French Army
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The French Army is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.
History
Alliance with Rome
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.[1]
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. The French forces quickly became entangled with the local mercenary guild led by the Assassin condottiero Bartolomeo d'Alviano.[1]
In August 1503, 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.[1]
Colonial era
After the Age of Discovery, France entered a period of colonialism, establishing colonies throughout North America; France owned colonies in 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.[2]