The Uniforms of the French Army under Napoleon I (1800 - 1815) - Foreign Troops - Swiss

Traditionally, the French army included so-called foreign regiments; in particular, Switzerland provided such formations.

In this context one should recall the Swiss Guard, which belonged to the oldest and most distinguished units of the French army and perished tragically on 10 August 1792 while defending the royal palace. Of the 900 Swissmen who were on duty that day, a total of 800 fell or died as a result of their wounds (Kannik).

Even after the Revolution and during the Napoleonic Wars, Swiss regiments were to belong to the French army. Already on 27 September 1803 a corresponding capitulation was concluded with the Swiss cantons.

Accordingly, the French Republic took 16,000 men of "Swiss troops into its service" (Art. 1). These were to form four regiments (Art. 2), each consisting of a regimental staff and four battalions (Art. 3). These were also to be supplemented by artillery (Art. 4). The Swiss had to be between 18 and 40 years old and without infirmity. The term of service was initially limited to four years but could be extended (Art. 7; printed in Fieffé, Fremdtruppen, Vol. II).

The 1st Swiss Regiment was formed on 15 March 1805. It arose from the remnants of the former three Swiss demi-brigades. The other three Swiss regiments were formed on 10 October 1806. The artillery mentioned above had already been created on 19 April 1803 and was assigned to the 1st Swiss Regiment on 1 April 1806. The Swiss regiments belonged to the best troops in Europe and distinguished themselves above all in the extremely costly rearguard actions during the retreat at the Berezina. At Waterloo, according to Haythornthwaite, only a composite battalion of the Swiss with a total strength of 730 men saw action. It fought mainly at the bridge of Wavre.

The Swiss regiments wore uniforms in the style of the French infantry, but in the striking scarlet color.

The individual regiments were distinguished by the color of their facings. For the 1st Swiss Regiment it was yellow with sky-blue trim, for the 2nd Swiss Regiment royal blue with yellow trim, for the 3rd Swiss Regiment black with white trim, and for the 4th Swiss Regiment sky-blue with black trim. In the facing color were the collar, the lapels and the sleeve cuffs as well as the plackets and the skirts.

Voltigeurs wore, among other things, epaulettes of a different color, here green with yellow piping.

The officers had gold lace and epaulettes (the 1st Swiss Regiment had these in silver until 1812). The shako corresponded to the usual French model. It bore the eagle at the front.

Grenadiers (and sappers) wore the bearskin cap. The grenadiers initially had red epaulettes, but these did not contrast sufficiently with the red coat. Therefore they were later replaced by white epaulettes.

The fusilier wears the collet (spencer) with closed lapels. This had replaced the old coat with long skirts in 1812. The breeches are white. The gaiters are black.

In addition to the four Swiss regiments discussed, a so-called Valais battalion also belonged to the French army. This had been formed pursuant to an agreement of 8 October 1805 with the canton of Valais and numbered 661 men (Cassin-Scott). It distinguished itself especially in the fighting on the Iberian Peninsula, in particular at the siege of Girona. In 1811 the unit was disbanded or taken over by the 11th Light Infantry. The uniform followed the French style and also showed the traditional red color of the Swiss. The facing color was white. The grenadiers wore yellow grenades on the white collar (not shown here) and white epaulettes (here shown as red). The grenadiers wore shakos with a red peak and red cords. Among the voltigeurs the peak was yellow and the cords were green, and the fusiliers' shakos had green pompons and white cords. Cassin-Scott also reports blue coats.