Armies -- Europe -- History -- 19th century; Europe -- Armed Forces -- History -- 19th century
Officers and men are dressed, armed, and equipped very similarly
to the Infantry of the Line (q. v.). They may, however, be readily
distinguished by the broad red stripe on their trousers, and by the
Royal Arms in front of the helmet. The forage-caps of the rank-and-file
are small round ones with a broad yellow band and no brim, worn on the
top of the head. Officers wear a black and gold pouch belt instead of a
sash. The facings are of dark-blue velvet, with yellow edging.
[Sidenote: +Infantry.+]
The British Infantry is composed of—
The Brigade of Guards (3 regiments).
69 Regiments of Infantry of the Line.
1 West India Regiment.
Napoleon the Great said of the British Infantry: “It is the best
infantry in the world; luckily, there is not much of it.” It has
certainly not deteriorated since his day; but, unfortunately, it is not
much more numerous now than it was then.
Two years ago a distinguished Russian general said to an English
Guardsman: “Are your men as fine a lot as they were in ’54?” and on
receiving an answer in the affirmative, said: “I am sorry for it, if we
ever have to fight you again. I had more than enough of them in the
Crimea.” And Moltke said of the late Nile Expedition in 1885: “No one
but English soldiers could have done what they did.”
Such remarks speak for themselves.
The Brigade of Guards consists of three regiments—
The Grenadier Guards, of which there are 3 battalions.
The Coldstream Guards, of which there are 2 battalions.
The Scots Guards, of which there are 2 battalions.
These three regiments form the Sovereign’s Body-Guard, and do not
usually serve out of Europe. The late campaigns in Egypt, however (1882
and 1885), and the prospective campaign in Canada in 1864, in all of
which two or more battalions of Guards took part, go to prove that
every rule has its exceptions.
At home, usually five battalions are quartered in London, and the other
two in Windsor and Dublin respectively.
The uniform of the Guards differs from that of the Infantry of the Line
chiefly in the shape of the facings and in the head-gear, the latter
being the well-known bearskin, with white or red plumes for Grenadiers
or Coldstream respectively. The forage-cap is round, with bands of red,
white, and dice for the three regiments respectively. The armament and
equipment is precisely that of the Infantry of the Line.
Of the 69 Regiments of the Line, one (Cameron Highlanders) consists
of 1 battalion; two (60th King’s Royal Rifle Corps and Rifle Brigade)
of 4 battalions; and the remainder of 2 battalions each. Total 141
battalions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account