The Musketeers are known to most people as the brave heroes of Dumas' novels shrouded in a halo of romance. In fact, musketeers in the 16th-17th centuries were a branch of infantry troops whose soldiers were armed with hand-held firearms - a musket. Also, in addition, they had a saber, more often a sword, in their arsenal.
In the 16th century in France, musketeers reinforced light infantry companies of spearmen, one per company. Subsequently, with the increasing role of firearms in hostilities, the number of soldiers armed with muskets increased significantly. During the religious Thirty Years' War in Europe, the number of musketeers was up to two-thirds of all infantry.
One of the first military units in Russia, which were armed with firearms, were archers - semi-regular troops of a territorial type.
The arrival of the Royal Musketeer Company
In 1622, at the court of King Louis XIII of France, the first company of the royal musketeers was organized from the units of the guards cavalry. This branch of the army was an elite unit, which consisted of people of only noble blood. The musketeers were armed in the same way as the ordinary infantrymen. It was these musketeers who later became the prototypes of the protagonists of works of art and films.
At their core, the royal musketeers acted as the king's personal bodyguards. Initially, the company of the royal musketeers consisted of 107 soldiers: 100 privates and 7 officers. Their number was constantly growing, and under Louis XIV there were already two companies, the total number of soldiers and officers was 500 people.
It is worth noting that this was the real military elite of the French army, the royal musketeers more than once heroically manifested themselves on the battlefields and performed real feats. Behind them, the title of the most desperate unit was rightfully entrenched. They also behaved desperately, boldly and dangerous for the inhabitants in a peaceful life, in between battles.
In Paris XVII, the expression "musketeer manners" even appeared, which was used to refer to boastful, rude and very dangerous people. In addition to exploits in war and "lawlessness" in peaceful life, the royal musketeers are also known for their punitive expeditions aimed at suppressing various popular uprisings and planting Catholicism. Here they also fearlessly shot peaceful peasants and bourgeois who took up arms.
Initially, the musket was understood as the heaviest type of hand weapon, designed mainly to engage targets protected by armor.
The decline of the musketeer era
By the middle of the 18th century, the fame of the king's musketeers had practically died out. The Seven Years' War of 1756-1763, which ended unsuccessfully for France, was the last large-scale military conflict in which this unit participated. The company of the royal musketeers was disbanded in 1775 due to financial problems. Subsequently, several unsuccessful attempts were made to revive this branch of the army. The last time Napoleon tried to do this was in 1814, but after only 2 years the company was disbanded, this time finally and forever.
