{{other uses, Colonel general A Colonel General was an officer of the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

during the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

, the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, the

Napoleonic era The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislativ ...

and the Bourbon Restoration. The positions were not military ranks, but rather offices of the crown. The position was first created under

François I Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

. The Colonels General served directly below the

Marshals of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

, and they were divided by their branch of service. By the end of the Ancien Régime, the Colonels General were: *Colonel General of the

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

*Colonel General of the Cavalry *Colonel General of the Dragoons *Colonel General of the Hussards *Colonel General of the Cent-Suisses and Grisons *Colonel General of the

Gardes Françaises The French Guards (french: Régiment des Gardes françaises) were an elite infantry regiment of the French Royal Army. They formed a constituent part of the Maison militaire du roi de France ("Military Household of the King of France") under the ...

Judging the position of Colonel General of the Infantry to be too powerful,

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

suppressed the position in 1661 and only appointed Colonels General of honorific branches like the Colonel General of the Dragoons (created in 1668), the Colonel General of the Cent-Suisses and Grisons, who oversaw the Swiss regiments of the

Maison du Roi The Maison du Roi (, "King's Household") was the royal household of the King of France. It comprised the military, domestic, and religious entourage of the French royal family during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration. Organisation ...

, and the Colonel of the Gardes Françaises. The position was reinstated under

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

. Most of these offices were eliminated at the time of the

, during which there was a Colonel General of the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, but they were reinstated by

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. Under the Bourbon Restoration, certain titles were accorded to members of the royal family. After 1830, the position was eliminated.

Colonels General of the Ancien Régime

Infantry

* 1546 : Jean de Taix * ???? : Charles de Cossé-Brissac * 1547 : Gaspard de Coligny,

Admiral of France Admiral of France (french: Amiral de France) is a French title of honour. It is the naval equivalent of Marshal of France and was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France. History The title was created in 1270 by Louis IX of France, dur ...

* 1555 : François de Coligny, seigneur d'Andelot * 1558 :

Blaise de Montluc Blaise de Monluc, also known as Blaise de Lasseran-Massencôme, seigneur de Monluc, (24 July 1577) was a professional soldier whose career began in 1521 and reached the rank of marshal of France in 1574. Written between 1570 and 1576, an account o ...

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

* 1560 : Charles de La Rochefoucauld, seigneur de Randan * 1562 :

Sébastien de Luxembourg Sebastien de Luxembourg, viscomte de Martigues (1530-1569) was a French military officer, peer of France and governor of Brittany. Martigues began his political career serving under his uncle Étampes the governor of Brittany as the lieutenant-gene ...

, duc de Penthièvre * ???? : Timoléon de Cossé-Brissac * 1569–1581 : Philippe Strozzi, seigneur d'Épernay and de Bressuire * 1581–1642 :

Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette (1554–1642), created Duke of Épernon, was a powerful member of the French nobility at the turn of the 17th century. He was deeply involved in plots and politics throughout his life. Life He was born at C ...

, duc d'Épernon * 1642–1661 :

Bernard de Nogaret de La Valette d'Épernon Bernard de Nogaret de La Valette (1592, in Angoulême – 25 July 1661), duke of Épernon and a French general, was the son of Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette and Marguerite de Foix-Candale, granddaughter of the constable of Montmorency. ...

* 1721–1730 :

Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

* 1780–1790 : Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Prince of Condé

Cavalry

* 1548–1549 :

Charles de Cossé, Count of Brissac Charles de Cossé, comte de Brissac (1505 ( O.S.)/06 – 1563), was a French courtier and soldier, named ''beau Brissac'' at court and remembered as the ''Maréchal Brissac''. A member of the nobility of Anjou, he was appointed in 1540 to his fath ...

* 1549 : Claude de Lorraine, duc d'Aumale * 1558 :

Jacques, Duke of Nemours Jacques de Savoie, duc de Nemours (12 October 153115 June 1585) was a French military commander, governor and Prince Étranger. Having inherited his titles at a young age, Nemours fought for king Henri II during the latter Italian Wars, seeing ac ...

* 1569–1571 : François de Lorraine, duc de Guise * 1571–1572 : Charles de Montmorency-Damville,

* 1572–1574 : Guillaume de Montmorency, seigneur de Thuré * 1574–1585 :

* 1585–1586 :

Charles, Duke of Aumale Charles of Guise, duc d'Aumale (25 January 1555 – 1631, Brussels) was the son of Claude, Duke of Aumale and Louise de Brézé. Biography One of the leaders of the Catholic League, he was at times governor of Picardy and Grand Veneur of F ...

* 1586–1588 : Jean-François, maréchal de La Guiche * 1588–1589 : Charles de Valois, comte d'Auvergne * 1589–1595 : duc des Ursins * 1595–1604 : Charles de Valois, comte d'Auvergne * 1604–1616 :

* 1616–1618 : Charles de Valois, duc d'Angoulême * 1618–1618 : François de Valois, comte d'Alès * 1618–1626 :

Henri, Duke of Rohan Henri (II) de Rohan (21 August 157913 April 1638), Duke of Rohan and Prince of Léon, was a Breton-French soldier, writer and leader of the Huguenots. Early life Rohan was born at the Château de Blain (now a part of Blain, Loire-Atlantique), ...

* 1626–1643 : Louis de Valois, comte d'Alès * 1643–1653 : Louis Emmanuel de Valois, duc d'Angoulême * 1653–1657 : Louis de Lorraine, duc de Joyeuse * 1657–1675 : Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne-Bouillon, vicomte de Turenne * 1675–1705 :

Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impress ...

* 1705–1740 : Henri Louis de La Tour d'Auvergne * 1740–1759 : Godefroy Charles Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne * 1759–1790 : marquis de Béthune

Dragoons

* 1668–1672 :

Antonin Nompar de Caumont, duc de Lauzun Antonin Nompar de Caumont, 1st Duke of Lauzun (, 163219 November 1723) was a French courtier and soldier. He was the only love interest of the "greatest heiress in Europe", Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, cousin of Louis X ...

* 1672–1678 : Nicolas d'Argouges, marquis de Rannes * 1678–1692 : Louis François de Boufflers,

* 1692–1703 : René de Froulay, comte de Tessé,

, général des Galères * 1703–1704 :

Antoine V de Gramont Antoine V de Gramont (January 1672 – September 16, 1725), Duke of Guiche, was a Marshal of France. Early life French military figure and member of the House of Gramont, he was the oldest child of Antoine Charles IV de Gramont and Marie Charlott ...

, colonel général des Gardes Françaises * 1704–1734 :

François de Franquetot de Coigny François de Franquetot de Coigny (16 March 1670 – 18 December 1759) was a Marshal of France, Count, and from 1747, the Duke of Coigny. He was born in the Coigny château near Coutances, Normandy as son of Robert-Jean de Coigny, and Marie-Fran ...

* 1734–1748 : Jean Antoine François de Franquetot, duc de Coigny, killed in a duel * 1748–1754 :

* 1754–1771 : Marie Charles Louis d'Albert, duc de Chevreuse and de Luynes * 1771–1783 : François-Henri de Franquetot de Coigny * 1783–1790 : Louis Joseph Charles Amable d'Albert, duc de Chevreuse and de Luynes

Hussards

Louis Philippe d'Orléans Reynolds Chantilly

* 1778–1790 : Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans

Cent-Suisses et Grisons

* 1568–1596 : Charles de Montmorency-Damville, Admiral of France * 1596–1605 : Nicolas de Harlay, seigneur de Sancy * 1605–1614 :

Henri, duc de Rohan Henri (II) de Rohan (21 August 157913 April 1638), Duke of Rohan and Prince of Léon, was a Breton-French soldier, writer and leader of the Huguenots. Early life Rohan was born at the Château de Blain (now a part of Blain, Loire-Atlantique), ...

* 1614–1632 :

François de Bassompierre François de Bassompierre (12 April 157912 October 1646) was a French courtier. The son of Christophe de Bassompierre (1547–1596), he was born at the castle of Haroué in Lorraine. He was descended from an old family which had for generations ...

, Marshal of France * 1632–1642 : César, marquis de Coislin * 1642–1643 : marquis de La Châtre * 1643–1647 :

, Marshal of France * 1647–1657 : Charles de Schomberg, Marshal of France * 1657–1674 :

Eugene Maurice, Count of Soissons Eugene Maurice of Savoy-Carignano (French: ''Eugène Maurice de Savoie-Carignan''; 2 March 1635 – 6 June 1673) was a Franco-Italian nobleman and general. A count of Soissons, he was the father of imperial field-marshal Prince Eugene of Savoy. ...

* 1674–1710 :

Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine (31 March 1670 – 14 May 1736) was an illegitimate son of Louis XIV and his official mistress, Madame de Montespan. The king's favourite son, he was the founder of the semi-royal House of Bourbon-Maine name ...

* 1710–1755 :

Louis Auguste, Prince of Dombes Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Prince of Dombes (4 March 1700 in Palace of Versailles – 1 October 1755 in Palace of Fontainebleau) was a grandson of Louis XIV of France and of his ''maîtresse-en-titre'' Françoise-Athénaïs de Montespan. He w ...

* 1755–1762 :

Louis Charles, Count of Eu Louis Charles de Bourbon, Count of Eu (October 15, 1701 – July 13, 1775) was a grandson of Louis XIV of France and his ''maîtresse-en-titre'' Madame de Montespan. He was the last member of the legitimised house of ''Maine branch of the House o ...

* 1762–1771 : Étienne François de Choiseul-Stainville, duc de Choiseul * 1771–1790 : Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, brother of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

Gardes-Françaises

* 1661–1671 : Antoine, duc de Gramont * 1672–1692 : François d'Aubusson de La Feuillade * 1692–1704 :

Louis François, duc de Boufflers Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

* 1704–1717 : Antoine de Gramont, duc de Guiche * 1717–1741 : Louis Antoine Armand, duc de Gramont * 1741–1745 : Louis, duc de Gramont * 1745–1788 :

Louis Antoine de Gontaut Louis Antoine de Gontaut-Biron, duc de Biron (1700–1788) was Duke of Biron and a French military leader who served with distinction under Louis XV, and was made a Marshal of France in 1757. He was the fourth son of Charles-Armand de Gontaut, du ...

, duc de Biron

Colonels General of the Revolution

: Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

Colonels General of the Napoleonic era

* Carabiniers à Cheval:

Louis Bonaparte Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French cl ...

, king of Holland and Constable of the Empire *

Chasseurs à cheval ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army origi ...

: Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont, then Emmanuel, comte de Grouchy * Chasseurs à Pied of the Imperial Guard: Jean-de-Dieu Soult, Duc de Dalmatie *

Cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adop ...

s: Laurent, comte Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, then Augustin, comte Belliard * Dragoons: Louis, comte Baraguey d'Hilliers, then Étienne-Marie-Antoine Champion, Comte de Nansouty (1813-1814) *

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, i ...

: Edouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, then

Louis Gabriel Suchet Louis-Gabriel Suchet (2 March 1770 – 3 January 1826), Duke of Albufera (french: Duc d'Albuféra), was a French Marshal of the Empire and one of the most successful commanders of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is regarded ...

* Grenadiers à pied of the Imperial Guard:

Louis Nicolas Davout Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and t ...

* Hussards: Jean Andoche Junot * Suisses:

Louis-Alexandre Berthier Louis-Alexandre Berthier (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram, was a French Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minis ...

, Vice-Constable of the Empire, then

Jean Lannes Jean Lannes, 1st Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz (10 April 1769 – 31 May 1809), was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was one of Napoleon's ...

, duc de Montebello

Colonels General of the Restoration

* Royal Carabiniers:

Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême Louis Antoine of France, Duke of Angoulême (6 August 1775 – 3 June 1844) was the elder son of Charles X of France and the last Dauphin of France from 1824 to 1830. He was disputedly King of France and Navarre for less than 20 minutes befo ...

, eldest son of

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

* Chevau-légers-lanciers:

Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duke of Berry (24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820) was the third child and younger son of Charles X, King of France, (whom he predeceased) by his wife Maria Theresa of Savoy. In June 1832, two years after the overthro ...

, younger son of

* Cuirassiers:

Garde Nationale The National Guard (french: link=no, Garde nationale) is a French military, gendarmerie, and police reserve force, active in its current form since 2016 but originally founded in 1789 during the French Revolution. For most of its history th ...

: Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, brother of

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

* Suisses: Henri, grandson of

References

:''This article is based in part on the article Colonel général from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has articl ...

, retrieved on September 8, 2006.''

External links

Great Officers of the Crown
Court titles Court titles in the Ancien Régime Military history of the Ancien Régime Military ranks of France