Gardes Françaises

Gardes Françaises

Regimental flag of the Gardes françaises
Active 1563-1792
Country France
Branch French Army
Type Guard Infantry
Role Infantry

The French Guards (French: Gardes Françaises) were an infantry regiment of the Military Household of the King of France (Maison militaire du roi de France) under the Ancien Régime.

The French Guards, who were located in Paris, played a major part in the French Revolution as most of the guardsman defected to the revolutionary cause and ensured the collapse of absolute monarchy in France. French Guards led the Storming of the Bastille and formed the cadre for the National Guard.

History

The regiment was created in 1563 by Charles IX. With a strength of 9000 men it counted 30 companies in 1635 with 300 fusiliers per company. They were armed with a form of musket ("fusils") or steel-handled pikes, and were allowed to conduct a normal civilian life in times of peace. In practice this meant that they could undertake civilian employment when not required on duty.

At Catherine de' Medici's insistence, they were at first spread over several garrisons, but after the attempted kidnapping of King Charles IX near Meaux by Huguenots, the Gardes were brought back together specifically to protect the monarch.

Uniform in 1757

Privileges, role and organisation

In times of war the Gardes Françaises had the privilege of choosing their own battle positions (usually in the center of the first line of infantry). Other privileges included being that of leading the assault when a wall was breached during a siege, the first choice of barracks, and special rights of trial. When on parade, the Gardes Francaises took precedence over all other regiments in the Royal Army.

The French Guards shared responsibility for guarding the exterior of the Palace of Versailles with the Gardes Suisses. In addition, the French Guards had responsibility for maintaining public order in Paris, in support of the various police forces of the capital.

The Gardes Francaises and the British Guards confronted each other at Fontenoy in 1745. Lord Charles Hay, a British officer, reportedly said, "Tell your men to fire". The Count d'Auteroche, officer of the Gardes françaises, replied "No, we never fire first".[1]

In 1789 the French Guards constituted the largest element of the Household troops (Maison Militaire du Roi). Six grenadier and 24 fusilier companies were divided into the six battalions that comprised the full regiment. The total number of French Guards amounted to about 3,600 men. The regimental colonel usually held the rank of Marshal of France. Captains of the grenadier companies ranked as colonels in the infantry of the line. There was one grenadier company (109 officers and men) and four fusilier companies (each numbering 132 officers and men) to each battalion.[2]

Image and recruitment basis

The subsequent image of the Gardes Françaises as a socially elite palace unit led solely by courtier officers may be largely incorrect. The majority of the regimental officers were from outside Paris and some, such as the future Maréchal Fabert, did not have even the status of provincial aristocrats.[3]

The rank and file were recruited from all over France but through marriages and off duty employment quickly established local ties in Paris - a consideration which was to influence their behavior at the outbreak of the French Revolution. Guardsmen were enlisted for a minimum of eight years and were required to be French nationals with a minimum height of 1.73m (5 ft 8ins), compared with the 1.68m (5 ft.6ins) of line infantry soldiers.

The reported incident at the Battle of Fontenoy where officers of the Gardes Francaises and their English counterparts invited each other to fire first (see illustration) is sometimes cited as an example of excessive chivalry amongst aristocrats. However, in 18th century warfare the unit which held its fire until it was closest to the enemy would be able to deliver the most effective volley.

Uniform

During the years 1685 to 1789 the regiment wore dark "king's blue" coats with red collars, cuffs and waistcoats. Breeches were red (later white) and leggings were white. Grenadiers had high fur hats, while the fusilier companies wore the standard tricorn of the French infantry. Coats and waistcoats were heavily embroidered in white or silver (for officers) braid.[4]

Role in the French Revolution

Rebel Gardes Françaises (in blue uniforms at left and centre-right) took part in the storming of the Bastille and the arrest of its governor, the Marquis de Launay (shown above).

The sympathy shown by the Gardes Françaises for the French Revolution at its outbreak was crucial to the initial success of the rising. The other two units of the maison militaire du roi de France at this time, the Swiss Guards and the Bodyguard, were loyal to the king, but they were smaller units than the Gardes Françaises and lacked the Parisian connections of the latter regiment.

During weeks of disturbances prior to early July 1789 leading up to the fall of the Bastille the regiment initially obeyed orders and on several occasions acted against the increasingly unruly crowds. In April during a riot at the Reveillion factory, guardsmen had fired on a hostile crowd killing and wounding several hundred.[5] However, in addition to local ties with the Parisians, the regiment was resentful of the harsh Prussian style discipline introduced by its colonel the Duc du Châtelet, who had taken up his appointment the year before. The officers of the regiment had negligently left day-to-day control in the hands of the non-commissioned officers, and had limited interaction with their men. These considerations led to desertions from 27 June on, an incident on 12 July where French Guards fired on the Royal-Allemand Regiment, and the final defection of most of the rank and file on 14 July. Reportedly only one of the sergeants stood by the officers when they tried to reassemble their men in the courtyard of the Paris barracks of the Guard. Of the six battalions (sub-units of about 600 men each) comprising the whole of the regiment, the equivalent of only one battalion remained obedient to orders.[6] The mutineers played a key role in the attack on the Bastille, where they are credited with the effective use of artillery cannons and with preventing a massacre of the garrison after surrender. Following the fall of the Bastille the Gardes Françaises petitioned to resume their guard duties at Versailles. However this proposal was declined and the regiment was formally disbanded on 31 August 1789.

The Gardes Françaises subsequently provided the professional core of the new Garde Nationale. As such they acted under the command of the Marquis de Lafayette to restore order when a mob from Paris invaded the Palace of Versailles at dawn on 6 October 1789, and escorted the Royal Family to Paris in the afternoon of the same day. In October 1792 the former French Guards were distributed amongst the newly raised volunteer units being mobilised for war. In their final role the erstwhile royal guardsmen provided cadres (officers and senior NCOs) for the revolutionary armies of 1792-1802.

Following the Bourbon restoration of 1814 attempts were made to recreate most of the various military units that had formerly made up the Royal Household. However the defection of the Gardes Françaises at a crucial point in the revolution could not be forgotten and no attempt was made to reestablish the regiment.

Battles

Notable members


Gallery

Gardes françaises
Gardes françaises at the battle of Fontenoy 
Gardes françaises reenactors 

References

  1. ↑ N.Y. Times, 25 December 1897
  2. ↑ Terry Crowdy, "French Revolutionary Infantry 1789-1802", ISBN 1-84176-660-7
  3. ↑ Philip Mansel, "Pillars of Monarchy", ISBN 0-7043-2424-5
  4. ↑ Liliane and Fred Funcken, "L'Uniforme et les Armes des Soldats de La Guerre en Dentelle", ISBN 2-203-14315-0
  5. ↑ Price, Munro. The Fall of the French Monarchy. p. 77. ISBN 0-330-48827-9.
  6. ↑ Price, Munro. The Fall of the French Monarchy. p. 96. ISBN 9780330488273.
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