Fusilier is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While fusilier is derived from the 17th-century French word fusil – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has been used in contrasting ways in different countries and at different times, including soldiers guarding artillery, various elite units, ordinary line infantry and other uses.
The word fusil, which was the name of the type of musket carried by a fusilier, is itself derived from the Old French and Latin foisil, meaning a piece of flint.[1]
Flintlock small arms were first used militarily during the early 17th century. Flintlocks, at the time, were more reliable and safer to use than matchlock muskets, which required a match to be lit near the breech before the weapon could be triggered. By contrast, flintlocks were fired using a piece of flint. By the time of the English Civil War (1642–1652), one flintlock musket, the snaphance, was in common use in Britain.
The term fusiliers was first used officially by the French Army in 1670, when four fusiliers were distributed among each company of infantry.[2] The following year the Fusiliers du Roi ("King's Fusiliers"), the first regiment composed primarily of soldiers with flintlocks, was formed[2] by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban.
Guarding and escorting artillery pieces was the first task assigned to the Fusiliers du Roi: flintlocks were especially useful around field artillery, as they were less likely than matchlocks to accidentally ignite open barrels of gunpowder, required at the time to load cannon.[2] At the time, artillery units also required guards to maintain discipline amongst civilian draymen.[3] Hence the term fusilier became strongly associated with the role of guarding artillery in Britain and the English-speaking world,[3] especially after the formation of the first official "Fusilier" units, during the 1680s. As late as the Seven Years' War of 1756–1763, the Austrian Army maintained an Artillery Fusilier Regiment for the exclusive roles of providing support for field batteries on the battlefield and of protecting the artillery when on the march and in camp.[4]
During the 18th century, as flintlocks became the main weapon used by infantry, the term fusilier gradually ceased to have this meaning and was applied to various units.[2]
The Belgian Army has no specific regiment called fusiliers, but the general denomination for infantry soldiers is storm fusilier (Dutch: stormfuselier; French: fusilier d'assaut).
The Belgian Navy used to have a regiment of marine infantry composed of marine fusiliers in charge of the protection of the naval bases. However this unit was disbanded in the 1990s reforms.
Adopting a number of practices from the Portuguese military in the 19th century, the Brazilian Army uses the term fuzileiros (fusiliers) to designate the regular line infantry, as opposed to the grenadiers (granadeiros) and the light infantry (caçadores and atiradores). In addition, the Brazilian Marine Corps is called Fuzileiros Navais (Naval Fusiliers).
There are five fusilier regiments, patterned on the British tradition, in the Canadian Army. The Royal 22nd Regiment, although not fusiliers, wears fusilier ceremonial uniform with scarlet plumes, because of its alliance with the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
The five current Canadian fusilier regiments are:
Former Canadian Army fusilier regiments include the following:
By the mid-18th century, the French Army used the term fusiliers to designate ordinary line infantry, as opposed to specialist or élite infantry, such as grenadiers, voltigeurs, carabiniers or chasseurs.
The modern French Army no longer uses the term fusiliers, although a number of its infantry regiments descend from fusilier regiments.
The term fusiliers is still used in the navy and air force. They provide protection detachments, performing security and policing duties on land bases and installations as well as on ships. The commandos are selected from their ranks. The commandos are special forces units. They are:
Prussia made early use of the title Füsilier for various types of infantry. In 1705, the Foot Guards (Leibgarde zu Fuß) were designated as Fusilier Guards.[5] By 1837, low-quality infantry raised from garrison companies also were named fusiliers. These latter units were dressed in blue with low mitre caps.[6] Between 1740 and 1743 Frederick the Great raised 14 separate Fusilier Regiments (numbers 33–40, 41–43 and 45–48).[7] Except for the mitre caps, these new regiments were identical in appearance, training and role to the existing line infantry (musketeers).
Subsequently, Prussia and several other German states used the designation Füsilier to denote a type of light infantry, usually dressed in green and acting as skirmishers. In the Prussian Army, they had been formed in 1787 as independent battalions, with many of the officers having had experience in the American Revolutionary War. The Prussian reforms of 1808 absorbed the fusiliers into the third battalion of each line infantry regiment. Now wearing the same Prussian blue uniforms as standard musketeers, they were distinguished by black leather belts, and a slightly different arrangement of cartridge pouches.
In the Prussian Army of 1870, Infantry Regiments 33 to 40 plus Regiments 73 (Hanover), 80 (Hesse-Kassel) and 86 (Schleswig-Holstein) were all designated as fusiliers, as was the Guard Fusilier Regiment. In addition, the third battalions of all guard, grenadier and line infantry regiments retained the designation 'Fusilier Battalion'. They were armed with a slightly shorter version of the Dreyse rifle (Füsiliergewehr), that took a sword bayonet (Füsilier-Seitengewehr) rather than the standard socket bayonet. Although still theoretically skirmishers, in practice they differed little from their compatriots, as all Prussian infantry fought in a style that formed a dense 'firing' or 'skirmish' line.
By the 1880s, the title was honorific and, while implying 'specialist' or 'elite', did not have any tactical significance. In a sense, all infantry were becoming fusiliers, as weapons, tactics and equipment took on the fusilier characteristics – that is: skirmish line, shorter rifles, sword bayonets, black leather equipment, and the use of bugles (rather than drums) to relay commands. Nonetheless, these titular units remained in existence until the end of the German Imperial Army in 1918, as follows:
In addition, there was the following regiment:
This was a special case, as it was also classed as Schützen (sharpshooter): this designation originally signified a type of Jäger (rifleman, literally 'hunter'), and thus the regiment wore the Jäger-style dark green uniform.
The various Fusilier regiments and battalions in the German Imperial Army of 1914 did not have any single distinctions of dress or equipment to distinguish them as fusiliers. Individual regiments did, however, have special features worn with the dark blue full dress. Some of these features were maintained on the field grey dress of the trenches right up to 1918. As examples in full dress, the Guard Fusiliers had nickel buttons and yellow shoulder straps, and the 80th Fusiliers special braiding on collars and cuffs (deriving from their origin as the Elector of Hesse's Guards). When a regiment was permitted the distinction of a horse-hair plume on the pickelhaube, for fusiliers it was always black. This included the third (Fusilier) Battalion of those regiments normally distinguished by a white horse-hair plume.
In World War II, the elite German Division Großdeutschland contained a regiment titled Panzerfüsiliere ('Armoured Fusiliers'), to maintain the old German traditions. This was again titular, as in organisation, appearance and tactical use they were essentially Panzergrenadiere. The modern German Army has no fusiliers.
On 1 January 1969, the Mexican Army created the Parachute Fusilier Brigade (Brigada de Fusileros Paracaidistas) with two infantry battalions and a training battalion. The brigade's role is that of a strategic reserve, based in Mexico City.
In the Royal Netherlands Army, one of the two foot guards regiments, the Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene, is a regiment of fusiliers.
From the 18th to the 19th centuries, the term fuzileiros (fusiliers) was used in the Portuguese Army, to designate the regular line infantry, as opposed to the grenadiers (granadeiros) and the light infantry (caçadores and atiradores). The Portuguese Army discontinued the use of the term in the 1860s.
The term fuzileiros marinheiros (fusilier sailors) has been used in the Portuguese Navy, since the late 18th century, to designate the naval infantry. The modern Portuguese Marine Corps is called Fuzileiros Navais (Naval Fusiliers).
Line infantry soldiers of the lowest rank in the Swiss Army have historically been designated as fusiliers. Because the modern Swiss infantry soldier is trained in a much broader variety of tasks than his earlier counterpart, and because of some supposedly negative connotations attached to the term Füsiliere, modern infantry battalions of the Swiss army have been renamed Infanteriebataillone or "Inf Bat".[8] The individual soldiers are officially called Infanteristen, not Füsiliere, but colloquially they are still referred to as Füsiliere or Füsle. This meaning is retained in the name of the 1938 Swiss film Fusilier Wipf.
The original fusiliers in the British Army were the 7th Foot, Royal Regiment of Fuzileers raised in 1685. This subsequently became The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). The original purpose of this unit was to act as escort to artillery guns, as well as keeping discipline amongst the civilian drivers.[3] Both Scots (21st Foot) and Welsh (23rd Foot) regiments also became fusiliers in the period up to and including 1702 and all three regiments were distinguished by the wearing of a slightly shorter version of the mitred cap worn by grenadier companies of all other infantry regiments. A number of additional infantry regiments were subsequently designated as fusiliers during the 19th century, but this was simply a historic distinction without any relationship to special weapons or roles.
In 1865, a distinctive head-dress was authorised for British Army fusilier regiments.[9] Originally a sealskin cap for other ranks,[10] this was replaced by a black raccoon skin cap of 9 inches (23 cm) in height, according to the 1874 Dress Regulations.[11] However, fusilier officers wore a taller bearskin like their counterparts in the foot guards.[12] The badge for each regiment was placed at the front of the bear or raccoon skin headdress, and consisted of a stylized flaming grenade, with different emblems placed on the ball of the grenade.
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Attached to the various types of fusilier headdress, including the modern beret, is the hackle. This is a short cut feather plume, the colours of which vary according to the regiment. Initially, the only regiment authorised to wear a plume or hackle were the 5th of Foot (Northumberland Fusiliers). The regiment had originally worn a white feather distinction, authorised in 1824 to commemorate the victory of St Lucia in 1778 when men of the Fifth Regiment were supposed to have taken white feathers from the hats of dead French soldiers. When, in 1829, a white plume was ordered for all line infantry regiments, to preserve the Fifth (Northumberland) Regiment's emblem, they were authorised to wear a white plume with a red tip, allegedly to indicate a distinction won in battle. The Fifth were designated fusiliers in 1836.
Following the Second Boer War, plumes were added to the headgear of all fusilier regiments in recognition of their service in South Africa.
The following fusilier regiments existed prior to the outbreak of World War I:
| Regiment | Pre-1881 title | Year of designation as fusiliers | Badge (on flaming grenade)[9] | Plume or hackle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northumberland Fusiliers | 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot | 1836 | Within a circlet inscribed Quo Fata Vocant St George and the Dragon | Red over white (1829) |
| Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) | 7th (Royal Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot | On raising in 1685 | The Garter surmounted by a crown; within the Garter a rose; below the Garter the White Horse of Hanover | White (1901)[13] |
| Lancashire Fusiliers | 20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot | 1881 | The sphinx superscribed Egypt within a laurel wreath | Primrose yellow (1901).[14] The 20th Foot wore yellow facings until 1881. |
| Royal Scots Fusiliers | 21st (Royal Scots Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot | Between 1686 and 1691 (exact date unknown)[15] | The royal arms | White (1902)[15] |
| Royal Welsh Fusiliers | 23rd (Royal Welch Fusiliers) Regiment of Foot | 1702 | The Prince of Wales's plumes, coronet and motto (Ich dien) | White |
|
1881 | The Castle of Inniskilling | Grey (1903). The colour commemorated the original uniform of the "Grey Inniskillings" of 1689.[16] | |
|
1827 (87th Foot) | A French Imperial Eagle upon a plinth inscribed "8" within a laurel wreath | Emerald green | |
| Royal Munster Fusiliers |
|
|
The arms of the Province of Munster within a laurel wreath bearing 10 battle honours. A scroll at the base inscribed Royal Munster. | White over green |
| Royal Dublin Fusiliers |
|
|
The arms of the City of Dublin within a wreath of shamrock, at the base an elephant on a tablet inscribed Mysore and a tiger on a tablet inscribed Plassey, all over a scroll inscribed Spectamur Agendo. | Blue over green[17] |
The nine regiments of fusiliers that existed in 1914 have since been reduced to one by a series of disbandments and mergers:
In addition, the Scots Guards were known as the Scots Fusilier Guards from 1831 to 1877.