES (light Troops) of the War of the Spanish Succession and of the Seven Year War, only a few of them are still remembered. Among the very famous are the VOLONTAIRES DE SAXE. That unit contributed so much to the French arm that we are writing a separate article on them to be published in the very near future in this magazine. At that point we believe that a list of the light units part of the French Army during the period mentioned above is necessary if one wants to be specific about the question. The following list deals with such units between 1742 and 1763, many of them are the basis of many units during the Napoleonic era and not necessarily infantry units. As a matter of fact almost all units are a mixture of cavalry and infantry. Also of interest is the fact that the history of one of the units considered here the MASSEURS DE FISHER shows that foraging was not an invention of the French Revolution but practiced before that period perhaps with less efficiency but nevertheless practiced! CHASSEURS DE FISHER Fisher was the valet of one of the French officer involved in the War of the Austrian Succession in 1741. (France was an ally of Bavaria, a traditional French ally by the way, against Austria) The necessity of foraging for the horses forced Fisher to get together with some of his "co-workers" to try to protect the horses that the Austrian "Pandours" tried to take from them. It was nothing more than a kind of "job protection". They had many encounters with the Austrian. They did so well against them that on November 1st, 1743, Jean-Chretien Fisher was allowed to form a full company. Slowly, the strength was increased to a total of 8 infantry and 8 chasseurs a cheval companies. The Corps was therefore capable of independent actions relatively important. The Corps was transfered from Bohemia to Flanders, then to Alsace and back to Flanders in 1746. At that time at the siege of Berg-op-Zoom, the Corps included 400 chasseurs a pieds (foot chasseurs) and 200 chasseurs a cheval. We find Fisher at that time as a lieutenant-colonel. It is also interesting to note that one had not to wait for the French Revolution to get the opportunity to become a superior officer. From valet to lieutenant-colonel is a big jump., Of course it's more or less an exception. When peace came, the CHASSEURS DE FISHER were reduced to 220 men. At the beginning of the Seven Year War, in October 1756, the Corps was increased to 500 and then in August 1757 to 2000. On April 27, 1761, the CHASSEURS DE FISHER were taken over by the Comte de Conflans and changed their name to DRAGONS-CHASSEURS DE CONFLANS. On March 1st, 1763, they became the HUSSARDS DE CONFLANS. The infantry was disbanded. The above story is typical. A hussar regiment can be traced back to a ligth troop unit. Many other formations existed: ARQUEBUSIERS DE GRASSIN. They were raised at Verdun by de Grassin, captain at the PICARDIE Regiment. They were 1500 men in May 1745, 548 of them were cavalry. They distinguished themselves at Mesle etc. In 1749, the ARQUEBUSIERS DE GRASSIN were incorporated in the VOLONTAIRES DES FLANDRES. VOLONTAIRES ROYAUX. They were raised on August 15, 1745- from some old independante companies (compagnies franches). They included 12 companies in 1745 each of 60 fusiliers and 40 dragoons. At the beginning of the Seven Year War in November 1756, the were part of the vanguard of the Army of Germany. In May 1758, their strength had been increased to 1420 men in 17 companies, 2 of grenadiers, 12 of fusiliers-dragoons, 2 of hussars and I of workers. They also were very active during the war and were at Clostercamp in 1760 etc. At the beginning of the reign of Louis the XVI they were disbanded. The dragoons were reorganized in 4 companies of chasseurs a cheval attached to the four first regiment of dragoons. FUSILIERS DE LA MORLIERE. They were raised in October 1745 and included 1060 fusiliers and 540 dragoons. They were in the Flanders and at the battle of Lawfeld in 1747, at the siege of Maestricht in 1748. They were incorporated in the VOLONTAIRES DES FLANDRES in August 1749. VOLONTAIRES CANTABRES. They were raised in December 1745 at a strength of 2 infantry battalions and 300 hussars, plus 2 regimental guns. They were sent in the Flanders. At the beginning of the Seven Year War their strength was a battalion of 604 men. They served in Germany. They were disbanded in November 1762. They were called at that time ROYAL CANTABRES. VOLONTAIRES DE GANTES or MIQUELETS. They were raised in January 1746 and included 315 infantry, 144 hussars and 53 dragoons. They were part of the Army of Italy. In 1749, they were incorporated in the VOLONTAIRES DU DAUPHINE. VOLONTAIRES BRETONS. The were raised in October 1746 at the strength of 1060 fusiliers and 540 hussars. They were part of the Army of Flanders. In August 1749 they were incorporated in the VOLONTAIRES DES FLANDRES CHASSEURS DE BERINGUIER. Raised in February 1747, disbanded in February 1749. CHASSEURS DE COLONNE. Raised in February 1747, disbanded in 1749. VOLONTAIRES DE DRANCIZE. Raised in March 1747 and disbanded in February 1749. VOLONTAIRES DE GESHRAY. They were of German origin and in 1748 part of the Army of the Meuse. In 1758 they take the new name of VOLONTAIRES DIALSACE. At that time they are 6 companies each including 40 infantry and 30 dragoons. They were disbanded in 1759. VOLONTAIRES DU DAUPHINE. Raised in 1749 from the VOLONTAIRES DE GANTES., the CHASSEURS DE SABATIERS and the VOLONTAIRES DE DRANCIZE, they were 8 companies strong each of 40 infantrymen and 30 dragoons. From 1756 to 1762 they were in the Alps. In December 1762, they became part of the LEGION DES FLANDRES. VOLONTAIRES DES FLANDRES. They were raised in August 1749 from the ARQUEBUSIERS DE GRASSIN, the FUSILIERS DE LA MORLIERE and the VOLONTAIRES BRETONS. In March 1757, they were divided in two units, the VOLONTAIRES DES FLANDRES and the VOLONTAIRES DE HAINAUT. They were at the battle of Haastenbeck in 1757, Corbach in 1760 etc. In 1762, the name was changed to LEGION DES FLANDRES. They were disbanded in August 1776. The 4 squadrons of cavalry (apparently changed to chasseurs a cheval) were attached to the Dragoon regiments numbered 5 to 8 included. VOLONTAIRES DE NASSAU-SAARBRUCK. They were raised in April 1756 by William Henri, Prince of Nassau-Saarbruck. In 1758, they changed their name to VOLONTAIRES ROYAUX DE NASSAU and then again in June 1758 when they became the ROYAL NASSAU HUSSARDS 12 companies strong. They were in Hanover in 17S7, in Haastenbeck etc. After the war they were sent in Alsace. They were disbanded in 1772 and. their squadrons scattered among the four other hussar regiments kept by the French Army. VOLONTAIRES ETRANGERS. They were 3 battalions strong raised in 1756. In 17S7, they were part of the Army of Germany. In 1759, they changed their name to VOLONTAIRES DIAUSTRASIE and reorganized, like all the other so-called "volontaires" units, in 17 companies, 1 of grenadiers, 8 of fusiliers and 8 of chasseurs. The unit was incorporated in December 1762 in the LEGION DE HAINAUT. VOLONTAIRES DE HAINAUT. They were raised as explained above from half of the VOLONTAIRES DES FLANDRES. They were with the Army of Germany at the battle of Haastenbeck. At Harburg, they captured 900-*men, 3 flags and 20 canons etc. They were at Minden and also Margdorf were they captured a regiment of Hanoverian dragoons etc. They had quite an extensive and impressive war record too long to detail here. In March 1763, they became the LEGION DE HAINAUT, then, in 1768 LEGION DE LORRAINE. Their 8 companies of dragoons were changed to 4 squadrons of chasseurs'a cheval and were attached to the four dragoon regiments numbered 9 to 12. VOLONTAIRES CORSES. They were raised in April 1757 and used to protect the coasts of Provence. They were disbanded in April 1760. VOLONTAIRES ETRANGERS DE CLEWIONT-PRINCE. Raised in May 1758, they were 1800 strong, all foreigners, 1000 infantrymen and 800 cavalrymen. They included 2 companies of grenadiers, 9 of fusiliers, and 16 companies of dragoons. They were part of the Army of Germany. In December 1759, they became LEGION DE CLERMIONT-PRINCE and reorganized like the other Legion's (see LEGION DES ETRANGERS). In 1776 the name was changed once more to LEGION DE CONDE and disbanded the same year. The dragoons were changed to chasseurs a cheval and incorporated in the Dragoon regiments numbered 13 to 16 included. VOLUNTAIRES LIEGEOIS. Raised in May 1758, they included 4 companies of fusiliers and 4 companies of cavalry. Disbanded in 1759. VOLONTAIRES DE CAMBEFORT. Raised in 1759, they were only 100 fusiliers and 50 Dragoons strong. Disbanded in December 1762. CHASSEURS DIORIGNY. Raised in January 1760, they had 5 companies of infantry to be brigaded with the HUSSARDS DE TURPIN, which became the HUSSARDS DE CHAMBORAND in 1761. They were part of the Army of Germany. They captured on March 26, 1701 a battalion of the Legion Britannique. Their commander d'Origny was killed in that action and they were disbanded in 1761. CHASSEURS DE SOMBREUIL. Raised in January 1760 at a strength of 5 companies, to be brigaded with the HUSSARDS DE BERCHENY. They were part of the Army of Germany. They were disbanded in 1761. MATELOTS ETRANGERS DE DUNKERQUE. They were raised in February 1760 from the sailors prisoners of war held in Dunkerque. They were disbanded in March 1763. CHASSEURS DE MONET. Raised in 1761, they included 60 chasseurs a pied (foot-chasseurs), 40 chasseurs a cheval and 50 hussars. They were disbanded in December 1762. CHASSEURS DE PONCET. Same as above. VOLONTAIRES ETRANGERS DE WURMFER. Raised in January 1762, they included 1 company of grenadiers, 8 of fusiliers and 8 of dragoons. They were part of the Army of Germany. They became in March 1763 VLONTAIRES DE SOUBISE and LEGION DE SOUBISE. Like the other Legions, they were disbanded in 1776 and the dragoons became chasseurs a cheval and were attached to four regiments of Dragoons numbered 17 to 20 included. VOLONTAIRES DE SAXE. Their influence on the French Army is so great that they'll be treated in a special article in a next issue. The above list is quite lengthy, but necessary for several reasons. It shows the evolution of the light troops and explain the existence of the cocktail foot-chasseurs (or voltigeurs), chasseurs a cheval (or hussars or dragoons) so-often encountered during the Napoleonic Wars even as late as 1815 (see footnote # 2). It was common practice to see French skirmishers carried on the back of chasseurs a cheval or hussars, dismount, fire and go back on horseback ... Apparently that practice can be traced back to the above units ... It was not new in 1789 and thereafter. Please note that all the above units were a mixture of infantrycavalry with not much importance given to the name they were called find a mixture of grenadiers, chasseurs or fusiliers, yet they were Light Troops. Also of significance is the fact that the Dragoons of these light troops were not far from the chasseurs a cheval or the hussars. In 1776, several legions were disbanded and their dragoons changed to chasseurs a cheval and one squadron of the resulting chasseurs attached to each Dragoon Regiment. The practice of changing-from one type of unit to another was also practiced during the Napoleonic period (see footnote # 3). Why Created in the First Place? The next question that come from the above is why the Light Troops came to life in the first place and were disbanded in 1776 or even prior to that date. The reason is simple. In 1741, when France became involved in the War of the Austrian Succession, the French cavalry was in a rather poor shape and with perhaps the exception of the 3 regiments of hussars (de Rattki, de Bercheny.and d!Esterhazy) was incapable to fulfill the needs of the French army as far as scouting etc.. yet the needs were there. Slowly and spontaneously, some independent companies and light troops were raised. That point is well illustrated by the paragraph covering the CHASSEURS DE FISHER. These new light troops were attacking enemy convoys, protecting the convoys of the French army, preventing the enemy to reconnoiter, acting as scouts and protecting the flanks of the army etc. all these actions usually done by the cavalry. The needs were thus covered by the new light units. Yet they were not part of the regular army and were not line units, From that two major problems developed. The first one was a morale problem because the new light units were doing so well that a certain discredit of the regular army took place. The second one is a consequence of the first one, it's the drainage of the best elements of the army to serve in those new light troops. The problem was very well understood by Choiseuil who greatly reduced the number of such satellites units and by Saint-Germain who made them part of the regular army. At that point we should take note that the French army of 1776 is a very efficient, reformed, highly trained body of high morale (see footnote # 4) but still in evolution. We have seen that, in March 1776, all the Dragoons of the Light Troops were changed to chasseurs a cheval and and one of the 24 squadrons raised by that action were attached to the dragoon Regiments. In January 1779, a new change took place. All the squadrons of chasseurs a cheval were merged into 6 regiments of chasseurs a cheval, which appears to be logical. Logical to us perhaps but not apparently to everybody since a new change takes place in 1784. The Legions are once more revived and included once more the cocktail infantry-cavalry. This time the Legions are made of chasseurs a pieds (foot-chasseurs) and chasseurs a cheval. At least now the terminology is more precise and everyone on foot or on horseback is called a chasseur showing precisely their light duty. These new Legions were given names of mountains: CHASSEURS DES ALPES, DES VOSGES, DES PYRENEES etc. In March 1788, new change. The chasseurs a cheval are once more reorganized in regiments. This time they were given Province names, like it has been the tradition for the line infantry. We find the CHASSEURS DE PICARDIE, DE NORMANDIE, DE CHAMPAGNE etc. Six dragoon regiments were even changed to chasseurs a cheval regiments. Please note that we are now in 1788, just one year away from the French Revolution. Everything is ready for the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. The chasseurs a cheval are the newest cavalry in the French Army. Their uniform is in a big state of confusion and that issue wont be settled until 1795. But that is another story with enough data to make a very interesting article. The foot-chasseurs kept the name of the Legions and became CHASSEURS DES VOSGES, DES ALPES, D'ALSACE etc. Here again, we have our light infantry regiments. Nothing new indeed. We already had chasseurs in the Frech army much before that and we should cover that subject in the next article. (part II of this article) Even new as an organization in 1788, the Chasseurs a cheval had already a long history and tradition behind them. Of course they were not always called chasseurs; they were sometimes called dragoons, or even hussars, but their duty was already the same, that is to function as light cavalry. The history of the 11th Regiment of Chasseurs a cheval is typical. The Regiment trace back its origin to the unit raised on January 11, 1762 under the name of VOLONTAIRES ETRANGERS DE WURMSER Which became VOLUNTAIRES DE SOUBISE in May 1776. Disbanded in 1766, the dragoons of the Legion(see above) were changed to chasseurs a cheval. In June 1779, the 4 squadrons of chasseurs are assembled together at Neubrisach and formed in a regiment of chasseurs which takes the number S. In August 1784, the regiment is brigaded or more exactly integrated with a battalion of foot-chasseurs to form the LEGION DU GEVAUDAN. Finally, in March 1788, the regiment become once more independent and takes the name of CHASSEURS DE NORMANDIE. in 1791, the regiment lost is name and kept only its number:11, which was kept until the regiment was disbanded in December 1815, with the exception of the 1814-1815 interim Royal period The above is typical of many regiments. The same is true for the light infantry. Obviously the duty of the light infantry was identical to the chasseurs a cheval but on foot. The skirmisher function immediately comes in one's mind. We shall see that question in our next issue. Footnotew Footnote # 1 To be exact what the French call "TROUPES LEGERES". One should not systematicall call them light infantry. They were not-or not yet at least. However they were very close to it but were often made of a mixture of cavalry and infantry. Mixture that we find very often in the Napoleonic era. Footnote # 2 David Chandler in THE CAMPAIGNS OF NAPOLEON page 69, tells us that the light infantry of the army of the Revolution were trained to keep up with light cavalry. Many examples of cooperation between light infantry and light cavalry are found in battle accounts. One of them is reported in FRENCH LANCERS by Nigel de Lee (almark) page 25: "At Genappe the French combined Lancers and light infantry in a skirmishing force that was able to harass the 7th. Hussars with impunity, as observed by Captain William Verner of that regiment:.."the enemy skirmishers were coming forward, each man having a sharpshooter on the horse behind him, who got off, took deliberate aim, and when he was pursued, jumped upon the horse, catered away.." Footnote # 3 For instance the 29th Dragoons was raised from a regiment of Hussars. The Lancers Regiments 1 to 6 were raised from the Dragoons regiments. That was not limited to the French Army since in the Russian army in 1812, 8 regiments of Dragoons were changed to horseleger. Footnote # 4 The performances of the French army during the War of Independence are there to prove my point. SOURCES 1. Several issues of LA GAZETTE DES UNIFORMES. 2. Quimby, THE BACKGROUND OF NAPOLEONIC WARFARE. 3. Miscellaneous notes on many books and publications. 4. Fieffe, LES TROUPES ETRANGERES AU SERVICE DE LA FRANCE. More Light Troops French Light Troops Part I French Light Troops Part II French Light Troops Part III French Light Troops Part IV Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 1 No. 23 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1978 by Jean Lochet This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com