Régiment Irlandais
The Régiment Irlandais was a military association of the First Empire during the Napoleonic Wars .
Formation history
The Irish mercenaries ( wild geese ) of the ancien regime had been naturalized in 1791 and their three regiments were given the white uniforms of the French infantry, so that when the republic was proclaimed no independent Irish troops were in French service. The Irish Legion ( légion irlandaise ) was formed on August 31, 1803 from Irish refugees from the uprising of 1798 and initially consisted of only one battalion . In 1805 a second battalion was set up with British prisoners and deserters and the legion was converted into a regiment, which eventually grew to five battalions, of which only the first two consisted solely of Irish. On August 3, 1811, the regiment was renamed the 3rd Foreign Regiment. It took part in the campaigns in Spain and Germany and was dissolved in 1814.
uniform
The uniform and equipment followed the example of the light infantry , but the basic color was green and the badge color was yellow. Carabiniers and sappers wore fur hats without tin; their lap envelopes were decorated with red grenades, those of the voltigeurs with red hunting horns. The shako fitting made of yellow metal was of the general model (from 1811 with the regimental number) and had a hunting horn with the voltigeurs. The fittings of the Tschakomodelle 1812 showed the stamped regimental number for the grenadiers, while for the voltigeurs and hunters the number was stamped on a hunting horn.