Slitherine

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Did French artillery batteries have regimental flags showing battle honours? Would these be with the unit (any particular battery) during battle?

Blathergut wrote:(Wish we had sub-forums.)

Did French artillery batteries have regimental flags showing battle honours? Would these be with the unit (any particular battery) during battle?

If they were like the British Artillery the guns were the standards.

Don't think I have ever seen any depictions of artillery with flags. Might have been reserved for their home depots, besides the way you have been losing guns in our last few games you need "have you seen our missing artillery" posters for your batteries

david53 wrote:

Blathergut wrote:(Wish we had sub-forums.)

Did French artillery batteries have regimental flags showing battle honours? Would these be with the unit (any particular battery) during battle?

If they were like the British Artillery the guns were the standards.

The Guns are the COLOURS of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, (and the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery also BTW).
'Standards' are carried by Heavy Cavalry, 'Guidons' by Light Cavalry and 'Colours' by Infantry. Some units carry 'Banners', but that's another story,..
If the French did have colours (or Standards) for their Artillery Regiments, then they would probably kept them at their depots I suspect.
The French did have Marine Artillery Regiments, and they did carry Eagles (with a flag) when fighting as Infantry as in 1813.
Not sure what (if any) Battle Honours would have been on their colour.
They did fight well however,...

I have also seen musicians for artillery units as well but I don't know if they took the field. I suspect that the flags were left at the depot- losing your artillery to the enemy was humiliating enough!

Blathergut wrote:(Wish we had sub-forums.)

Did French artillery batteries have regimental flags showing battle honours? Would these be with the unit (any particular battery) during battle?

Osprey Men at Arms 77 – Flags of the Napoleonic Wars plate B and age 10 shows and describes the guidon for the French Imperial Guard Horse Artillery but makes no reference to Guard or line Field or line Horse artillery .

Michael Head in his 1970 Almark publication "French Napoleonic Artillery" describes guidons and flags for of all of them in Appendix 4.

Nothing in Dawson et al

Battle honours were not shown on guidons but were on flags for French foot artillery.

It would not be surprising if other nations followed suit especially allies of France who modelled themselves on French lines eg Army of Italy and Westphalia but I have no evidence in my library that I have yet unearthed.

How they would be used/deployed in practice battle is another issue . Constituent batteries ( aka companies) would be less likely than infantry regiments be deployed together in the same sector of a battle field or even in the same Corps so maybe left at home or in the HQ or with the reserve might have been the practice. On the other hand horse artillery might have a practical use for a rallying point being more mobile. We need some contemporary accounts Regimental and personal diaries.

That said we often deploy flags and standards in wargames for other units that were not carried eg the Russian Guard cavalry vexillium so do we mind terribly much if folks show them! There is room for such sentiment!