Chef de brigade was a military rank in the French Royal Artillery and in the revolutionary French armies.
Chef de brigade was equivalent to major in the French Royal Corps of Artillery. Each regiment of artillery was divided into two battalions, each of two brigades under the command of a chef de brigade. [1] This rank was given to the best of the Capitaines en premier (first captains) in a regiment, commanding an artillery brigade that would be able to support an army division. [2]
Chef de brigade was equivalent to colonel, in the French Revolutionary army, in command of a demi-brigade. Both that unit (replacing a regiment) and that rank (replacing the rank of mestre de camp) were created at the same time, in 1793. The two designations disappeared just before the institution of the French Empire, in 1803, with the old designations restored.[ citation needed ]
Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a military hierarchy. It incorporates the principles of exercising power and authority into the military chain of command—the succession of commanders superior to subordinates through which command is exercised. The military chain of command constructs an important component for organized collective action.
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In other countries, it is a non-commissioned rank.
Brigadier general or brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000 troops.
Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corresponds to commanding a section or squad of soldiers.
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army, is the principal land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, French Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Staff of the French Army (CEMAT), who is subordinate of the Chief of the Defence Staff (CEMA), who commands active service Army units and in turn is responsible to the President of France. CEMAT is also directly responsible to the Ministry of the Armed Forces for administration, preparation, and equipment.
The Troupes de la Marine was a military body founded by Cardinal Richelieu in 1622 under the denomination of Compagnies Ordinaires de la Mer, were originally intended to form the garrisons of the ships of the King. It was in 1674 that Jean-Baptiste Colbert decided to make permanent colonial troops and give them the name of Compagnies Franches de la Marine.
The Portuguese Army is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its origins going back to the 12th century, it can be considered one of the oldest active armies in the world.
The 11th Parachute Brigade is a unit of the French Army, predominantly infantry, part of the French Airborne Units and specialized in air combat and air assault. The brigade's primary vocation is to project in emergency in order to contribute a first response to a situational crisis. An elite unit of the French Army, the brigade is commanded by a général de brigade with headquarters in Balma near Toulouse. The brigade's soldiers and airborne Marines wear the red beret (amaranth) except for the Legionnaires of the 2ème REP who wear the green beret.
Mestre de camp or Maître de camp was a military rank in the Ancien Régime of France, equivalent to colonel. A mestre de camp commanded a regiment and was under the authority of a Colonel General, who commanded all the regiments in one "arme". The rank also existed in Portugal and Spain, as mestre de campo.
The Tonkin Expeditionary Corps was an important French military command based in northern Vietnam (Tonkin) from June 1883 to April 1886. The expeditionary corps fought the Tonkin Campaign (1883–86) taking part in campaigns against the Black Flag Army and the Chinese Yunnan and Guangxi Armies during the Sino-French War and the period of undeclared hostilities that preceded it, and in important operations against Vietnamese guerrilla bands during the subsequent 'Pacification of Tonkin'.
The Army of the Ardennes was a French Revolutionary Army formed on the first of October 1792 by splitting off the right wing of the Army of the North, commanded from July to August that year by La Fayette. From July to September 1792 General Dumouriez also misused the name Army of the Ardennes for the right wing of what was left of the Army of the North after the split, encamped at Sedan and the name of Army of the North for the left flank of the army.
Jean-Marie Defrance (1771–1835) was a French General of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was also a member of the Council of Five Hundred, and a teacher at the military school of Rebais, Champagne.
A squadron was historically a cavalry subunit, a company or battalion-sized military formation. The term is still used to refer to modern cavalry units, and is also used by other arms and services. In some countries, including Italy, the name of the battalion-level cavalry unit translates as "Squadron Group".
Commandant is a military rank used in many countries, where it is usually equivalent to the rank of major.
Jean-Barthélemot Sorbier, count, (1762–1827), was a French general of the Napoleonic Wars.
François Jean Baptiste Quesnel du Torpt became a division commander under the First French Empire of Napoleon. By the time the French Revolutionary Wars began, he had been a non-commissioned officer in the French army for nearly a decade. Within less than two years he rose to the rank of general officer while fighting against Spain. His career then stagnated until the War of the Second Coalition when he led a brigade in Italy at Verona, Magnano, Cassano, Bassignana where he was wounded, and Novi.
Ranks of the Grande Armée describes the military ranks and the rank insignia used in Napoleon's Grande Armée. Officers and the most senior non-commissioned rank had rank insignia in the form of epaulettes, sergeants and corporals in the form of stripes or chevrons on the sleeves.
The Corps of Observation of the Vendée was a field formation of the French Imperial Army, which took part in the 1815 Vendéen Revolt, one of the minor campaigns of the Hundred Days. Following the end of the War of the Seventh Coalition, the corps was disbanded.
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