Chasseurs d'Auvergne
The Chasseurs d'Auvergne, later the 7éme Bataillon de Chasseurs, was a light infantry battalion of the French Royal Army which served during the French Revolutionary Wars before being disbanded in 1796. The battalion's successor the 82éme Régiment d'Infanterie continued to serve in the modern French Army until it was disbanded in 1940 after the Battle of France.
| Chasseurs d'Auvergne 7éme Bataillon de Chassers (Auvergne) | |
|---|---|
 Regimental uniform after formation in 1788. | |
| Active | 1788–1794 |
| Country |   .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Allegiance | King of France French Nation |
| Branch | |
| Type | Chasseurs à Pied |
| Size | Battalion |
| Part of | Army of the Rhine Army of Custines |
| Headquarters | Brioude |
Formation
On 1 May 1788 in Brioude, the Chasseurs d'Auvergne were formed from the infantry companies of the Chasseurs à Cheval des Pyrénées, and immediately after formation moved to Clermont-Ferrand for training. The regiment's first uniform consisted of; black tricone (officers in bicorne), pink turnbacks, dark green jacket, dark green breeches, dark green gaiters, black boots, dark green pockets, pink trimmed dark green pockets, pink trimmed dark green cuffs, pink cuff flaps, and white buttons.[1][2][3][4]
Revolution
On 1 April 1791, provisional regulations were announced following the initial stages of the French Revolution, and the regiment renamed as the 7éme Bataillon de Chasseurs (Auvergne), but they continued to be known as their former title until 1792. In addition to the new title, the regiment adopted a new uniform; peak casque, with stiff black horsehair crest and mock leopard skin turban helmet, pink turnbacks, dark green jacket, dark green breeches, dark green gaiters, black boots, dark green pockets, pink trimmed dark green pockets, pink trimmed dark green cuffs, pink cuff flaps, and white buttons.[1][2][4]
War of the First Coalition
In September 1791, the battalion moved to Puy and Saint-Flour before being redirected to Strasbourg and Fort-Louis du Rhin to join the vanguard of the Army of the Rhine Armée du Rhin. The next year, the battalion joined the Army of Custines, and showed great bravery on 9 November during the Battle of Limburg. On 20 March 1793, two companies distinguished themselves at the vanguard engagement in Stromberg, where General Prus Zekuly was defeated.[2]
On 30 March 1793 during the Battle of Ober-Flörsheim, the battalion supported the efforts of the 13éme Régiment d'Infanterie de Ligne (Bourbonnais) which brought the town to order. From 12 to 14 September, they distinguished themsevles yet again during the Battle of Nothweiler Camp. On the 14th, at daybreak, they left Bobenthal, followed by the 1st Haute-Saône and 1st Vosges Battalions and attacked the enemy camp from the left of the entrenched position. Leading his detachment, Lieutenant Burneau was the first the enter the redoubts and continued a bayonet charge which cause the entire enemy force to route.[2]
The years following the Revolution saw great changes for the French Army: the old royalist infantry regiments were to serve as the stiffening for the tens of thousands of new volunteers who answered the patriotic Levée en masse. In the First Amalgamation of 1794, each old royalist battalion was put together with two new volunteers battalions to become new Demi-Brigade de Bataille or Demi-Brigade of Battle. Therefore, on 26 December 1794, the battalion amalgamated with the 1st Corrèze and 2nd Dordogne Volunteer Battalions to form the new 7éme Demi-Brigade d'Infanterie Légère. It was at this point that the royalist lineage was ended, and the battalion officially disbanded.[2][4][5]
Commanding Officers
Commanding officers of the battalion (later regiment) included:[2]
- 1788–1791 Jean-Pierre-François, Chevalier de Chazot
- 1791–1792 Christophe, Baron de Tournelles
- 1792–1792 Jean-Jacques de Trentinian
- 1792–1796 Gabriel-François-Louis de Becdeliévre
Footnotes
- Susane, Volume I, pp. 311, 313–314, 364, 369, 399, 404.
- Susane, Volume VII, pp. 383–384.
- Lienhart & Humbet, pp. 57–58.
- Smith, Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, p. 42–47.
- Smith, Napoleon's Regiments, pp. 183–184.
References
- Louis Susane, Historie de l'Ancienne Infanterie Français, Volume I, 1849 Naval and Polytechnical Military Library of Paris, Paris, France.
- Louis Susane, Historie de l'Ancienne Infanterie Français, Volume VII, 1853 Naval and Polytechnical Military Library of Paris, Paris, France.
- Dr. Constance Lienhart & Réne Humbert, The Uniforms of French Armies 1690–1894; Volume 3: The Infantry, Originally published in 1906, re-printed in 2020, Zanica, Italy. ISBN 978-8893275255.
- Digby Smith, Napoleon's Regiments Battle Histories of the Regiments of the French Army, 1792–1815, 2000 London, United Kingdom. ISBN 1-85367-413-3.
- Digby Smith & Jeremy Black, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, 2015 Lorenz Books, London, United Kingdom. ISBN 978-0-7548-1571-6.