Grenadier

A grenadier was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from among the strongest and largest soldiers. By the 18th century, the grenadier dedicated to throwing hand grenades had become a less necessary specialist, yet in battle, the grenadiers were the physically robust soldiers who led vanguard assaults, such as storming fortifications in the course of siege warfare.
Certain countries such as France and Argentina established units of Horse Grenadiers, and for a time the British Army had Horse Grenadier Guards. Like their infantry grenadier counterparts, these horse-mounted soldiers were chosen for their size and strength. In modern warfare, a grenadier is a soldier armed with a grenade launcher, either as a standalone weapon or attached to another service weapon.

Origins

The concept of troops being equipped with grenades dates back to the military of the Ming dynasty, when Chinese soldiers stationed on the Great Wall used thunder crash bombs. The earliest references to soldiers using grenades in European armies dates back to the early modern era in the Austrian and Spanish armies. References to grenade-throwing troops also appear in England during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and it was during the reign of King Louis XIV that companies of soldiers serving as grenadiers were first introduced into the French Royal Army. According to René Chartrand, Jean Martinet formed a grenadier company in the Régiment du Roi in 1667. By 1670 27 French infantry regiments were authorised to include elite companies trained to carry and hurl grenades
The infantry of the Dutch States Army, influenced by their French invaders, adopted grenadiers in 1672. By 1678 six men in each company were trained to throw hand grenades, developed by the Dutch master fireworker Johan van Haren.
In May 1677, the English Army ordered that two soldiers of every Guards Regiment were to be trained as grenadiers; in April 1678 it was ordered that a company of grenadiers be added to the senior eight regiments of foot of the army. On 29 June of that year the diarist John Evelyn saw them drilling at an encampment at Hounslow, near London:

Grenades

The first grenades were small iron spheres filled with gunpowder fused with a length of slow-match, and roughly the size of a tennis ball. The grenadiers had to be tall and strong enough to hurl these heavy objects far enough so as not to harm themselves or their comrades, and disciplined enough to stand at the forefront of the fight, light the fuse and throw at the appropriate moment to minimize the ability of an enemy to throw the grenade back. Understandably, such requirements led to grenadiers being regarded as an elite fighting force.

Early distinctions of dress and equipment

The wide hats with broad brims characteristic of infantry during the late 17th century were in some armies discarded and replaced with caps. This was originally to allow the grenadier to sling his musket over his back with greater ease while throwing grenades. It has been suggested that a brimless hat also permitted the grenadier greater ease in throwing the grenade overhand. Preben Kannik, former Curator of the Danish Army Museum, however, definitely states that grenades were thrown underhand and that it was the slinging of firearms that required the special headdresses typical of early grenadiers.
The grenadiers of the French infantry were by the 1690s distinguished from their musketeer colleagues by special issues of equipment. These included slings for their flintlocks, curved sabres instead of straight swords, large leather pouches for grenades and hatchets.
By 1700, grenadiers in the English and other armies had adopted a cap in the shape of a bishop's mitre, usually decorated with the regimental insignia in embroidered cloth. In addition to grenades, they were equipped with Flintlock muskets. Attached to the shoulder belt was a brass 'match case' that housed the slow match used to ignite the grenade fuse, a feature that was retained in later grenadier uniforms.

Elite status in the 18th century

Grenade usage declined in the 18th century, a fact that can be attributed to the improved effectiveness of infantry line tactics and flintlock technology. The need for elite assault troops remained, however, and the existing grenadier companies were used for this purpose. As noted, above average physical size had been considered important for the original grenadiers and, in principle, height and strength remained the basis of selection for these picked companies. In the British regiments of foot during the 18th century the preference was, however, to draw on steady veterans for appointment to individual vacancies in a grenadier company. The traditional criterion of size was only resorted to when newly raised regiments required a quick sorting of a mass of new recruits. Prior to the Battle of Culloden in 1745 the Duke of Cumberland ordered that grenadier companies were "to be completed out of the best men of their respective Regiments, and to be constantly kept so".
By contrast, French grenadier companies of the 18th century appear to have selected their new recruits according to the classic criteria of height. However with the outbreak of the Revolutionary Wars the urgency of mass mobilisation meant that the selection of grenadier and other special sub-units was done according to the preferences of individual officers.

Transferral to a grenadier company generally meant both enhanced status and an increase in pay.
Whether for reasons of appearance or reputation, grenadiers tended to be the showpiece troops of their respective armies. In the Spanish Army of the early 19th century, for example, grenadier companies were excused routine duties such as town patrols but were expected to provide guards at the headquarters and residences of senior officers. When a regiment was in line formation the grenadier company always formed on the right flank. In the British Army, when Trooping the Colour, "The British Grenadiers" march is played no matter which regiment is on the parade ground, as the colour party stands at the right-hand end of the line, as every regiment formerly had a company of grenadiers at the right of their formation.

Headgear

As noted above, grenadiers were distinguished by their headgear from the ordinary musketeers in each regiment of foot. While there were some exceptions, the most typical grenadier headdress was either the mitre cap or the bearskin. Both began to appear in various armies during the second half of the 17th century because grenadiers were impeded by the wide brimmed infantry hats of the period when slinging their firearms while throwing grenades.
The cloth caps worn by the original grenadiers in European armies during the 17th century were frequently trimmed with fur. This fell out of fashion in many armies until the mid-18th century when grenadiers in the British, Spanish and French armies began wearing high fur-trimmed caps with crowns of coloured cloth and, in some cases, ornamental front plates. This added to the apparent height and impressive appearance of these troops both on the parade ground and the battlefield.
The mitre cap, whether in stiffened cloth or metal, had become the distinguishing feature of the grenadier in the armies of Britain, Russia, Prussia and most German states during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Spanish and Austrian grenadiers favoured high fur hats with long coloured cloth 'hoods'. The mitre was gradually replaced by bearskin caps in other armies, and by 1914 it only survived in the 1st Foot Guards and the 1st Guards Grenadiers of the Prussian Imperial Guard, plus the Russian Pavlovsky Guard. Russian grenadiers had worn their brass fronted mitre hats on active service until 1807 and some of these preserved for parade wear by the Pavlovsky Guards until 1914 still had dents or holes from musket balls. Some have survived for display in museums and collections.
While Northern European armies such as Britain, Russia, Sweden, and various German states wore the mitre cap, southern countries such as France, Spain, Austria, Portugal, and various Italian states preferred the bearskin. By 1768, Britain had adopted the bearskin.
The shape and appearance of fur caps differed according to period and country. While France used smaller bearskins, Spain preferred towering caps with long flowing bags. Britain initially favoured tall cloth mitres with lacing and braiding, while Russia would sport equally tall leather helmets with brass front-plates. The first grenadier headdresses were fairly low, and in the case of Spain and Austria sometimes contained elements from both mitres and bearskins. Until the mid-18th century, French grenadiers wore tricorne hats, rather than either the mitre or fur cap. Grenadier caps gradually increased in size and decoration, with added devices such as pompoms, cords, badges, front-plates, plumes, and braiding, as well as various national heraldic emblems.
During the Napoleonic Wars, both mitres and fur caps fell out of use in favour of the shako. Two notable exceptions were the grenadier companies and Imperial Guard regiments of the French Grande Armée, plus those of the Austrian Army. After the Battle of Friedland in 1807, because of their distinguished performance, Russia's Pavlovsk Regiment were allowed to keep their mitre caps and were admitted to the Imperial Guard.
During the Napoleonic Wars, British grenadiers had usually worn the bearskin cap only for full dress when on home service, since the fur was found to deteriorate rapidly during campaigning overseas. Following their role in the defeat of the French Imperial Guard at the Battle of Waterloo, the 1st Foot Guards was renamed the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards and all companies of the regiment adopted the bearskin. In 1831, it was ordered that all three Foot Guards should wear the bearskin cap, by then resembling the modern headdress in shape and size. The grenadier companies of line infantry regiments meanwhile retained the bearskin cap for parade dress until it was abolished in 1842. During the Crimean War, the Foot Guard regiments wore their bearskins in the field, the only time the celebrated Guards' headdress was worn in action.