Show Posts
1
Regiments / 95th [Rifle] Regiment of Foot Recruiting NA/EU!
« on: May 09, 2022, 02:06:18 am »
The Rifles were masters of the battlefield and second-to-none at skirmishing in particular. They were held in high esteem by the French and Allies alike. One officer, Major John Blackiston of the Portuguese Cacadores said:
"I never saw such skirmishers as the 95th. They could do the work much better and with infinitely less loss than any of our best light troops. They possessed an individual boldness, a mutual understanding, and a quickness of eye in taking advantage of the ground, which, taken altogether I never saw equalled. They were as much superior to the French Voltigeurs as the latter were to our skirmishers in general"
The Rifleman's speciality was targeting the enemy officers, NCOs and drummers. Their skills were also put to good use eliminating artillery crews, something they did to great effect during the Siege of Badajoz in 1812.
The 95th were more than just skirmishers though. They earned their reputation as a 'universal soldier' by playing their part in sieges like any other infantryman in Wellington's army. They stormed the breaches at Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz and San Sebastian.
All three battalions of the 95th fought together, unsupported, for the first time during the closing weeks of the Peninsular War at the Battle of Tarbes. The Regiment independently swept the forces of Marshal Soult from the path of Wellington's army as it advanced into France. The Battle of Tarbes went some way to dispelling the myth that rifles were slow to load and therefore could not operate alone. After the battle Colonel Barnard of the Rifles invited Wellington to see the ground where the 95th had fought. Wellington is reported to have replied: "I require no novel proof of the destructive fire of your rifles".
The 95th (Rifle) Regiment of Foot served throughout the Peninsular War in Spain and Portugal, seeing action in many battles like Bussaco, Salamanca and Vittoria. They saw action in America during the War of 1812, and oversaw the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Original post: https://www.fsegames.eu/forum/index.php?topic=48000.0
