FRENCH INFANTRY REGIMENT ORGANIZATION DURING WAR OF SPANISH SUCCESSION

It seemed to me an easy task to understand how a French Regiment of Infantry was organized during the WSS, but at the end it was not this way. While it was quite simple to understand that there was (for the histrorical regiments) 3 battalions per regiment, it was not that evident how many men there were in a battalion and how many companies (COY's).

I am going to prepeare for a Turin's Museum part of the Battle of Turin, hence I must be very carefull in my researches and in all what I am going to say.

The French Battalion was actually based on 13 companies, 12 of normal line infantry + 1 (on the right of the array of the Battalion) of Grenadiers.

Every Company had around 50 men in total, plus around 30 men for the general staff of the battalion.

In front of each Battalion there was a group of Flags. Originally every Company had one flag but with time the number was reduced due to the fact that companies in campaign were ofter put together in order to fill the losses.

Hence at the epoch there was 3 flags (i.e. 1 every 3 companies with exception of the Grenadiers' company) of whom 2 d'Ordonnance (i.e. with the colours of the single Regiment) and 1 white called Colonnelle. Every regiment had just 1 Colonnelle, it means that is was carried by the first Battallion of each regiment (on the right).. With regard to the guards of the flag, there were 4 sergeants assigned. The 3 flags and 12 sergeants were to form a rank at the center of the battalion 4 paces in advance of the first rank.

It is now interesting to understand how a single company was formed. There is a huge lack of information about this topic, that I found quite curious. To try to solve this problem I went on order for clotht for the Normandie Regiment where I found a precise indication of the numbers of a company: 42 men (plus 2 sergeants) 1 drummer per company (i.e. total 13 per battalion). From another document (Regiment Franc Courtois) we have that the Grendier Company had 47 men (and not 42) and 611 men and 15 drummers and 33 Second officers and 28 sergents (I suspect this unit had 14 companies), so I think a 13 companies battalion had 30 econd officers

The number for sergeants is confirmed by another order for cloth for the Vermandois Regiment dating 1702. In this case we have an order of 1071 hats for soldiers and drummers (so around 520 soldiers per battalion) and 26 hat for sergeants, meaning 13 sergeants X 2battalions.

To these bare numbers must be added the number of Maistre de Logis, Captains, Lieutenants.

There were 13 Captains, 13 Lieutenants and 13 Souslieutenant; A Battallion Commander, with around 2 aides de camps and around 8 sousofficers.

This providess a number for battalion:

551 men (whose 47 grenadiers)

13 drummers

26 sergeants

3 standard-bearers

12 Guards of the flags

13 captains

26 officers +

1 commander

24 General staff. (4 Second officers and 20 NCO)

So a fighting force of 669 men; obviously these numbers could vary a little according to circumstances)

Company Organization 

and finally the Battalion Organization

And here an entire Regiment