NA458
King & Country
The regiment’s colour and eagle were usually carried by a junior officer and based on French models but again with Italian ‘green’ replacing French ‘blue’.
This particular officer has chosen to wear the same leggings as his men.
In 1804, when Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself ‘Emperor’ of the French Empire, the Italian Republic was similarly transformed, becoming the ‘Kingdom of Italy’ with Napoleon as its monarch.
For some time Italy had been a client state of France with its capital in Milan. This ‘new’ kingdom now ruled over most of northern Italy.
Its army was organized along French military lines and included regular line infantry, light infantry, dragoons and light horse. It soon grew to add on chasseurs, elite mounted gendarmes and... Royal Grenadiers of the Guard. Many of the regiments wore green coats instead of French ‘blue’ however their general style and cut was copied from the French military fashion of the period.