Soldier child

Soldiers' children ( French: enfants de troupe ) were sons of married persons of the military class (as well as the officer corps up to the captain as well as deceased staff officers ) in France , who were granted a certain educational allowance in order to lead them back into a military career. At the beginning of the 20th century there were still 5,000 positions available for this purpose, which were firmly distributed among the individual branches of service .

Soldiers' children stayed with their relatives until they were 13, who were paid annual cash allowances. These soldiers' children could then enter one of the six military preparatory schools ( Écoles militaires préparatoires ) in Rambouillet , Montreuil-sur-Mer , St. Hippolyte du Fort and Les Andelys (for the infantry ), in Autun (for the cavalry and gendarmerie ) and in Billom (for artillery , engineers , transportation, and naval troops).

The school leavers joined the troops immediately, with an obligation to initially serve five years, otherwise the relatives had to pay half of the costs of schooling.

From the Middle Ages to the early modern period , soldiers' children were the children of soldiers without a place of residence, who were mostly born in a garrison . In the case of soldiers' children, the name of the regiment in which the father served was given as the “place of birth” .
Soldier children mostly had no alternative but to become a soldier themselves. However, if the father was a respected man, then soldiers' children had very good prospects for advancement in the army .