The 54th Infantry Regiment (''54e régiment d’infanterie'' or ''54e RI'') was a

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Mo ...

regiment of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

History

Early service

It was formed in 1657 during the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

as the ''régiment Mazarin-Catalans'', being renamed the ''régiment Royal Catalan'' in 1661 then the ''régiment Royal Roussillon'' in 1667. The regiment was recruited in the regions of

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of th ...

and

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

. The regiment served at the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession. A second battalion of the Royal Roussillon served in Germany (1756–1762). In 1756, the 54th Infantry Regiment's uniform was white with blue facings, five gilded buttons for the linings and three buttons on each pocket. Its first battalion fought in Canada during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

from 1756 to 1761, under the command of général Louis-Joseph de Saint-Veran, Marquis de Montcalm, with M. de Sennezergue as its colonel. The battalion arrived in

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to King ...

in May 1756, and was originally posted to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, with the exception of a detachment that was sent to

Fort Carillon Fort Carillon, presently known as Fort Ticonderoga, was constructed by Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, Governor of French Canada, to protect Lake Champlain from a British invasion. Situated on the lake some south of Fort Saint Frédéric, it ...

. It fought at the

Battle of Fort William Henry The siege of Fort William Henry (3–9 August 1757, french: Bataille de Fort William Henry) was conducted by a French and Indian force led by Louis-Joseph de Montcalm against the British-held Fort William Henry. The fort, located at the souther ...

. After that victory, the regiment took part in the 1758 Battle of Carillon. It then went to

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

to defend the city. At the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...

, it was broken and forced to flee by steady fire from the British

35th Foot The 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1701. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 107th (Bengal Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1881. History ...

, whose members are traditionally held to have picked up the 54th's plumes and placed them in their own headdress (the Roussillon Plume being formally incorporated into the badge of the 35th Foot in 1881). The regiment participated in the battles of Montmorency,

the Plains of Abraham ''The Plains of Abraham'' is a 1928 novel by James Oliver Curwood. Plot During the last half of the eighteenth century, in what was then New France (now part of Canada), Daniel "James" Bulain, son of a French ''habitant'' and of an English s ...

and Sainte-Foy.Nous étions le Nouveau Monde, Jean-Claude Germain, Hurtibise, p145 2009 At the subsequent siege of Quebec they were unable to subdue the garrison and had to retreat to

. They could not fend off the British three pronged attack against Montréal in September and surrendered there.

Revolution and First Empire

In 1791, just before the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, it lost its royal title and first became the 54th Line Infantry Regiment, then in 1793 the ''54e

demi-brigade A ''demi-brigade'' ( en, Half-brigade) is a military formation used by the French Army since the French Revolutionary Wars. The ''Demi-brigade'' amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single ...

de bataille'' (consisting of the 1st Puy-de-Dôme Volunteers' Battalion and the 1st Indre Volunteers' Battalion). From 1796, it was made up of the 43e demi-brigade de bataille (itself made up of 1st battalion of the 22nd Line Infantry Regiment, 4th

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris.Lot Volunteers' Battalion). In 1803, it reverted to its title of 54th Line Infantry Regiment. Distinguished at Barossa and led the assault on Le Haye Sainte at Waterloo. One battalion was present in the Wagram campaign. Between 1804 and 1815, it lost 23 officers killed, 89 wounded and 14 died of wounds. During this period it fought at: *1792:

Battle of Valmy The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was the first major victory by the army of France during the Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The battle took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops com ...

and

Battle of Jemappes The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of the first major offe ...

. *1793: Battle of Kaiserslautern. *1794:

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

–

Battle of Mainz The Battle of Mainz (29 October 1795) saw a Habsburg army led by François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt launch a surprise assault against four divisions of the French ''Army of Rhin-et-Moselle'' directed by François I ...

. *1799: Battle of Bergen, Battle of Alkmaar. *1800:

Battle of Hohenlinden The Battle of Hohenlinden was fought on 3 December 1800 during the French Revolutionary Wars. A French army under Jean Victor Marie Moreau won a decisive victory over an Austrian and Bavarian force led by 18-year-old Archduke John of Austri ...

. *1805:

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz i ...

. *1806: Crewitz and

Battle of Lubeck A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. *1807: Battle of Ostrołęka and

Battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by Count von Bennigsen. Napoleon and the French obtain ...

. *1808:

Battle of Espinosa The Battle of Espinosa de los Monteros was a battle of the Napoleonic Wars, fought on 10 and 11 November 1808 at the township of Espinosa de los Monteros in the Cantabrian Mountains. It resulted in a French First Empire, French victory under C ...

and Battle of Somosierra. *1809: Battle of Essling,

Battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charle ...

, and Battle of Talavera-de-la-Reyna. *1810: Saint-Louis. *1811: Battle of Barossa,

Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the British–Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida. A bloody stale ...

, and

Battle of Zujar A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. *1812: Siege of Tarifa and

Siege of Cadiz A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

. *1813: Oignon,

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leadin ...

Battle of Maya The Battle of Maya (25 July 1813) saw an Imperial French corps led by Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon attack the British 2nd Division under William Stewart at the Maya Pass in the western Pyrenees. Despite being surprised, the outnumb ...

Battle of Dresden The Battle of Dresden (26–27 August 1813) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany. With the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened ...

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

, and Siege of Danzig. *1814:

Battle of Bar-sur-Aube The Battle of Bar-sur-Aube was fought on 27 February 1814, between the First French Empire and the Austrian Empire. French forces were led by Jacques MacDonald, while the Austrians and their Bavarian allies, forming the Army of Bohemia, were ...

Battle of Fère-Champenoise The Battle of Fère-Champenoise (25 March 1814) was fought between two Imperial French corps led by Marshals Auguste de Marmont and Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise and a larger Coalition force composed of cavalry from the Austrian Empire, ...

, and Maestricht. *1815:

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh C ...

1815–1914

It became a 'légion -Infanterie de ligne' from 1816 to 1820, reverting to 54th Line Infantry Regiment from 1820 to 1854 and finally taking its present name in 1854. From 1828 to 1833, it took part in the

Morea expedition The Morea expedition (french: link=no, Expédition de Morée) is the name given to the land intervention of the French Army in the PeloponneseMorea is the name of the Peloponnese region in Greece, which was mainly used from the medieval period ...

supporting Greek independence, especially the siege of the fort at Morea.

1914–1918

On the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the Regiment was on garrison duties at

Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 ...

as part of France's 23rd Infantry Brigade, itself part of

12th Infantry Division (France) 12th Infantry Division (''12e division d'infanterie'' or ''12e DI'') was an infantry division of the French Army which took part in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I and World War II. It fought at the Battle of the Nations in 1813. It was converted ...

of 6th Army Corps, of which it formed part throughout the war. It took part in 3rd and

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

Armies' retreat, fighting from 5 to 13 September at

Longwy Longwy (; older german: Langich, ; lb, label= Luxemburgish, Lonkech) is a commune in the French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, administrative region of Grand Est, northeastern France. The inhabitants are known as ''Longovicien ...

, Vaux-Marie, Sommaisne, Rembercourt-aux-Pots,

Mouilly Mouilly () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meuse department *Parc naturel régional de Lorraine Lorraine Regional Natural Park ( French: ''Parc naturel régional de Lorra ...

and the

First Battle of the Marne The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...

. It then fought in the Calonne (les Hauts de Meuse- Ouest des Eparges) sector of the trenches from 22 September 1914 to 2 August 1915. Les Eparges was a heavily disputed sector, split between the regiments of France's 12th Infantry Division. From January to May 1915, it fought in operations on the

River Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

and Argonne, both in les Eparges and the

First Battle of Champagne The First Battle of Champagne (french: 1ère Bataille de Champagne) was fought from 1915 in World War I in the Champagne region of France and was the second offensive by the Allies against the German Empire since mobile warfare had ended after ...

. On 24 April that year, the Regiment was brought together to campaign near Rupt-en-Woëvre – before going, it performed a march past the general commanding 12th Infantry Division, who then decorated two of the Regiment's officers with the

Légion d’Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. The Regiment was then mentioned in dispatches for its sustained fighting from 26 December onwards, when the Regiment was put on alert at lunchtime and went on to base itself on the edge of the Châtelaine forest opposite

. On Sunday 25 April it linked up with France's 132nd Infantry Regiment on its left. Under German 105 and 150 bombardment, the 54th was ordered to make its trenches unwinnable. The 87th Infantry Regiment had to attack before the 54th but the attack failed and night arrived. In 1916, the Regiment saw action at

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

and the Somme and the following year during the

Chemin des Dames offensive In France, the Chemin des Dames (; literally, the "ladies' path") is part of the route départementale (local road) D18 and runs east and west in the Aisne department, between in the west, the Route Nationale 2 (Laon to Soissons), and in the east ...

. 1918 saw it fighting once again in the Somme, this time at Grivesnes, le Plessier and the Saint-Aignan offensive on the Aisne, then finally in the Flanders offensive.

1919–1923

The regiment returned to its garrison at Compiègne in August 1919. The merger of the 54th Infantry Regiment into the 67th Infantry Regiment began in February 1923 and effective 1 April of that year the 54th ceased to exist.

World war II

The regiment was recreated in early September 1939 as the 54th Fortress Infantry Regiment, from the 4th Battalion of the 43rd Infantry Regiment. The 54th Fortress Infantry Regiment was part of the

Fortified Sector of the Escaut The Fortified Sector of the Escaut (''Secteur Fortifié de l'Escaut''), also known as the Fortified Sector of the Schelde, was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line between the French border with ...

Battle honours

The Regiment's tie is decorated with the Croix de guerre 1914-1918 with three citations in army orders, one citation in army corps orders and one citation in divisional orders. The Regiment has the right to wear the colours of the Croix on its forage cap. Its colours bear the battle honours: Service Historique de la Défense, Decision N° 12350/SGA/DPMA/SHD/DAT of 14 September 2007

Colonels/chefs de brigade

* 1756: M. de Sennezergue – colonel * 1792: Pierre-Michel-Joseph-Salomon Dumesnil – Colonel. * 1794: Glinec – Chef de brigade. * 1795: Sauvat – Chef de brigade. * 1796: Louis-Prix Vare – Chef de brigade (*). * 1803:

Armand Philippon Armand Philippon (27 August 1761 – 4 May 1836), sometimes called Phillipon, and are examples of the use of "Phillipon", although both historians use both spellings (see and ). was a French soldier during the French Revolution and the subse ...

– Colonel (* *) – wounded 28 July 1809. * 1810: Jacques Saint-Faust – Colonel – wounded 27 February 1814. * 1814: Claude Charlet – Colonel. * 1829: Félix-Louis de Narp. * 1830: François Négrier. (*) Officer who then became général de brigade, (* *) Officer who then became général de division

References

Bibliography

External links

Les Eparges February – April 1915
(account of Général Mordacq)
The 72e RI, April 1915

*{{in lang, fr}

Infantry regiments of France Regiments of the First French Empire 20th-century regiments of France Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Military units and formations established in 1657 1657 establishments in France