Lyonnais Infanterie
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Origin and History
The regiment was raised on 13 November 1616 by Nicolas de Neufville, Marquis de Villeroi. It pretended to trace its origins in the old Bandes de Piémont.
In 1617, the new regiment took part in the capture of Félissan, Non and La Roque. In 1618, it was reduced to its Mestre de camp company who remained in Lyon.
On 7 July 1621, during the Huguenot rebellions (1620–1628), the regiment was re-established and went to the siege of Montauban. In 1622, it took part in the sieges of Sainte-Foy and Briteste, near Albi. At the end of the campaign, the regiment was once more reduced to a single company who remained in Sainte-Foy. On 13 August 1624, it was re-established. In 1625, it campaigned in Piedmont where it took part in the siege of Gavi, in the capture of Cairo, in the defence and combat of Verua and in the retreat towards Acqui. It was disbanded once more on 26 May 1626.
On 13 March 1629, during the War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–31), the regiment was definitely re-established at 10 companies and obtained the 14th rank in the French infantry. Its rank then immediately followed the rank of Poitou Infanterie till 1775. It was assigned to the Army of Savoy and went to Susa. In April, it occupied places in Savoy. In September, the French forces retired to Casale, throwing 4 companies of the regiment into Ponte di Stura. These companies were soon joined by the rest of the regiment. In April 1630, the captains of the regiment forced the French commander at Ponte di Stura to sign a capitulation by which the regiment had to retire to France. However, the regiment retired to Pignerol which it kept for France by treason.
In 1632, the regiment was at Lyon when the rebellion of the Duc de Montmorency broke out. The regiment was sent to Vivarais and contributed to quench the insurrection organised by the Baron de Lestranges, making itself master of the Castle of Tournon. In 1633, it was transferred to Lorraine where it occupied Lunéville.
In March 1635, at the outbreak of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–59), the regiment took part in the siege of Speyer. On 15 September, it received the name of the Province of Lyonnais. In 1636, it was sent to Italy where it participated in the sieges of Valencia, Candia, Palestre and Sartirane; and in the Battle of Buffalora. In 1637, the regiment was increased to 30 companies and took part in the defence of Asti and in the engagement of Montebaldone. In 1638, it took part in the relief of Brema and in the resupply of Vercelli; in 1639, in the storming of the entrenchments in front of Cencio, in the resupply of Casale, in the combat of the Road of Quiers, in the siege of Chivasso, and in the failed attempt to relieve of Turin; in 1640, in the capture of the castles of Busco and Revel, in the storming of the entrenchments at Casale and in the relief of Rusignano. In 1641, the regiment was transferred to Catalonia where it took part in the capture of Vals, Lescouvette, Fort de Salo and Constantin, in the siege of Tarragone, in the assault on Tamarit, and in the relief of Almenas. In 1642, it took part in the combat near Vals, in the storming of Monçon, in the siege and capture of the Castle of Monçon, in the capture of Tamarit, and in the relief and battle of Lérida; in 1643, in the relief of Flix, Mirabel and Cap de Quiers; in 1644, in the siege of La Mothe, in the combat of Lérida; in 1645, in the siege of Roses. In 1646, the regiment was sent to Tuscany where it took part in the combat and siege of Orbitello, and in the siege of Piombino. It was then sent to Elbe Island where it contributed to the capture of Portolongone before returning to Italy where it garrisoned Piombino till the end of 1649. In 1650, the regiment was recalled to France to quench the troubles of the Fronde, taking part in the capture of Bellegarde (Seurre) in Bourgogne before returning to Italy and taking cantons in Piedmont. In 1651, it was once more recalled to France where it campaigned in Bourgogne and Nivernais. In 1653, it returned to Italy where it took part in the engagement of La Roquette. In 1654, it was stationed in Pignerol. In 1655, it took part in the relief of Bersello and in the siege of Pavia; in 1656, in the siege of Valencia; in 1657, in the siege of Alessandria; and in 1658, in the siege of Mortare.
During the ensuing peacetime, the regiment assumed garrison duty in Lyon.
In 1667, at the outbreak of the War of Devolution (1667–68), the regiment went to the camp established near Saint-Germain-en-Laye and then to Flanders where, along with Picardie Infanterie, it took part in the sieges of Douai, Tournai and Lille. In 1668, it took part in the siege of Dôle and in the capture of Gray.
In September 1669, 10 companies of the regiment were part of the troops destined for the expedition against Crete but the enterprise failed before their departure. In 1670, the regiment campaigned in Lorraine where it distinguished itself at the siege of Épinal. In 1671, it was at the camp of Dunkerque.
In 1672, at the outbreak of the Franco-Dutch War (1672–78), the regiment took part in the sieges of Wesel and Emmerich, in the passage of the Rhine, in the capture of the Fort of Nijmegen, and in the capture and destruction of Bodegrave, Swammerdam and Niewerbrug; in 1673, in the capture of Unna; in 1674, in the capture of Pesmes, in the siege and capture of Gray, in the capture of Vesoul and Lons-le-Saulnier, in the investment of Besançon, and in the siege of Salins; in 1675, in the sieges of Dinant, Muy and Limbourg, in the combat of Consaarbrück, in the defence of Trier. In 1676, the regiment was transferred to Flanders where it took part in the sieges of Landrecies and Condé, in the protection of the sieges of Bouchain and Aire, and in the relief of Maastricht. In 1677, it took part in the capture of Valenciennes, in the relief of Saint-Omer, and in the Battle of Mont-Cassel; in 1678, in the capture of Ghent and Ypres, in the combat of Saint-Denis, near Mons
In 1679, the regiment campaigned in Germany where it took part in the Battle of Minden. In 1683, it was at the sieges of Courtrai and Luxembourg.
In 1688, at the outbreak of the Nine Years' War (1688–97), the regiment was sent to the Rhine where it took part in the sieges of Philisbourg, Mannheim and Frankenthal. In 1689, it took part in the defence of Mainz. In 1690 and 1692, it campaigned once more in Germany. In 1692, its 2 battalions arrived in Flanders for the siege of Namur. They also fought in the Battle of Steenkerque. In 1693, the regiment took part in the Battle of Neerwinden, and in the siege of Charleroi; in 1694, in the march from Wignamont to d'Espierres; in 1695, in the siege of Dixmude, in the capture of Deynse, and in the bombardment of Bruxelles
By the time of the War of the Spanish Succession, the regiment counted two battalions.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, the regiment was commanded by:
- since 28 March 1683 to 25 February 1714: Louis-Nicolas de Neufville Marquis d'Alincourt
Service during the War
In 1701, one battalion was sent to Flanders and the other one to the Rhine. In August, the battalion serving on the Rhine was transferred to Italy.
In January 1702, the battalion previously serving in Flanders also arrived in Italy where the regiment was reunited. On 15 August, it fought in the Battle of Luzzara where it was deployed at the extreme left of the second line. It also took part in the capture of Luzzara and Borgoforte. In December, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Tricaud, it distinguished itself at the capture of Bondanella, an important post on the Po, that Prince Eugène had garrisoned with 2,000 men.
In 1703, the regiment followed the Duc de Vendôme in Tyrol and took part in the combats of Stradella and Castelnuovo de Bormia, and in the capture of Nago, Arco and Asti. On 18 August, Captain de Poligny, detached with 200 grenadiers, attacked 700 peasants and 60 Austrian grenadiers entrenched on a mountain, driving them back and killing most of them. After this difficult campaign, the regiment took its winter-quarters in Montferrat.
In 1704, the regiment took part in the siege of Vercelli and Ivrea, and started the siege of Verua. On 26 December, the garrison of Verua made a sally and made itself master of the leftmost batteries. The Lyonnais Brigade finally drove them back. In this action, Captain de Champigny was wounded.
In the night of 1 to 2 March 1705, the regiment took part in the general attack against Verua. It was charged to storm the curtain of the Fort de l'Isle. It later took part in the capture of Chivasso and, on 16 August, in the Battle of Cassano.
On 19 April 1706, the regiment was at the Battle of Calcinato. It then took part in the siege of Turin and, on 7 September, in the disastrous Battle of Turin which forced the French army to abandon Italy. On its arrival in France, the regiment counted only 374 men.
In 1707, the remnants of the regiment served in the defence of Antibes and Toulon against the invasion of the Imperialists. After the retreat of Prince Eugène, the regiment was sent to Flanders.
On 11 July 1708, the regiment was at the Battle of Oudenarde.
On 11 September 1709, the regiment was at the Battle of Malplaquet.
In 1711, the regiment took part in the attack against Arleux.
On 24 July 1712, the regiment took part in the Battle of Denain where it was the first unit to penentrate into the entrenchments defended by the Duke of Albemarle at the head of 17 elite battalions. The regiment attacked these positions without hesitation and Captain Tricaud took the Duke of Albemarle prisoner. The regiment later took part in the capture of Douai, Le Quesnoy and Bouchain.
In 1713, the regiment was transferred to Germany where it took part in the siege of Landau and in the engagement in front of Freiburg.
Uniform
Privates
| Headgear |
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| Neck stock | white | ||||||||||||
| Coat | grey-white with red lining; copper buttons on the right side and 1 copper button on each side in the small of the back
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| Waistcoat | green with copper buttons | ||||||||||||
| Breeches | grey-white | ||||||||||||
| Stockings | red fastened under the knee with a natural leather strap | ||||||||||||
| Gaiters | none at the beginning of the war, white later | ||||||||||||
| Leather Equipment |
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Armaments consisted of a musket and a bayonet. Fusiliers carried a sword (brass hilt) while the grenadiers had a sabre.
NCOs
NCOs wore uniforms very similar to those of privates with the following distinctions:
- red cuffs edged with a golden braid
- green waistcoat edged with a golden braid and decorated with golden laced buttonholes
Officers
Officers wore uniforms similar to those of privates but made of finer cloth. Furthermore, the officers of this particular regiment wore red waistcoats (privates wore green waistcoats) with gilt buttons and gold laced buttonholes.
Musicians
Exceptionally, Lyonnais Infanterie was the only provincial regiment where musicians did not wear the king's livery, wearing instead the livery of its colonel. The livery of the House of Villeroi, to which belonged the Marquis d'Alincourt, was green with an aurore (light orange) lining and decorated with alternating gold and aurore braids. Furthermore, the coats of drummers were decorated with a white cross on the chest (and probably on the back) with a silver fleur de lys terminating each branch of the cross. Drummer wore red stockings.
Colours
Colonel Colour: white field with a white cross.
Ordonnance Colour: a white cross with blue and black opposed cantons.
 Colonel Colour - Copyright: Gilbert Noury |
 Ordonnance Colour - Copyright: Gilbert Noury |
References
This article incorporates texts from the following books which are now in the public domain:
- Susane, Louis: Histoire de l'ancienne infanterie française, J. Corréard, Paris, 1849-1856, Tome 4, pp. 221-240
Other sources
Funcken, Liliane and Fred: Les uniformes de la guerre en dentelle, p. 55
Lemau de la Jaisse, P.: Abregé de la Carte Générale du Militaire de France, Paris, 1734, p. 107
Marbot, Alfred de and E. Dunoyer de Noirmont: Les uniformes de l'armée française, T1 "1439 à 1789"
Rousselot, Lucien: Infanterie française (1720-1736) (II)
