Customer Reviews

Louis XV's Army (3) : Foreign Infantry and Artillery (Men-At-Arms Series, 304)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellently-illustrated introduction to the artillery and foreign infantry regiments of the army of Louis XV of France. There are many contemporary monochrome illustrations supporting the text. The colour plates are brilliantly-executed watercolours.

From the Author's Introduction -
"By long-standing tradition, as well as by sheer numbers, the importance of foreign regiments in the French army was considerable. Since the middle-ages, the rulers of France had called upon mercenaries from various neighbouring nations to form units which were often among the finest in the army. Indeed, this tradition is still very much alive today in the form of the French Foreign Legion... Marshal Maurice de Saxe, himself a foreigner, defined rather strikingly the value of foreign troops in 1748: `A German... counts for three men: he saves one in the kingdom, he takes one away from our enemies and he serves us.'"

"Foreign regiments were meant to compensate for some of the perceived weaknesses of French-born soldiers who sometimes lacked steadiness and manoeuvred indifferently, although they were exceedingly brave when charging. By contrast, the Swiss and Germans were renowned for their steadiness under heavy fire and for their precision drills."

The foreign infantry regiments numbered about 20,000 men between 1716 and 1733; around 34,000 during the Polish War of Succession of 1734-1735; some 22,600 until 1741-1748, when their establishment jumped to 58,000; it went down to about 31,000 with the Seven Years' War, when it went up to 48,000 and was reduced by 20,000 men at war's end."

Author's Note - "Another important regiment of the French army was the artillery, which saw considerable technical change during Louis XV's reign."
"Special note has been given to metropolitan detachments serving overseas, as they were nearly always pitted against British or Colonial American forces."

The Contents are -
P03: Introduction; Swiss Troops of the Royal Guard
.Cent-Suisses; Gardes-Suisses; Garde Suisse de Monsieur; Garde-Suisse de Comte d'Artois
P06: Foreign Line Infantry Organisation
P09: Uniforms
.Regimental Descriptions (49 entries)
P22: Other `Foreign' Units
.Detachments sent to Scotland; Foreign units sent overseas; colours
P33: Royal-Artillerie
.Artillery Battalions; Companies of Ouvriers; Companies of Miners; Artillery employees; Artillery materiel; Royal-Artillerie detachments sent overseas
P40: Milice Garde-Cote
P43: Select Bibliography
P44: Plate Commentaries
P48: French & German Commentaries

The Colour Plates (between pages 25 and 32)

A: Gardes Suisses, 1740s and 1750s - 1, Officer, undress; 2, Officer, full dress (mounted); 3, Traban (officer's escort); 4, Drummer; 5, private; 6, Sergeant.
Figure #2 has a red coat and cuffs with lots of silver decoration; #1, #5, #6 have red coats and blue cuffs; #3 & #4 have blue coats with red cuffs.

B: Foreign Infantry, 1720s - Hessy's (Swiss) Regiment, 1, Officer, 2, Private and colour; Lenk's (German) Regiment, 3, Drummer, 4, Officer with Colour and Private.
Figures #1 & #2 have red coats with blue cuffs; #3 has a buff coat; #4 have blue coats and red cuffs.

C: Polish Succession War, 1734-35 - 1, Dillon's (Irish) Regiment, Fusilier; 2, La Mark's (German) Regiment, Fusilier; 3, Alsace (German) Regiment, Fusilier; 4, Saxe's (German) Regiment, Fusilier.
Figure #1 has a red coat with black cuffs (and two more similar figures in the background); #2, #3, #4 have blue coats, #2 & #4 with yellow cuffs, #3 red cuffs; #2 & #3 have blue waistcoats, #4 a yellow waistcoat.

D: Austrian Succession War, 1740s - Royal-Ecossais (Scottish) Regiment: 1, Officer, 1745-46, 2, Fusilier, 3, Officer with colour; 4, Clair's (Irish) Regiment, Fusilier; 5, Royal-Corse (Italian/Corsican) Regiment, Fusilier; 6, Royal-Italien (Italian) Regiment, Fusilier.
Figures #1, #2, #3 have blue coats with red cuffs and waistcoats; #4 has a red coat with yellow cuffs and waistcoat; #5 a white coat with green cuffs and waistcoat; #6 has a brown coat with red cuffs and waistcoat.

E: Seven Years' War - 1, Ogilvy's (Scottish) Regiment, fusilier; Gardes Lorraine (Lorraine and Barrois) Regiment - 2, fusilier c.1757-58, 3, drummer/fifer, c.1757-60; 4, Bulkeley's (Irish) Regiment, fusilier; 5, Horion's (Walloon) Regiment, fusilier; 6, Planta's (Swiss) Regiment, fusilier.

F: Foreign Infantry Overseas 1757-63 - 1, Royal-Barrois (Lorraine & Barrois) Regiment, fusilier, Haiti, 1762-1763; 2, Volontaires-Etrangers (German) Regiment, fusilier, New France, 1757-58; 3, Lally's (Irish) Regiment, fusiliers and colour, India, 1758-61.
Figure #1 has a white coat and cuffs; #2 - white coat, green cuffs and waistcoat; #3 - red coat, green cuffs and waistcoat.

G: Royal Artillerie 1740s - 1, Gunner; 2, Miner; 3, Ouvrier [artisan/labourer]; 4, Officer & sergeants with gunners.
Figure #1 has a blue coat with red cuffs and waistcoat; #2 - blue coat with red cuffs and a white waistcoat; #3 - a white coat with red cuffs and waistcoat; #4 - Officer & sergeant have blue coats with red cuffs and waistcoats, the gunners are in red waistcoats/jackets, the gun's woodwork is painted red.

H: Coast Guard Militia, 1750s - 1, Coast Guard Dragoons, trooper (mounted); 2, Detached Companies, gunner; 3, Detached Companies, drummer; 4, Belle-Isle Battalion, officers; 5, Watch Companies, militiamen.
Figure #1 has a red coat and cuffs with a white waistcoat; #2 has a white coat and waistcoat, withblue cuffs;; #3 has a blue coat with red cuffs and a white waistcoat;; #4 have white coats with blue cuffs and waistcoats; #5 have grey coats with red cuffs and yellow shirts.