is a sub-officer rank used by some units of the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...

. It is traditionally a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

unit rank. There are three distinct ranks of ''maréchal des logis'', which are generally the equivalents of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

ranks (although they generally have less responsibility than a British or

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

sergeant). * ''Maréchal des logis-chef'' (equivalent to '' sergent-chef''). This is a superior rank to ''maréchal des logis'' and wears three chevrons, gold or silver.The colour of the chevrons of the ''maréchal des logis'' depends on his unit; the vast majority of armoured cavalry units use silver, but a few of them, like the

spahi Spahis () were light cavalry, light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, w ...

s, use gold. ** * ''Maréchal des logis de carrière'' (equivalent to '' sergent''). Wears two chevrons. A ''maréchal des logis'' may be shortened to "''margis''" in military jargon. ** * ''Maréchal des logis sous contrat'' (equivalent to '' sergent sous contrat''). Wears one chevron. This rank is increasingly uncommon in the French military since the end of conscription. The ''maréchal des logis'' usually commands a section, tank, or gun, and therefore corresponds approximately to the British or Commonwealth rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

, the U.S. Army rank of

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

, or the

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

Corps rank of

. The rank of ''maréchal des logis'' is used by the armoured cavalry, the artillery, the ''materiel'', the commissary and the transport corps, all of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

, and by the '' ''Gendarmerie Nationale''. The term ''

logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

'' is derived from ''maréchal des logis'', by

Antoine-Henri Jomini Antoine-Henri Jomini (; 6 March 177922 March 1869) was a Swiss-French military officer who served as a General officer, general in First French Empire, French and later in Russian Empire, Russian service, and one of the most celebrated writers o ...

.For details, see .

Notes

References

{{italic title Military ranks of France fr:Maréchal des logis (Gendarmerie française)