12e Chasseurs à pied

Blogger has just struck again...having spent a good couple of hours writing up an article on the great cuirassiers charges at Froeschwiller on 6 August 1870 to mark the 153rd anniversary of the battle, its gone...vanished...not in drafts, not in the trash...just gone...grrr!

Yesterday saw the completion of the second of what will be three battalions of Chasseurs a pied for my build of the French 2nd Corps. 

The 12e battalion formed part of the First Brigade, in Bataille's Second Division, comprising the 12th Chasseurs, 8th and 23rd Line Infantry Regiments, commanded by général de brigade Pouget. However, Pouget had fallen seriously ill on July 25 and Colonel Haca, of the 8th Line had taken command of the brigade. Born in Quesnoy in November 1820, François August Florimond Haca entered St Cyr in 1839. Graduating two years later he went on to serve in Africa from 1850-63. Then followed a period of service with the Bureaux d'Affaires d'Affrique. In February 1869 he was named colonel of the 8th Line. Haca led the brigade at Saarbrucken and Spicheren, but returned to his regiment to lead it at Rezonville and Gravelotte. He was made provisional general de brigade in November when interned after the capitulation of Metz, but not confirmed until 1873. Made general de division in 1880, he died at Orleans in 1897. 

In 1853 Emperor Napoleon III expanded the corps of chasseurs à pied from ten to twenty battalions. The  newly raised 12e battalion had a relatively uneventful service in the Second Empire. It did not serve in the Crimea, but joined the Baltic Expedition that took the Russian fortress at Bomarsund instead, but since the fortress was reduced by the artillery it was not called on to storm the place. Sent to Italy in 1859, it arrived too late for active operations.

In Bataille's Division in 1870 it was not engaged at Spicheren, but was in the thick of the fighting at Rezonville losing 11 officers and 216 men. It was lightly engaged at Gravelotte.

In 1888 it was designated 12e bataillon alpin de chasseurs a pied. It fought throughout the Great War, but was disbanded in 1929. Reconstituted in 1939 it was involved in the Narvik expedition. Disbanded again in July 1940 it was raised again in 1954 and fought in Tunisia and Algeria until finally disbanded in 1962.

I am sure that Stew will be pleased to note that these troops do not have red pants...but the red pants will make their cheerful return next week.