Bøger af Rene Chartrand

Explores the official attire, weaponry, and equipment of French colonial troops in North America (1683-1760) through detailed illustrations and rare artifacts.Frontier Soldiers of New France examines the official and regulation dress, weapons and equipment of the regular colonial troops maintained by the French government in North America from 1683 to 1760, including unpublished information with a focus on new illustrations, line drawings, and photos of rare portraits and surviving artefacts from public and private collections.This volume is the first of a series of three that will present all the regular forces that served in New France from 1683, when the first permanent garrisons of royal troops arrived, to September 1760. Many North American military campaigns of that era have been, and continue to be, covered in countless history books. The purpose of this work is, however, to be the first to present in detail the organisation and especially the material culture of all military participants, be they generals or private soldiers. There have been some sections of books, usually brief, and articles devoted to organisation, armament, dress, and equipment previously published. The aim of this work is to present a complete record of these aspects.To achieve this goal, three veteran researchers have consulted primary documents preserved in archives and collections on both sides of the Atlantic during the last half century and have united their efforts to produce a wide-ranging and as accurate as possible record. The result is often intriguing and attractive, both in the regulation uniforms worn by officers and soldiers that might be seen by onlookers at frontier forts as far as the known world (to Europeans) or at fortresses such as Québec and Louisbourg. The weapons and equipment were usually somewhat distinctive. They had weapons, clothing and equipment that became specially adapted to North America's wilderness, thanks to their First Nations allies, be it in the primaeval forests crisscrossed by great rivers and lakes or at the great central plains, which will be covered in volume 2. Volume 3 will be devoted to the battalions detached from the French regular metropolitan army commanded, from 1756, by Montcalm who led an arguably heroic resistance against overwhelming British and American forces. They, too, had surprising aspects of material culture; for instance, the battalions that came in 1755 had different uniforms in Canada than their regulation dress in France.The work is illustrated with period paintings and prints, as well as museum-quality artwork by internationally acclaimed military artists lauded for accuracy combined with fine art. Indeed, some works have already graced academic publications and displays in museums and historic sites.

Covers the full scope of the French East India Company's military prowess and colonial influence, from its global trade dominance to its strategic triumphs in India and Africa.From the early seventeenth century a multitude of French East or West India companies holding overseas trade monopolies and privileges were active in various parts of the world, especially in Africa and Asia. From 1719, they were united into a single vast Compagnie des Indes (Company of the Indies) known to the anglophone world as the French East India Company. In reality it was far more than that, for its trade privileges also covered Africa, other places in Asia from Arabia to China, and North America. Besides a multitude of usually modestly fortified trade lodges and factories, these companies were the actual government representing the Kingdom of France over substantial parts of Africa, India and the Indian Ocean islands as well as Louisiana in America from 1716 to 1731. The profits were expected to cover government operations. The companies had the power to make war where they operated, and thus, private-sector military conflicts often occurred. They, therefore, maintained their own private armies and navies that were totally independent from those of the King of France. These private troops were usually very modest until the formation of the Compagnie des Indes in 1719. Thereafter, as the French company expanded and became involved in the politics of the crumbling Mughal Empire in India, especially during the rule of the imperial visionary Dupleix, the fairly modest number of European soldiers was greatly expanded by enlisting many thousands of Indian soldiers who were given European training, weapons and sometimes uniforms. It was at the 1746 Battle of Aydar that Compagnie des Indes' French soldiers and sepoys utterly defeated a far larger Indian princely army so that dominance of a European nation in India was assured. After a hard fight, though, that nation would be Great Britain thanks to the good and effective support of its government compared to the French disinterest in overseas matters by the late 1750s. Pondicherry fell in 1761, as Senegal in Africa had three years earlier. The Compagnie des Indes, however, went on for another decade until it closed its books in 1770.The monopoly companies had quite a variety of troops posted in many places. The port of Lorient in France was, from the later seventeenth century, the European troops' depot and training center. Some served as marines on the company ships, others in a multitude of forts and trading lodges on three continents. Their recruitment and command are described. In India, their tactical role multiplied and led to the creation of units of gunners, horse grenadiers, dragoons, hussars, and grenadiers, all with very distinct uniforms. There were sepoy, topas and caffre units as well as auxiliary allied princely armies in India, and trained auxiliary soldiers in Africa. The few royal army soldiers sent to India in the late 1750s are also considered. All Indian, African and metropolitan army troops are covered and described in this fully illustrated study.

Volume II of the history of the Canadian Armed forces prior to World War I with complete units histories, uniforms, flags and equipment in color.

Louis XIVs French soldiers and buccaneers fought and created a vast overseas domain in the West Indies and Latin America thanks to his discreet and effective support. This study presents hitherto unpublished data on the strategic impacts, actions, organization, weapons, uniforms, costumes and lifestyles of these extraordinary soldiers.

A new and updated vision of the War of Spanish Succession largely won by the Sun King's armies.

Louis XIV's army in the War of the League of Augsburg, with a focus on the campaigns, the Irish contingent, and the cavalry.

Volume 2 concerns the wars, military politics and geo-strategy from 1672 to 1688 as well as analysis of French and foreign line infantry units.

Though the French and British colonies in North America began on a 'level playing field', French political conservatism and limited investment allowed the British colonies to forge ahead, pushing into territories that the French had explored deeply but failed to exploit. The subsequent survival of 'New France' can largely be attributed to an intelligent doctrine of raiding warfare developed by imaginative French officers through close contact with Indian tribes and Canadian settlers. The ground-breaking new research explored in this study indicates that, far from the ad hoc opportunism these raids seemed to represent, they were in fact the result of a deliberate plan to overcome numerical weakness by exploiting the potential of mixed parties of French soldiers, Canadian backwoodsmen and allied Indian warriors.Supported by contemporary accounts from period documents and newly explored historical records, this study explores the 'hit-and-run' raids which kept New Englanders tied to a defensive position and ensured the continued existence of the French colonies until their eventual cession in 1763.

Volume 1 deals with the Sun King's early years, from his birth in 1638, the resounding victory of Rocroi when he was five and a child king, the unstable years of the Fronde civil wars, his seizure of absolute power in 1661, the initial foreign military adventures culminating with the French army's blitzkriegs of 1667-1668.

The year 1755 saw the rivalry between Britain and France in North America escalate into open warfare as both sides sought to overcome the other's forts and trading posts. This book focuses on a daring feat of arms at the height of the French and Indian War.

This work describes the dramatic and colourful history of the provincial units which were raised in the 13 original American colonies. Units covered include the Virginia Regiment (in which George Washington served), and the "Ranger Companies" of forest guerrillas.

An account of the Battle of Vimeiro in 1808. The battle was part of a string of victories over the French for the future Duke of Wellington. It liberated Portugal from French occupation and secured the vital base from which to prosecute the war in Spain.

Wellington was faced by 80,000 men of the Army of Portugal under Marshal Massena. At Bussaco on 27 September the British/Portuguese force offered battle. This title shows how Bussaco was both a stinging defeat for the French army and a demonstration of the quality of the Portuguese army.