The Grenadiers and Rifles Guards Regiment ( nl, Garderegiment Grenadiers en Jagers) is a regiment of the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army ( nl, Koninklijke Landmacht) is the land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised – making the Dutc ...

; along with the Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene it is one of the two Dutch

Guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

regiments.

History

The two antecedent regiments were formed in 1829 following the withdrawal of the regiments of

Swiss mercenaries The Swiss mercenaries (german: Reisläufer) were a powerful infantry force constituted by professional soldiers originating from the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy. They were notable for their service in foreign armies, especially among t ...

from Dutch service. Willem I ordered that two regiments would be formed to replace the Swiss, to serve as his guards. Both served with distinction, especially during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

in the defence of

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. The regiment was formed in 1995 by the amalgamation of two antecedent regiments, the ''Garderegiment Grenadiers'' and the ''Garderegiment Jagers''.

Organization

The regiment's single battalion currently serves in the airmobile role as part of

11 Luchtmobiele (Airmobile) Brigade The 11 Air Assault Brigade ( nl, 11 Luchtmobiele Brigade) is the rapid light infantry brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army, focused on conducting air assault operations. Troops of the brigade are qualified to wear the maroon beret upon completion ...

. It is organised with an HQ Company (Stafcompagnie), a heavy weapons company (Zwarewapenscompagnie) and three infantry companies (Infanteriecompagnie). The three infantry companies and the anti-tank company perpetuate the two antecedent regiments, with 'A' (Koningscompagnie) and 'D' (Wolvencompagnie) companies being classed as

Grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

s and 'B' (Stiercompagnie) and 'C' (Tijgercompagnie) Companies being classed as Jagers (Rifles). The regiment has a museum in

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

Bands

Serving the Guards in musical support, the few numbers of

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the ti ...

s in service, are the

Royal Military Band "Johan Willem Friso" The Royal Military Band "Johan Willem Friso" (Dutch: Koninklijke Militaire Kapel "Johan Willem Friso), also informally called the Band of the Royal Netherlands Army or the Johan Willem Friso Military Band is a Dutch military unit in the Koninklijk ...

and the Traditional Grenadier Bugle Band of the Grenadiers' and Rifles Guard Regiment (Grenadiers) and the Veterans

Fanfare band A fanfare band, fanfare corps, fanfare battery, fanfare team, horn and drum corps, bugle band, drum and bugle corps, or trumpet and drum band (including the German ''fanferenzug'', ''fanfarenkorps'' and ''regimentsblaserkorps'', the Dutch ''drumba ...

and Bugles and

Fanfare orchestra A fanfare orchestra ( Dutch ''fanfareorkest'', French ''harmonie-fanfare'') is a type of brass band consisting of the entire saxophone family, trumpets, trombones, euphoniums, baritone horns, flugelhorns and alto/tenor- or F-horns, as well as perc ...

of the Grenadiers and Rifles (Rifles). These are the only bands in service in the Guards units of the RNA as the Band and Corps of Drums of the Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene remain disbanded. The present day fanfare brass band (known as the ''Regimentsfanfare'') consists of 21 musicians and a permanent conductor. It has existed since 5 September 2005. A brass quintet has existed within the regiment since 2007.

Battle honours

**Tiendaagse Veldtocht 1831 **Ypenburg en Ockenburg 1940 **West-Java 1946 - 1949 **East Java 1947 - 1949 **Sangin 2007 *Metalen Kruis

Gallery

File:Staatsbezoek Koning Boudewijn , erewacht Dam, Bestanddeelnr 910-5046.jpg, ''Garderegiment Jagers'' during the state visit of

King Baudouin Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his dea ...

in 1959 File:Vaandelwacht van het Garde Regiment Grenadiers.jpg, The standard of the ''Garderegiment Grenadiers'' in 1992/ File:LG Prinsjesdag 2013 13.JPG, Grenadiers and Jagers march through

Prinsjesdag Prinsjesdag ( en, Little Prince's Day) is the day on which the reigning Monarchy of the Netherlands, monarch of the Netherlands addresses a joint session of the States General of the Netherlands, States-General of the Netherlands (consisting o ...

, 2013. File:Vaandel-garde-gren-en-jag-voorkant--copy.jpg, The regimental banner. File:Gardetroepen in gala-uniformen. 4 Grenadiers, Bestanddeelnr 902-9918.jpg, Members of the regiment in

full dress uniform Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, ...

in September 1948. File:Prinsjesdag 1992.jpg, Members of the regiment during

in 1992.

References

External links

Garderegiment Grenadiers en Jagers
{{Dutch Regiments Garderegiment Grenadiers Guards regiments Dutch ceremonial units Dutch monarchy Grenadier regiments