French Army

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The French Army is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. Throughout history, they have regularly fought the British Army for power and influence, and also vied for control of Italy.

The uniforms of the French Royal Army mostly varied in color depending on the rank and unit type of soldier. Colors ranged from purple to red, blue and green. However, French soldiers stationed in New World Colonies during the late 17th century and into the 18th century were known as the Troupes de la Marine and were a large regiment of soldiers who wore purely white uniforms, usually with blue coat tails, blue sleeves and black tricorne hats.

History

Renaissance

In 1499, King Louis XII forged a secret alliance with Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI, through Cesare's relationship with Louis' distant cousin Baron Octavian de Valois. Cesare, the de facto leader of the Templar Order, planned to conquer Italy, and King Louis XII sent an army of soldiers led by Octavian to aid the Papacy.

Octavian de Valois and his French forces

The French Army set up their headquarters in the Castra Praetoria in Rome, and remained in the city for the next three years to protect the Vatican from the Assassins. They stormed Monteriggioni with the Papal army under Cesare and Octavian's command. The French forces quickly became entangled with the local mercenary guild led by the Assassin condottiero Bartolomeo d'Alviano.

In August 1503, the Master Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze aided the mercenaries in removing the French's presence in Rome after Octavian kidnapped Bartolomeo's wife Pantasilea Baglioni. Taking on the guise of French soldiers, Ezio and a regiment of mercenaries infiltrated the Castra Praetoria pretending to deliver Bartolomeo to Octavian, in exchange for Pantasilea's freedom. When Octavian instead opted to kill Pantasilea, the mercenaries attacked and a skirmish ensued inside the fortress. Octavian retreated deeper into the fortress with Pantasilea, though Ezio managed to follow and assassinate him. With most French soldiers and Octavian dead, the remaining French forces retreated back to France.

In 1509, the French were at war with the Republic of Venice. Despite Bartolomeo's efforts, the French were victorious at the Battle of Agnadello, causing the Assassins stationed there to lose possession of the Shroud of Eden. Four years later, France and Venice united against Milan, and Bartolomeo served under French command.

Colonial era

After the Age of Discovery, France entered a period of colonialism, establishing colonies throughout North America; France owned colonies in modern Canada and the United States, such as Louisiana, and also Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean. The French Army was present in all of these colonies, enforcing the French regime.

Haytham Kenway standing by a pair of French soldiers

The French occupied Fort Duquesne during the Seven Years' War, and allied with the Shawnee, Abenaki and Lenape natives during the attack on the Braddock Expedition. The French began to lose their grip on the colonies after the Siege of Louisbourg by the British. However, it should be noted that this would not have come to pass if it were not for the efforts of Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin turned Templar. The French ultimately lost the war, forcing them to cede Quebec to the British, though they secretly agreed to hand over Louisiana to the Spanish Army before signing the treaty with the British. Over a decade later, French soldiers led by the Marquis de Lafayette and the French Navy helped the Continental Army win the American Revolutionary War, striking a major blow to the British Empire.

After the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte led the French Army to many victories across Europe using an Apple of Eden.

Trivia

• Stephane Chapheau's father was a cook in the French colonial army.
• Although Assassin's Creed III and Assassin's Creed III: Liberation take place in the same time period, French soldiers wear different uniforms in each game.
• In Assassins creed III the French and Continental soldiers wore similar uniforms.