Chasseur

Bugler of the foot chasseurs (1885)

This article is about the French military unit. For other uses, see Chasseur (disambiguation).

The foot Chasseur of the pont de l'Alma in Paris, by Auguste Arnaud (1825-1883), now displayed in the redoute de Gravelle

Chasseur [sha-sur; Fr. sha-sœr] (a French term for "hunter") is the designation given to certain regiments of French light infantry (Chasseurs à pied) or light cavalry (Chasseurs à cheval) troops, trained for rapid action.

History

This branch of the French Army originated during the War of the Austrian Succession when, in 1743, Jean Chrétien Fischer was authorized by the Marshal de Belle-Isle to raise a company. It was called Fischer's chasseurs.^[1]

Imperial Army

Chasseurs à pied

The Chasseurs à pied were the light infantrymen of the French line. They were armed the same as their counterparts in the regular line (Fusilier) infantry battalions but were trained to excel in marksmanship and in executing manoeuvres at high speed. The other light infantry unit type, the voltigeurs, specialised in skirmishing and advance screening of the main force. The chasseurs could also be called upon to form advance guards and scouting parties alongside the voltigeurs.

Chasseurs à cheval

The Chasseurs à Cheval, a type of French light cavalry date from 1779. For much of their history these regiments were generally not held in as high esteem as their infantry counterparts, or the identically armed (but much more lavishly uniformed) hussars. They were frequently used as advance scouting units providing valuable information on enemy movements. Both Napoleon's Imperial Guard and the Royal Guard of the Restoration each included a regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval.

During the French occupation of Algeria, regiments of Chasseurs d'Afrique were raised. These were light cavalry recruited originally from French volunteers and subsequently from the French settlers in North Africa doing their military service. As such they were the mounted equivalent of the Zouaves.

Modern French Army

The modern French Army comprises bataillons of Chasseurs à pied (mechanized infantry : 16e BC),Chasseurs-Alpins (mountain troops : 7e, 13e, 27e BCA) and regiments of Chasseurs à cheval (1er-2e RCh and 4e RCh : light armored regiments). In addition one regiment of Chasseurs d'Afrique (training unit : 1er RCA) has been re-raised to commemorate this branch of the French cavalry. Since May 1943 there has been a "Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes" (1er RCP).

All of these units have different traditions :

• Bataillons de chasseurs are light infantry units created after 1838. Some of these battalions were converted to specialized mountain units as Bataillons de Chasseurs Alpins in 1888, as an answer to the Italian Alpine (Alpini) regiments stationed along the Alpine frontier.

• Régiments de chasseurs are units of the "Arme Blindée Cavalerie" : armoured units. The basic organic unit is called regiment and not bataillon to avoid confusing cavalry and infantry chasseurs.

• The airborne infantry units called Régiments de chasseurs parachutistes were created in 1943 with airborne troops from the French Airforce (GIA or Groupe d'Infanterie de l'Air), who were transferred into the Army.

• Chasseurs Alpins are the elite mountain infantry of the modern French Army. They are trained to operate in mountainous terrain and to undertake urban warfare.

Although the traditions of these different branches of the French Army are very different, there is still a tendency to confuse one with the other. For example when World War I veteran Léon Weil died, the AFP press agency stated that he was a member of the 5th "Regiment de Chasseurs Alpins". It was in fact the 5th Bataillon.

See also

• Voltigeurs
• Jäger (military)
• Cazadores

References

1. ^  "Fischer, Jean Chrétien". New International Encyclopedia. 1905. 

External links

• Chasseurs alpins
• Chasseur from the french forces in Germany
• French Grenadiers, Chasseurs and Fusiliers of the Napoleonic Wars