"Brigade, Division & Corps Flags?" Topic

Did the French and Prussians use any flags or banners to mark where the Brigade, Division and Corps HQs?

I am making some command bases for my FPW game, and I'm sure they must have had some sort of flag, even if it was just a rank flag for the brigade commander.

Also, the U.S.A. was using them in the ACW, so I assume they got the idea from someone else.
Thanks for any info!

I can't say HQs marked with flags is something I've ever come across in the FPW. I've not seen them in photographs or contemporary illustrations (apart from the very fanciful ones of heroic soldiers engaged in hand-hand combat).

I suspect in an era of rifled breechloaders with artillery ranges measured in miles, sticking a big flag on your HQ was a really bad idea. The infantry and cavalry gave up carrying standards very quickly indeed once the shooting started.

The French had flags to mark the place of commanders on the battlefields; there's a plate in the Lienhart & Humbert, which I may provide – but I'm abroad and my collection is not at my hand.

But I remember a fragment of the famous panorama of Rezonville, done by Détaille and Neuville – and found this in the internet at

It shows the flag of Marshal Canrobert held by a sergeant of the French 1st hussars.

When I'm back at home I'll provide the Lienhart & Humbert plate.

The Prussians didn't have a similar system.

Greetings
Markus Stein

Much thanks, Markus. Even knowing that they used a French Tricolor is helpful.

Altho weapons had long ranges, that doesn't mean you have to put it out in the open for all to see. We still use a variety of flags and metal signage for Soldiers to find units when we are training – they are put outside the door of a battalions main tent.

Oooh, that is interesting, I've not seen that picture before. A little tricoleur would be a nice addition to an HQ.

Here are the flags French Army of the Rhine 1st Corps under MacMahon

link

If you want more flags:

link

Finally I got a look into the Lienhart/Humbert, but unfortunately it only gives a plate of the 1880 regulation of staff fanions. But I also checked the Charrié book "Drapeaux et étendards du XIXème siècle" and there I found a smaller chapter about the staff flags – there hadn't been a reglementary use of staff flags in the FPW, the first regulation to come in 1876.

I made a scan of the pages (in French) and added an image of the Lienhart/Humbert plate (be aware, it is for 1880ff) at PDF link

@138SquadronRAF: a nice site but for the French part pay attention, as the cavalry didn't take its flags into the field (cf. TMP link )

Greetings from Berlin
Markus Stein