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Fusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. A musket is a muzzle -loaded Smoothbore Long gun, which is intended to be fired from the shoulder The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.

Contents

History

Various forms of flintlock small arms had been used in warfare since the middle of the 16th century. Flintlock is the general term for any Firearm based on the flintlock mechanism At the time of the English civil war (1642-1652) the term firelock was usually employed to distinguish these weapons from the more common matchlock musket. The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. The Matchlock was the first mechanism or "lock" invented to uncomplicate the firing of a hand-held firearm

The special value of the firelock in armies of the 17th century lay in the fact that the artillery of the time used open powder barrels for the service of the guns, making it unsafe to allow lighted matches in the muskets of the escort. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine Further, a military escort was required, not only for the protection, but also for the surveillance of the artillerymen of those days. Companies of firelocks were therefore organized for these duties, and out of these companies grew the fusiliers who were employed in the same way in the wars of Louis XIV. In the latter part of the Thirty Years' War (1643) fusiliers were simply mounted troops armed with the fusil, as carabiniers were with the carbine. Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent For the Mauritanian Thirty Years' War see Char Bouba war. For the band see The 30 Years War. For the device used to connect ropes see Carabiner A Carabinier (also sometimes spelled Carabineer or Carbineer) ( Carabinero A carbine is a Firearm similar to a Rifle or Musket, but generally shorter and of lesser power But the escort companies of artillery came to be known by the name shortly afterwards, and the regiment of French Royal Fusiliers, organized in 1671 by Vauban, was considered the model for Europe. Sébastien Le Prestre Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban ( May 15, 1633 – March 30, 1707) commonly referred to

The general adoption of the flintlock musket and the suppression of the pike in the armies of Europe put an end to the original special duties of fusiliers, and they were subsequently employed to a large extent in light infantry work, perhaps on account of the greater individual aptitude for detached duties naturally shown by soldiers who had never been restricted to a fixed and unchangeable place in the line of battle. A pike is a Pole weapon, a very long thrusting Spear used two-handed and used extensively by Infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as Traditionally light infantry (or skirmishers) were soldiers whose job was to provide a Skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of Infantry, harassing

Fusiliers by country

French Army

Traditionally, the French Army used the title "fusiliers" to designate ordinary role infantry, as opposed to grenadiers and light troops such as voltigeurs and chasseurs. The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre (Land Army is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces and its largest A grenadier (derived from the word Grenade) was originally a specialized soldier first established as a distinct role in the mid to late 17th century for the throwing of grenades The Voltigeurs (Vaulters were French military Skirmish units created in 1804 by Napoleon. A Chasseur (a French term for "hunter" is the designation given to certain regiments of French light Infantry ( Chasseurs à pied

Today, however, such regiments are simply known as "infantry", although most modern French army regiments descend from fusilier regiments.


Only the French Navy and French Air Force use the title fusilier today. The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale ( National Navy) and often called La Royale ( The Royal Navy) is the maritime arm The French Air Force ( French: Armée de l'Air (ALA literally Air Army) is the Air force of the French Armed Forces. The navy's marines are known as sea fusiliers (Fusiliers Marins) and the Air Force's ground infantry are known as Air Fusiliers. Marines (from the English adjective marine, meaning of the sea, from Latin language mare, meaning sea via French adjective The Fusiliers Marins (Navy riflemen are units specialised in the protection and defence of key sites of the French Navy on land ( French for "Fusilier Commandos of the Air" These personnel of France's Armée de l'Air are equivalent to the United Kingdom 's RAF Regiment

British Army

The distinctive head-dress of fusilier other ranks in the British service was a raccoon skin cap, generally resembling, but smaller than and different in details from, the bearskins of the Foot Guards. The Armed forces of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and sometimes legally the Armed Forces The raccoon ( Procyon lotor) (sometimes spelt as racoon) also known as the common raccoon, North American raccoon, northern raccoon Fusilier officers however wore a bearskin like their counterparts in the Guards. Attached to the various types of fusilier headdress, including the modern beret, is the hackle. A beret (ber-HET in French or /ˈBer-EHT/ in English, except in the USA, where it is usually pronounced /ber-EHT is a soft round Cap, usually The hackle is a Feather Plume (most plumes are made of Horsehair that is attached to the Headdress. This is a short cut feather plume, the colour or colours of which varied according to the regiment. Prior to 1914 hackles were scarlet over white for the Northumberland Fusiliers; primrose yellow for the Lancashire Fusiliers; white for the Royal Fusiliers; white for the Royal Scots Fusiliers; grey for the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers; white for the Royal Welch Fusiliers; white and green for the Royal Munster Fusiliers and blue and green for the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

Royal Dublin Fusiliers
Royal Dublin Fusiliers

The eight regiments of fusiliers that existed in 1914 have been reduced by a series of disbandments and mergers to:

Prior to March 2006, a further two regiments of fusiliers existed in the British Army:

These two regiments were then amalgamated into larger regiments. The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (RRF is an Infantry Regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment was a regular Scottish line Infantry regiment of the British Army, part of The Royal Welch Fusiliers were a Regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The names exist within battalions of these new regiments:

Fusiliers or privates of the 23rd Regiment of Foot, Royal Welch Fusiliers in America, on duty at the Revolutionary War redoubt at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, May 2007. (U.S. Army Photograph)
Fusiliers or privates of the 23rd Regiment of Foot, Royal Welch Fusiliers in America, on duty at the Revolutionary War redoubt at the U. The Royal Regiment of Scotland (SCOTS is the senior and only Scottish Line infantry regiment of the British Army Infantry. The Royal Welsh (R WELSH ( Welsh Y Cymry Brenhinol) was formed on St David's Day, 1 March 2006. S. Army Heritage and Education Center, May 2007. (U. S. Army Photograph)

Canadian Army

There are five fusilier regiments patterned on the British tradition forming part of the militia (part-time reserve) of the Canadian Forces. Le Royal 22e Régiment, although not fusiliers, wears fusilier ceremonial uniform because of its alliance with The Royal Welch Fusiliers. The Royal 22e Régiment is an Infantry Regiment and the most famous Francophone organization of the Canadian Forces.

German Army

Prussia and several other German States used the designation Fusilier to denote a type of light infantry, dressed in green, that acted as skirmishers. The Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada is a Primary Reserve Infantry Regiment of the Canadian Forces. Les Fusiliers du St-Laurent is a Primary Reserve Infantry Regiment of the Canadian Forces. Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal is one of the oldest surviving units of the historical Regiments of the Canadian army The Princess Louise Fusiliers is a Primary Reserve Infantry Regiment of the Canadian Forces. Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke is a Primary Reserve Infantry Regiment of the Canadian Forces. Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state Traditionally light infantry (or skirmishers) were soldiers whose job was to provide a Skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of Infantry, harassing Skirmishers are Infantry or Cavalry Soldiers stationed ahead or alongside of a larger body of friendly troops In the Prussian Army they had been formed in 1787 as independent battalions, with many of the Officers having had experience in the American Revolutionary War. The Prussian reforms of 1808 absorbed the Fusiliers as the third battalion of each line infantry regiment. Infantry of the Line or Line Infantry refers to the soldiers forming the bulk of any dismounted force as distinct from Guards, Light infantry and more Now wearing blue uniforms, they were distinguished by black leather belts, and a slightly different arrangement of cartridge pouch.

In the Prussian Army of 1870, Infantry Regiments 33 to 40 plus Regiments 73 (Hanover), 80 (Hesse-Kassel) and 86 (Schleswig-Holstein) were all designated as fusiliers, as was the Guard Fusilier Regiment. The Prussian Army (Preußische Armee was the Army of the Kingdom of Prussia. Hanover (i ( haˈnoːfɐ on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony ( Niedersachsen is the northernmost of the 16 ''Bundesländer'' in Germany. The former English name was Sleswick-Holsatia the Danish name is In addition the third battalions of all Guard, Grenadier and Line infantry regiments retained the designation 'Fusilier Battalion'. A grenadier (derived from the word Grenade) was originally a specialized soldier first established as a distinct role in the mid to late 17th century for the throwing of grenades They were armed with a slightly shorter version of the Dreyse Rifle (Füsiliergewehr), that took a sword bayonet (Füsilier-Seitengewehr) rather than the standard socket bayonet. The Dreyse needle-gun ( German Zündnadelgewehr, which translates roughly as "needle ignition Rifle " was a military Breechloading A sword bayonet is any long knife-bladed Bayonet designed for mounting on a Musket or Rifle. A bayonet (from French baïonnette) is a Knife - Dagger - or spike-shaped Weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle Although still theoretically skirmishers, in practice they differed little from their companions, as all Prussian infantry fought in a style that formed a dense 'firing' or 'skirmish' line.

By the 1880s the title was honorific, implying 'specialist' or 'elite', and did not have any tactical significance. In a sense all infantry were becoming fusiliers, as weapons, tactics and equipment took on the fusilier characteristics - that is: skirmish line, shorter rifles, sword bayonets and black leather equipment. Nonetheless these titular units remained in existence until the end of the German Imperial Army in 1918, as follows:

In addition, there was the following regiment:

This was a special case, as it was also classed as 'Schützen' (Sharpshooter): this designation originally signified a type of 'Jäger' (Rifleman), and thus the regiment wore the Jäger-style dark green uniform. For other uses see Jäger. Jäger (plural also Jäger, ˈjɛːgɐ (егерь yeger was adopted in the Enlightenment era Rifleman is a private Soldier in a rifle unit of Infantry. Origins Although ultimately originating with the 16th century handgunners and the 17th

The various Fusilier regiments and battalions in the German Imperial Army of 1914 did not have any single distinctions of dress or equipment to distinguish them as fusiliers. Individual regiments did however have special features worn with the dark blue full dress. Some of these features were maintained on the field grey dress of the trenches right up to 1918. As examples in full dress, the Guard Fusiliers had nickel buttons, yellow shoulder straps and black plumes and the 80th Fusiliers special braiding on collars and cuffs deriving from their origin as the Elector of Hesse's Guards.

In World War II the elite German Division 'Großdeutschland' contained a regiment titled 'Panzerfuesiliere'/'Panzer Fusiliers', to maintain the old German traditions. The modern German Army has no fusiliers.

Netherlands Army

In the Royal Netherlands Army, one of the two foot guards regiments, the Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene is a regiment of fusiliers. The Royal Netherlands Army ( Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land forces element of the Military of the Netherlands. Foot guards is a term used to describe elite Infantry Regiments British Army The Foot Guards are the Infantry Regiments of the The Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene is a Regiment of the Royal Netherlands Army, named after Princess Irene, the sister of Queen Beatrix

Belgian Army

The Belgian Army has no specific regiment called fusiliers, but the general denomination for infantry soldiers is Storm fusilier (Dutch: stormfuselier - French: fusilier d'assaut). The Land Component (French Composante Terre, Dutch Landcomponent) formerly the Belgian Army, is the land-based service of the Belgian Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people

The Belgian Navy used to have a regiment of marine infantry composed of marine fusiliers in charge of the protection of the naval bases. For, see Royal Navy (disambiguation|Belgian Naval Component (disambiguation}}. This unit has now been disbanded in the 1990s reforms however.

Portuguese and Brazilian Army

The Portuguese and Brazilian marines are called Fuzileiros Navais (Naval Fusiliers). Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Marines (from the English adjective marine, meaning of the sea, from Latin language mare, meaning sea via French adjective In the Brazilian Army, all infantry soldiers are called fusiliers.

External Links

References

See also

The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an Irish Infantry Regiment of the British Army, one of eight Irish regiments raised and garrisoned A musketeer (mousquetaire was an early modern type of Infantry Soldier equipped with a Musket. Rifleman is a private Soldier in a rifle unit of Infantry. Origins Although ultimately originating with the 16th century handgunners and the 17th A grenadier (derived from the word Grenade) was originally a specialized soldier first established as a distinct role in the mid to late 17th century for the throwing of grenades

Dictionary

fusilier

-noun

  1. An infantryman armed with a form of flintlock musket
  2. (UK) A soldier in any of several regiments that once fought with such weapons
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