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Chasseurs à pied bugler, illustration by Édouard Detaille in L'Armee Française (1885)

The Charging Chasseur by Théodore Géricault, depicting an officer of the Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde Impériale.

Chasseur d'Afrique in 1914.

Chasseur (/ʃæˈsɜːr/ shass-UR; French: [ʃasœʁ]), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry (chasseurs à pied) or light cavalry (chasseurs à cheval) to denote 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 six hundred strong mixed force of infantry and cavalry. It was called Fischer's chasseurs.^[1] During the remainder of the 18th century various types of light troops (troupes légères) were employed within the French army, either as independent units or as companies within existing regiments.

Chasseurs à pied

The chasseurs à pied were the light infantrymen of the French Imperial army. They were armed the same as their counterparts in the regular line infantry (fusilier) battalions, but were trained to excel in marksmanship and in executing manoeuvres at high speed. From 1840, they wore a long-skirted frock coat. After 1850, however the chasseurs adopted a uniform consisting of a short frock coat with slits in the sides on the bottom edge to allow for better freedom of movement than the previous design. They also wore light blue baggy trousers (in contrast to the red of the line infantry)^[2]
tucked into jambières (leather gaiters).^[3] The other light infantry unit type, the voltigeurs, specialised as skirmishers and for advance screening of the main force. The chasseurs could also be called upon to form advance guards and scouting parties alongside the voltigeurs.

Following the Napoleonic Wars the chasseurs à pied continued to exist as a separate corps within the infantry. Initially a specially trained elite, their tactical role eventually came to match that of the ordinary lignards (line infantry). By the late 19th century the differences between the two branches were confined to uniform and insignia, although the chasseurs retained a strong esprit de corps. Immediately after the Franco-Prussian War it was argued that the continued existence of an elite class of infantry that was armed and trained to the same standards as the ordinary soldier, was contrary to both military utility and the egalitarian principles of the new republic. However public opinion, influenced by the occasions on which the chasseurs had distinguished themselves during the war was opposed to the disbanding of this distinctive corps. Under the Third Republic the chasseurs à pied were increased from 20 to 30 battalions. Of these, four saw active service in Tunisia, one in Indochina and one in Madagascar during the period 1880-1896. Twelve of the chasseur battalions were re-designated as mountain infantry (chasseurs alpins). The remaining chasseur battalions were deployed near the frontier with Germany as part of the troupes de couverture, charged with covering the bulk of the army during mobilization.

World War I memorial to the chasseurs à pied in Charleroi

During World War I the French Army maintained 31 battalions of infantry chasseurs plus a varying number of reserve and territorial units. Each infantry division was expected to include at least one battalion of either chasseurs à pied or chasseurs alpine. Each battalion had an establishment of 1300 to 1500 men. They were reportedly nicknamed schwarze Teufel (black devils) by their German opponents, in reference to their dark colored uniforms. The chasseurs served mainly on the Western Front but detachments were sent to reinforce the Italian front in 1917.

Chasseurs à cheval

The chasseurs à cheval, a type of French light cavalry, date from 1743 when an independent unit (Fischer's Volunteer Company of Chasseurs) was raised during the War of the Austrian Succession to counter Trenck's Pandurs and Croats employed as irregulars by the Austrian army. Originally a mixed corps of light infantry and horsemen, this force proved sufficiently effective to warrant the creation of a single corps: Dragoons-chasseurs de Conflans. In 1776 this and other volunteer "legions" had their mounted elements converted into 24 squadrons of chasseurs à cheval, each of which was attached to one of the existing dragoon regiments of the royal cavalry. In 1779 these squadrons were amalgamated into six regiments, each of which was given a regional title (1st Chasseurs des Alpes, 2nd Chasseurs des Pyrenees, etc.). In 1788 six dragoon regiments were converted to chasseurs à cheval and during the period of the Revolutionary Wars the number was again increased, to twenty-five.^[4]

During their earlier history these regiments lacked the higher profile of the identically-armed (but much more lavishly uniformed) hussars. Distinguished by dark green uniforms and a bugle-horn badge, 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. In addition Napoleon added a further five line regiments to those inherited from the Revolutionary period. At the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the French Army had twelve regiments of chasseurs à cheval, grouped with eight hussar regiments to form the light branch of the cavalry and tasked with primarily reconnaissance duties.^[5] This intended role continued through World War I and the chasseurs à cheval remained entirely horse mounted until the 1^er RCh was motorised in June 1940.^[6] Disbanded after the Battle of France, these units were reconstituted in 1944–45 as light armor.

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.

Flanqueurs Chasseurs

In preparation for the invasion of Russia, Napoleon ordered a further creation of units for the Guard that included Régiment de Flanqueurs-Chasseurs de la Garde Impériale that were with the other regiment of Flanqueurs-Grenadiers mainly composed with sons and nephews of forest service civil servants or with young people that wanted to grant a position within the Waters and Forests Administration after their military service.
These light infantry soldiers were supposed to flank the marching army to prevent any sudden attack.

Chasseurs Forestiers

The chasseurs forestiers (forest huntsmen) were militarized units of the Waters and Forests Administration. They were organized in 48 companies and many sections. In the French colonial empire, they were mounted infantry organized in three light horse squadrons. The chasseurs forestiers existed between 1875 and 1924.
The chasseurs forestiers were elite light infantry troops and could form advance guards and scouting parties due to their knowledge of natural fields and their ability to make or read maps, as well as to provide wood for the rest of the army.

Modern French Army

The modern French Army still maintains chasseurs à pied (mechanized infantry: 16^e BC), chasseurs-alpins (mountain troops: 7^e, 13^e, 27^e BCA) and regiments of chasseurs à cheval (1^er-2^e RCh and 4^e RCh: light armored regiments). In addition one regiment of chasseurs d'Afrique (training unit: 1^er RCA) has been re-raised to commemorate this branch of the French cavalry. Since May 1943 there has been a "Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes" (1^er 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 "Régiment de Chasseurs Alpins". It was in fact the 5th Bataillon.

Belgian army

From its creation as a permanent force in 1832 the Belgian army included regiments of both chasseurs à pied and chasseurs à cheval, performing the same roles as their French counterparts. Their lineage is a continuation of Oranje-Nassau regiments of hussars and light-dragoons from which they were originated, and which themselves have roots in the older army of the United-Provinces (back to the 16th and 17th centuries), making the Dutch and Belgian regiments some of the oldest units in Europe and the World. At the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 there were three regiments of Chasseurs à pied, each of three battalions, and three regiments of mounted Chasseurs.^[7]

In 2011, the 1st Regiment of Chasseurs à cheval/Guides (result of the fusion of the 1st Chasseurs à Cheval and the Regiment of Guides in 2004] was amalgamated with the 2nd/4th Regiment of Chasseurs à cheval, in order to form the Battalion Chasseurs à Cheval (Bataljon Jagers te Paard). The battalion is dedicated to the ISTAR missions and has the standard of the 1st Chasseurs à Cheval.

U.S. Army

The U.S. Federal Army adopted Chasseurs during the Civil War as a scouting and skirmishing force for use against the Confederate army. Their uniform was patterned after the French style, with the short, vented coat, though they were issued grey kepis. A notable unit of Civil War Chasseurs were the 65th New York Volunteer Infantry (also known as the 1st United States Chasseurs). The Chasseurs were involved in the peninsula campaign, as well as the Appomattox campaign, and lost a total of 146 men. They were distinct for choosing to wear M1858 uniform hats (more popularly known as Hardee hats) rather than the kepis.^[3][8]

The 14th Brooklyn, one of the most famous regiments of the Civil War, wore a Chasseur uniform their whole term.

In 1862, following the capture of Confederate-held New Orleans by Federal soldiers, an all black regiment named the Chasseurs d'Afrique was raised.^[9]

Argentinian Army

In the Argentinian Army, the term Cazador (Spanish for hunter, although in a military context it means chasseur or ranger) is used to designate certain special units trained to operate in specific geographical areas, such as mountain or jungle. Currently, there are two independent companies of cazadores de montaña (mountain rangers) and three of cazadores de monte (jungle rangers).

See also

• Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde Impériale


• Jäger (military)


• Voltigeurs


• Chasseurs d'Afrique


• Zouaves

References

External links

• Chasseurs alpins


• Chasseur from the french forces in Germany


• French Grenadiers, Chasseurs and Fusiliers of the Napoleonic Wars


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