I am sitting very comfortably on my porch, the birds are singing. Needless to say that I don't feel the slightest trace of belligerency. To be very honest and frank I don't feel like doing anything.... Yet I have to write the editorial for this month issue. Our readers will be the lucky ones since it should be very short. You will find the usual articles in this issue including the continuation of my article on LIGHT TROOPS IN FRENCH SERVICE PRIOR TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, which was started in issue # 23. I think this series of articles will be beneficial to a better understanding in the use of light troops i.e. skirmishers during the Napoleonic Wars. My thesis is simple. The French did not improvise the use of skirmishers during the Wars of the French Revolution. Skirmishers have been in use for years and quite extensively on top of that. Do not take my word for it. Please take the time to control my references, you'll see by yourself. Your comments will be appreciated. They will appreciated (even if anyone disagree and substantiate his counterclaims)as we appreciate the comments from Mr. Martinsen that you will find under our LETTERS FROM OUR READERS section. Mr. Martinsen is exactly doing what we want our readers to do. He is commenting. Apparently, Mr. Martinsen did not plan an article but just a simple letter. Yet the quality of the article is excellent. It is precisely the kind of comments we look for. I am very glad to see someone else writing about LIGHT TROOPS and present about the same facts. I am fully aware that the French were not the only ones to use light troops. On the contrary, the Austrians appears to be the ones that really revived them during the Seven Year War and even before that. As a matter of facts, even during the Wars of the French-Revolution very often the Austrian had more skirmishers than the French.... A period full of surprises, is not? Of course we have many other good articles, I hope that you enjoy them. It was a pleasure to put this issue together. Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 1 No. 26 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