Osprey Men-at-Arms 304 : Louis XV's Army (3) : Foreign Infantry

By long-standing tradition, as well as by sheer numbers, in the time of Louis XV 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, arguably one of the world's finest fighting units. Marshal Maurice de Saxe, himself a foreigner, defined rather strikingly the value of foreign troops in 1748: 'A German' [or other foreign soldier in French pay], he wrote, '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 skills. In this third of five books covering the army of Louis XV [Men-at-Arms 296, 302, 304, 308 & 313], René Chartrand examines the organisation and uniforms of the foreign infantry and artillery troops backed by numerous illustrations and eight full page colour plates by Eugène Lelièpvre.

Contents

• Introduction
• Swiss Troops of the Royal Guard
• Foreign Line Infantry Organisation
• Uniforms
• Other 'Foreign' Units
• Milice Garde-Cote
• Select Bibliography
• The Plates