All those colorful 17th century names for troops seem to be in disuse.
I understand that the German Army (WWII) had grenadier regiments.
But what about dragoons? Any army still have them?
I’m not sure what fusilers did-are they still around?
The British Army has oodles of them:
The infantry regiments in particular have some very antiquated-named sub-units, such as the Royal Regiment of Scotland:
looks like it:
And apparently both France and the UK are still using the title Fusilier for some regiments.
They have Missileers.
All those names still exist, but it’s not as if they mean anything anymore. They’re just tradition, nothing more. Dragoons don’t dismount from horses before battle, fusiliers don’t have shorter firearms, grenadiers don’t throw grenades (any more than other infantrymen, that is), and hussars don’t wear those gay jackets over one shoulder.
You can talk about your Lancers, or your Irish Fusileers, the Aberdeen Militia or the Queen’s Own Volunteers, or any other regiment that’s lying far awa’, but give to me the tartan of the Gallant Forty Twa.
Did they ever actually put those on?
Little-known hussar secret: One of the sleeves was always sewed shut.
Pah, non-functional jackets are nothing compared to hussars with wingsthat "almost threw them out of their saddles when their horses went faster than a trot (when attached to the saddle they slowed down the horse greatly). "
Navies are good at hanging on to traditional names.
Master-at-Arms: originally trained and led crew in hand-to-hand combat, therefore the toughest guy onboard. Thus they became the ship’s police, losing any special weapons proficiency. “Master-at-Urinalysis-Cup” would be more accurate.
Yeoman: filing and word processing. Haven’t yeoed in eons.
Pharmacists Mate: there’s no actual pharmacists except at shore hospitals, so, being his mate must be forelorn duty.
Aviation Boatswains Mate: never touch boats; should be called “aircraftswains mates”
In the US Army, each infantry squad will have two grenadiers. Their primary weapon, is in fact, a grenade launcher.
In Napoleonic times, yes. The justification for over the shoulder was that it acted as extra protection from enemy sabers in combat. But the real reason was fashion. When the situation (e.g. weather) required it, they wore it properly. It’s called a Pelisse, by the way. It had a loop inside the collar so that it could be hooked over the button of the Hussars epaulettes.
Forty years ago there was a battalion of the Fifth Cuirassier Regiment of the French Army stationed at Kaiserslautern, Germany. In the old horse cavalry days cuirassiers were heavy cavalry (big men on big horses) equipped with steel breast and back plates along with a very impressive crested helmet and a honking big straight sword. The guys at K-town were mechanized and armored infantry. The Germans called those outfit Panzer-Grenadiers.
Thanks for the info-I was never sure just what “fusiliers” did-I always thought they lit fuses!
A grenadier’s primary weapon is still the M-4, not the 203 or 320.
For a while, I was a grenadier in the “First Regiment of Dragoons” (1st Cavalry Regiment) in the US Army. Not that anyone referred to us as dragoons, but I suppose technically, I was a Grenadier Dragoon. If I’d thought of it, I wouldn’t have responded to anything else.
I wouldn’t either. Plus, it’d look snazzy on your business cards.
The Pakistan Army still has five battalions of the Animal Transport Regiment. Which I admit is a very boring name.
The French soldiers still actually use fusils, I suppose - the French kept and adapted the term to more modern weapons, and it is simply translated as “gun” or “rifle”. An image search on “fusil” will turn up a lot of pictures of modern day rifles, mainly from French language sites. Somebody who speaks French can probably tell us what the more precise usage is.
You’re not doing it right.