NAP371
First Legion
First Legion presents you with the French Grande Armee! The French soldiers made war all over the continent of Europe against all major powers of the age and it was the line infantry who made up the backbone and striking power of the Grande Armee. Unlike the previous French Infantry releases, this regiment represents a few firsts for First Legion. It is the first regiment they've done specifically for the 1815 campaign in their short-waisted Bardin coats. In addition, it is of course the first time they've covered French Light Infantry with the previous infantry releases being line or guard units.
Light infantry had the same six company organization as the line except that Light infantry center companies were Chasseurs and the elite companies were Carabiniers and Voltigeurs. Unlike line infantry, light infantry received extra training and could deploy in its entirety as skirmishers. This is no doubt why Jerome Bonaparte's division which contained an extremely high proportion of Light Infantry was deployed opposite the Hougoumont woods at the Battle of Waterloo where their training as skirmishers would serve them well.