"Chassuers Britanniques - " Topic

The rules, Empire 5 has no Foreign troop listing, and Revolution & Empire addresses the Émigré units under the French, so does that cover them. The CB's served in Sicily and the Peninsula. Uniform and name wise they were set up to be Light infantry, but a lot of discussion I have seen says they were more of a Line unit. So for Empire V and R&E- does anyone have them and how do you classify them, and rate them?

I thought Empire V rated everything. I would rate them rather poorly as it was a high desertion unit.

They certainly dressed as light infantry, but I would class them as average to low quality line.

Milkshake +1

I remember reading the diaries of a soldier of the 71st, who were brigaded with the Chassuers Britanniques. His opinion of them was not high…

Wellington would not let them take picket duty. Bad troops who would desert as soon as they could, being mostly French deserters in the first place.

I haven't read Wellington's Mongrels, but I am aware of their high desertion rate if left on picket duty. I would have
thought they had a better combat record, or why would they have been put on the front line in Sicily and especially Spain?

Wellington's Dispatch from Fuentes de Onoro:

' The 8th corps attacked Major General Houston's advanced guard, consisting of the 85th regiment under Major Macintosh, and the 2nd Portuguese Caçadores under Lieut. Colonel Nixon, and obliged them to retire ; and they retired in good order, although with some loss. The 8th corps being thus established in Pozo Velho, the enemy's cavalry turned the right of the 7th Division, between Pozo Velho and Nave d'Aver, from which last place Don Julian Sanchez had been obliged to retire ; and the cavalry charged.

' The charge of the advanced guard of the enemy's cavalry was met by two or three squadrons of the different regiments of British dragoons, and the enemy were driven back; and Colonel La Motte, of the 13th Chasseurs, and some prisoners taken.

' The main body were checked and obliged to retire by the fire of Major General Houston's division ; and I particularly observed the Chasseurs Britanniques under Lieut. Colonel Eustace, as behaving in the most steady manner ; and Major General Houston mentions in high terms the conduct of a detachment of the Duke of Brunswick's light infantry.

link

Nice find Whirlwind. Seems to be the exception rather than the rule though.

Yes- I painted and mounted them as one of the constituent battalions for my 1813-era 7th Division. They aren't listed specifically in EV or R&E, but somewhere in the R&E troop lists (no accees, on travel), emigres are assigned a "Veteran Line" rating. That seemed consistent with some of their comrades in arms in the 7th Division- the Oels Jagers (who also had serious desertion problems) rate Vet Line for 1813, and I assigned the 3rd Provisional (formed out of the 2/53 and 2/24) an arbitrary "Vet Line" rating, since it was formed out of the remnants of two second battalions. The Portuguese line are rated Vet Line, too.