All Topics  
Chasseur

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Chasseur
 
 
  Topics Chasseur Topic Home

A Chasseur [sha-sur; Fr. sha-sœr] (a French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 term for "hunter") is the designation given to certain regiments of French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 light infantry
Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who are primarily trained for the role of fighting on foot. A soldier in the infantry is known as an infantryman. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on fitness, physical strength and aggression....
 (Chasseurs à pied) or light cavalry
Light cavalry

Light cavalry refers to lightly-armed and armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored....
 (Chasseurs à cheval) troops, trained for rapid action.

name Chasseurs à pied (light infantry) was originally used for infantry units in the French Army recruited from hunters or woodsmen.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Chasseur'
Start a new discussion about 'Chasseur'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


A Chasseur [sha-sur; Fr. sha-sœr] (a French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 term for "hunter") is the designation given to certain regiments of French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 light infantry
Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who are primarily trained for the role of fighting on foot. A soldier in the infantry is known as an infantryman. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on fitness, physical strength and aggression....
 (Chasseurs à pied) or light cavalry
Light cavalry

Light cavalry refers to lightly-armed and armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored....
 (Chasseurs à cheval) troops, trained for rapid action.

History


Chasseurs à pied

The name Chasseurs à pied (light infantry) was originally used for infantry units in the French Army recruited from hunters or woodsmen. Recognized for their marksmanship and skirmishing skills, the chasseurs were comparable to the German Jäger
Jäger (military)

J?ger Literally, J?ger is a German language word for "hunter". In English language it is often written with the plural J?gers, or as jaeger or incorrectly jager to avoid the Umlaut ....
 or the British light infantry
Light infantry

Traditionally light infantry were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, Harassment and delaying the enemy advance....
. The Chasseurs à Pied, as the marksmen
Marksmen

The Marksmen were an American singing quartet in the 1950s specializing in spiritual and country music. The group backed up Red Foley on the Grand Ole Opry, and followed him to American Broadcasting Company's Ozark Jubilee in 1955....
 of the French army, were regarded as elite light companies and regiment
Regiment

A regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. Depending on the nation, military branch, mission, and organization, a modern regiment resembles a brigade, in that both range in size from a few hundred to 5,000 soldiers ....
s.

Chasseur alpin
Chasseurs alpins

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

The elite mountain infantry of the French Army. Trained to operate in mountainous terrain and in urban warfare.

Chasseurs à cheval

The Chasseurs à Cheval, (light horse) 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 did however win recognition as the distinctively French branch of the light cavalry (the hussars were perceived as being of Hungarian/German origin) and both Napoleon's Imperial Guard
Imperial Guard

The Imperial Guard was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the La Grande Armee under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time....
 and the Royal Guard of the Restoration
Restoration

selfref|To restore an article that has been deleted, see...
, included a regiment of Chasseurs à Cheval.

During the French occupation of Algeria regiments of Chasseurs d'Afrique
Chasseurs d'Afrique

The Chasseurs d'Afrique were a light cavalry corps in the French Army of Africa . First raised in the 1830s from regular French cavalry posted to Algeria, they numbered 5 regiments by World War II....
 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
    Alpini

    The Alpini, , are the elite mountain warfare soldiers of the Italian Army. They are currently organized in two operational brigades, which are subordinated to the Alpini Corps Command....
    ) 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.


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
Léon Weil

L?on Roger Weil was one of the last two surviving veterans of the battle of Val-de-Marne in World War I. He was almost 110 when he died at the Val-de-Gr?ce military hospital in Paris, France....
 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.

External links