"French eagles and fanions" Topic

hi, i am sure this has been asked and discussed before but i cannot find the previous topics, so sorry for rehashing.

i understand that only the first battalion got an eagle but did they also get a fanion?

second battlions only get a fanion?

does this hold true for forign units such as the dutch and nassau, who both have 1 st and 2nd battalions?

cheers and sorry again
jon

Well I'm only guessing here really but I suspect if you have a full eagle and "drapeaux" you wouldn't need a fanion.
Yes 2nd batalions only get a fanoin (after 1809? would need to check that)
The Dutch become French in 1810 (again I woul dhav eto check) so same regs apply.
Nassau are an allied contingent so had their own flags – no eagles …

Until the 1808 reforms, all line and light battalions received eagles and flags. In 1808, eagles and flags were withdrawn for all except the first battalion, although this seems to have been ignored wherever possible.

Fanions for all battalions in a variety of designs existed from 1809-12, when they were regulated as follows:

1st battalion: Eagle and flag
2nd battalion: White
3rd battalion: Red
4th battalion: Blue
5th battalion: Green
6th battalion: Yellow

However, this change probably only actually happened in the regiments in 1813 as it is known that some regiments carried the earlier, non-standrad, fanions in Russia.

The fanions were supposed to be plain but, this being the French army, colonels managed to acquire decorated ones, often containing an N, a grenade or a hunting horn.

Dutch units carried their own flags (one per battalion) until they were absorbed into the French army, after which they followed French regulations.

Nassauers followed their own regulations and had one flag per battalion.

How ignored was this? Was it not unusual to see eagles in the junior battalions? If that was the case, it would be nice for aesthetic reasons to have more pretty flags in evidence.
I wonder how the junior battalions were supposed to feel any sort of empathy with a plain, single colour piece of cloth.

Up until 1811, junior battalions in some regiments may have carried eagles and flags. This seems to have been particularly the case in places far from the Emperor, such as Spain, where the practice may have lasted until the end of the war in some cases. The army that invaded Russia in 1812 is reported to have been in accordance with the one eagle and flag per regiment rule.

Also, note that in 1813, some of the newly raised high-numbered regiments formed from the National Guard cohorts did not have eagles and flags at the start of the spring campaign.

My 6mm 1809 French army (4th corps at Aspern-Essling) has a mixture of practices; a few units have fanions but the majority have an eagle and flag per battalion because I like them that way:).

The fanions used between 1809 – 12/13 were quite colourful, with the ones that are recorded or preserved being in a variety of patterns of blue and red.

Some examples:
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