Grenadiers

Grenadiers are large, strong men, armed with muskets and a fearsome reputation.

Grenadiers see themselves as elite soldiers, and occupy the place of honour at the right of the line on parade. They have good reason: only large, brave men become grenadiers, this size and strength makes them an impressive sight in a charge. It also gives them an advantage in melee combat. Grenadiers are a proud group and this pride makes for dedicated soldiers who will follow orders to the letter. Like other infantry, they must exercise caution when facing heavy cavalry, but they are also vulnerable to attack from skirmishers.

Historically, grenadier regiments and battalions began as ad-hoc assault groups. All line infantry regiments had grenadier companies; collecting these sub-units gave commanders a useful group of heavily armed, aggressive and skilful soldiers. Grenadier companies remained in line infantry regiments after the creation of grenadier regiments, but they largely abandoned using grenades: instead, each grenadier company became a “heavy mob” of the biggest and strongest soldiers in a regiment!