Irlandaise brigade

The Irish Brigade ( French la Brigade irlandaise ) was a brigade of the French army formed from Irishmen - also called Wild Geese - which was established in 1690 and disbanded after the French Revolution . Some of their infantry regiments came to be known as Bulkeley O'Brien de Clare, Dillon, O'Gilwy, and Berwick.

History of unity

The story of the "Irish Brigade" belongs in the larger context of the presence of foreign mercenaries in the ranks of the French army before the revolution of 1789. The systematic recruitment of foreigners began as early as the 16th century; According to estimates by the French military historian André Corvisier, 12% of French soldiers in peacetime and up to 20% in wartime were of foreign origin, besides Irish and the like. a. also the particularly valued Swiss , Germans , Italians , Scots or Walloons . The French army was not unusual in the use of foreign mercenaries. This was common among all European military powers, a well-known example being the Hessians who fought on the side of the British during the American War of Independence .

Up to eight Irish regiments in French service can be proven after 1635, the last one was dissolved in 1791. The permanent formation of Irish units is related to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, after which the dethroned English King James II sought help in France. In exchange for French troops who supported James II after landing in Ireland (from where he hoped to retake his kingdom), 5,000 Irish soldiers under Justin MacCarthy, Viscount Mountcashel were transported from Kinsale to Brest in 1690 . These soldiers formed a brigade within the French army. The force led by Mountcashel comprised three infantry regiments, named after their colonels and owners Clare, Dillon and Lee. In the following years she took part in the Palatinate War of Succession (1689–1697) and fought a. a. in the battles at Steenkerke (1692), Neerzüge (1693) and Marsaglia (1693).

Another large influx of Irish soldiers came after the capitulation of Limerick and the treaty signed in 1691 sealed the defeat of the Jacobite party in Ireland. Under the terms of the treaty, some 12,000 Jacobite soldiers sailed for France under the command of Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan , in an event known in Ireland as the "Flight of the Wild Geese" . This term was later generally applied to Irish mercenaries in foreign armies. Initially, an army in exile for Jacob II was formed from the soldiers. These troops, separated from the French army but paid by France, comprised ten infantry regiments with 17 battalions , three independent companies , two divisions of guard cavalry and two cavalry regiments with a total of 12,300 men. Together with the 6,000 members of the Irish brigade, around 18,300 Irish were in French service.

As part of a reform of the French army, the Jacobite army in exile was dissolved in 1698 and merged with the Irish Brigade. Since King Louis XIV recognized William of Orange as King of Great Britain, he could no longer maintain an army for the Stuart pretender. However, this does not change anything in the Jacobite self-image of the soldiers, as their participation in the Jacobite revolts of 1715 and 1745 shows (see below). After the reform was completed, the Irish Brigade comprised eight infantry regiments, each with a battalion, each with 700 men, a total of 5,600 infantrymen. The regiments again bore the names of their colonels and owners: Albemarle, Berwick, Burke, Clare, Dillon, Dorrington, Galmoy and Lee. In terms of cavalry, only the Sheldon cavalry regiment consisting of two squadrons was retained. Thousands of soldiers, for whom there was no longer any use after the dissolution of their regiments, the French crown - according to the custom of the time - left to themselves, which is why many of them resorted to begging, theft and robbery in order to survive. This contributed to long-lasting prejudices against the Irish in France .

As a result, the brigade was used in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) and took a. a. participated in the battles of Höchstädt (1704), Ramillies (1706) - where the Clare regiment allegedly captured a British flag that is still displayed in Kylemore Abbey today - and Malplaquet (1709). After the end of the war there was another reduction. The Berwick, Clare, Dillon, Dorrington and Lee regiments, as well as the cavalry regiment now named after the new owner, Christopher Nugent, remained, the Burke regiment entered service in Spain , the others were dissolved. Her relatives joined the remaining regiments.

As a result, there were no more significant organizational changes. The Irish Brigade participated in all of France's wars in the 18th century and in most major battles. Her best-known combat mission to this day was in the War of the Austrian Succession on May 11, 1745 at the Battle of Fontenoy , when she was on the verge of defeat by a British infantry column that had broken through the French lines and the army under Hermann Moritz von Sachsen had brought to a halt and finally forced the enemy to retreat. The brigade played an essential part in ensuring that the French finally achieved victory in this battle, which was very costly for both sides. Also in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763) Irish regiments served in both Europe and a. in the Battle of Roßbach (1757) - as well as on the theaters of war in North America and India and were also used during the American War of Independence . After the French Revolution, the Irish Brigade was disbanded in 1791 as part of the reorganization of the French Army, like most other units formed from foreigners.

Nevertheless, France supported insurrections in Ireland in 1796 and 1798 with Franco-Irish troops; The brigade's successor was the Régiment Irlandais , which Napoléon Bonaparte set up in 1803 from participants in the Irish uprising of 1798. It did not acquire any particular military significance, but with Jacques MacDonald a veteran of the Irish Brigade was appointed Marshal of France by Napoleon .

Role in Jacobite uprisings

The strong connection of the Irish Brigade with the Jacobite cause is shown by the fact that parts of both the uprising of 1715 and the revolt of 1745 under Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") participated. An infantry battalion of the Irish Brigade and a cavalry squadron made up of members of various regiments decided the Battle of Falkirk in 1746 in favor of the Jacobites and, after the defeat of Culloden, prevented the complete annihilation of the escaping Jacobite army. In contrast to the other wounded and prisoners whom he had executed as rebels, the British commander Cumberland regarded the members of the Irish Brigade as regular prisoners of war and had them treated accordingly. Other members of the Irish Brigade came into British captivity by hijacking their ships while attempting to reach Scotland. The case of Charles Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater , a captain of the Dillon Regiment, who was executed in London after his capture in 1746 on a previous death sentence, caused a sensation .

composition

Recruits for the Irish Brigade were mostly recruited in Ireland from members of the Catholic landed gentry, who provided most of the officers. Up until 1745 it was officially permitted in Ireland to take part in foreign military service, since in this way a large number of unemployed, young Catholic Irish - potential agents of a revolt - came out of the country. In view of the military role of the Irish Brigade in the uprising of 1745/46, the British government changed its policy and now prohibited recruiting for foreign armies in Ireland. From this point on, the number of Irish in the men of the Irish Brigade declined, but the officers' corps continued to consist largely of Irish nobles. Despite this development, English remained the command language until 1791. This makes the paradox-sounding statement that many Gaelic- speaking Irish acquired their first knowledge of English in the French army.

The soldiers were long-serving mercenaries. Theoretically, they committed themselves for at least six years, in practice the hours of service fluctuated greatly. The daily pay of six sous (from 1762 eight sous) was higher than that of local soldiers and roughly corresponded to the income of a craftsman or farmer.

Despite being called the Irish Brigade, a number of Scots and English also served in the regiments. Research by the “Center for Irish-Scottish Studies” at Trinity College in Dublin has shown that for every ten Irish there are about two Englishmen and one Scotsman. Most of them came from the circle of the Jacobites and their environment and therefore went into exile in France.

Flags and uniforms

Flags and uniforms of the Irish Brigade showed that it did not see itself as a French mercenary force, but as an army in exile of the Stuarts. The soldiers wore the scarlet uniforms typical of the British British Army , the regimental flags showed the English Cross of St. George and the four crowns of England, Ireland, Scotland and France. Most of the flags had an Irish harp in the middle .

literature

John O'Callaghan: History of the Irish Brigades in the Service of France, London 1870 (reprinted by Shannon 1968)
Mark McLaughlin: The Wild Geese, Osprey 1980

Web links

Individual evidence

^ List of French infantry regiments of the early modern period

[1] List of French infantry regiments of the early modern period