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A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word hand grenade) was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw Grenade in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from among the strongest and largest soldiers. By the 18th century, the grenadier dedicated to throwing hand grenades had become a less necessary specialist, yet in battle, the grenadiers were the physically robust soldiers who led vanguard assaults, such as storming fortifications in the course of siege warfare.
Certain countries such as France (Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale) and Argentina (Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers) established units of Horse Grenadiers, and for a time the British Army had Horse Grenadier Guards. Like their infantry grenadier counterparts, these horse-mounted soldiers were chosen for their size and strength (heavy cavalry).
In modern warfare, a grenadier is a soldier armed with a grenade launcher, either as a standalone weapon or attached to another service weapon.
The infantry of the Dutch States Army, influenced by their French invaders, adopted grenadiers in 1672. By 1678 six men in each company were trained to throw hand grenades, developed by the Dutch master fireworker Johan van Haren.
In May 1677, the English Army ordered that two soldiers of every Guards Regiment were to be trained as grenadiers; in April 1678 it was ordered that a company of grenadiers be added to the senior eight regiments of foot of the army. On 29 June of that year the diarist John Evelyn saw them drilling at an encampment at Hounslow, near London:
The grenadiers of the French infantry were by the 1690s distinguished from their musketeer colleagues by special issues of equipment. These included slings for their flintlocks, curved sabres instead of straight swords, large leather pouches for grenades and hatchets.René Chartrand, pages 21 & 44 Louis XIV's Army,
By 1700, grenadiers in the English and other armies had adopted a cap in the shape of a bishop's mitre, usually decorated with the regimental insignia in embroidered cloth. In addition to grenades, they were equipped with Flintlock muskets. Attached to the shoulder belt was a brass 'match case' that housed the slow match used to ignite the grenade fuse, a feature that was retained in later grenadier uniforms.
By contrast, French grenadier companies of the 18th century appear to have selected their new recruits according to the classic criteria of height. However with the outbreak of the Revolutionary Wars the urgency of mass mobilisation meant that the selection of grenadier and other special sub-units was done according to the preferences of individual officers.Terry Crowdy (2025). 184176552X, Osprey Publishing. 184176552X
Transferral to a grenadier company generally meant both enhanced status and an increase in pay.
Whether for reasons of appearance or reputation, grenadiers tended to be the showpiece troops of their respective armies. In the Spanish Army of the early 19th century, for example, grenadier companies were excused routine duties such as town patrols but were expected to provide guards at the headquarters and residences of senior officers. When a regiment was in line formation the grenadier company always formed on the right flank. In the British Army, when Trooping the Colour, "The British Grenadiers" march is played no matter which regiment is on the parade ground, as the colour party stands at the right-hand end of the line, as every regiment formerly had a company of grenadiers at the right of their formation.
The cloth caps worn by the original grenadiers in European armies during the 17th century were frequently trimmed with fur.W.Y. Carman, page 35, "British Military Uniforms from Contemporary Pictures", Hamlyn Publishing 1968 This fell out of fashion in many armies until the mid-18th century when grenadiers in the British, Spanish and French armies began wearing high fur-trimmed caps with crowns of coloured cloth and, in some cases, ornamental front plates. This added to the apparent height and impressive appearance of these troops both on the parade ground and the battlefield.Military Uniforms of the World: Preben Kannil SBN 71370482 9 The mitre cap, whether in stiffened cloth or metal, had become the distinguishing feature of the grenadier in the armies of Britain, Russia, Prussia and most German states during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Spanish and Austrian grenadiers favoured high fur hats with long coloured cloth 'hoods' (" bags"). The mitre was gradually replaced by bearskin caps in other armies, and by 1914 it only survived in the 1st Foot Guards and the 1st (Emperor Alexander) Guards Grenadiers of the Prussian Imperial Guard, plus the Russian Pavlovsky Guard. Russian grenadiers had worn their brass fronted mitre hats on active service until 1807 and some of these preserved for parade wear by the Pavlovsky Guards until 1914 still had dents or holes from musket balls. Some have survived for display in museums and collections.
While Northern European armies such as Britain, Russia, Sweden, and various German states wore the mitre cap, southern countries such as France, Spain, Austria, Portugal, and various Italian states preferred the bearskin. By 1768, Britain had adopted the bearskin.Liliane and Fred Funcken, page 83 "L'Uniforme et les Armes des Soldats de la Guerre en Dentelle",
The shape and appearance of fur caps differed according to period and country. While France used smaller bearskins,Liliane and Fred Funcken, page 57 "L'Uniforme et les Armes des Soldats de la Guerre en Dentelle", Spain preferred towering caps with long flowing bags. Britain initially favoured tall cloth mitres with lacing and braiding, while Russia would sport equally tall leather helmets with brass front-plates. The first grenadier headdresses were fairly low, and in the case of Spain and Austria sometimes contained elements from both mitres and bearskins. Until the mid-18th century, French grenadiers wore tricorne hats, rather than either the mitre or fur cap. Grenadier caps gradually increased in size and decoration, with added devices such as pompoms, cords, badges, front-plates, plumes, and braiding, as well as various national heraldic emblems.
During the Napoleonic Wars, both mitres and fur caps fell out of use in favour of the shako. Two notable exceptions were the grenadier companies and Imperial Guard regimentsAndre Jouineau (2025). 291390324X, Histoire & Collections. 291390324X of the French Grande Armée, plus those of the Austrian Army. After the Battle of Friedland in 1807, because of their distinguished performance, Russia's Pavlovsk Regiment were allowed to keep their mitre caps and were admitted to the Imperial Guard.
During the Napoleonic Wars, British grenadiers had usually worn the bearskin cap only for full dress when on home service, since the fur was found to deteriorate rapidly during campaigning overseas.W.Y. Carman, page 112 "British Military Uniforms from Contemporary Pictures", Hamlyn Publishing Group 1968 Following their role in the defeat of the French Imperial Guard at the Battle of Waterloo, the 1st Foot Guards was renamed the Grenadier Guards and all companies of the regiment adopted the bearskin. In 1831, it was ordered that all three Foot Guards should wear the bearskin cap, by then resembling the modern headdress in shape and size. The grenadier companies of line infantry regiments meanwhile retained the bearskin cap for parade dress until it was abolished in 1842. During the Crimean War, the Foot Guard regiments wore their bearskins in the field, the only time the celebrated Guards' headdress was worn in action.
On occasion the grenadier and light companies could be "brigaded" together into separate grenadier and light infantry battalions for assaults or skirmishing respectively.p.143 Kirke, Charles Red Coat, Green Machine: Continuity in Change in the British Army 1700 to 2000 Continuum International Publishing Group, 28/12/2009
Each of the line infantry regiments of the Austrian Army of this period included a grenadier division of two companies, separate from the fusilier companies that made up the bulk of the unit. The grenadier companies were frequently detached from the parent regiment and grouped into composite grenadier battalions for a particular campaign or purpose.Philip Haythornthwaite, page 5 "Austrian Army of the Napoleonic Wars (1): Infantry",
The Russian Imperial Army of the 18th century followed a different line of development. Prior to 1731 grenadiers made up five separate regiments. These were disbanded prior to the outbreak of war with Turkey and picked infantrymen were transferred to one of two grenadier companies incorporated in each (two-battalion) line infantry regiment. In 1753, 2 grenadier companies were added to the infantry regiments and all regiments were ordered to consist of a 3-battalion structure, with 3 grenadier companies of 200 grenadiers in each. In 1756 each of the grenadier companies was brought together in four permanent grenadier regiments.Angus Konstan, pages 16-17 "Russian Army of the Seven Years War (1)", This policy of maintaining a separate corps of grenadiers continued until the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Palace Grenadiers was a ceremonial company selected from distinguished veterans, in existence from 1827 to 1917 with the primary role of guarding the Winter Palace.Borris Mollo, page 131 "Uniforms of the Imperial Russian Army",
With the standardisation of training and tactics, the need for separate grenadier companies at regimental level had passed by the mid-19th century and the British, French and Austrian armies phased out these sub-units between 1850 and 1862.
During the American Revolution of 1775–1783, the Connecticut 1st Company Governor's Guards and the 11th Regiment of Connecticut Militia had grenadier companies. New York City also had a Grenadier unit, as did South Carolina – the elite 1st South Carolina Regiment, raised and commanded by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
In Mexico Antonio López de Santa Anna created the Grenadier Guards of the Supreme Power on 7 December 1841. The formation remained in service until 1847.
A Toronto Canadian Militia was renamed the 10th Royal Grenadiers in 1881, then later became the Royal Regiment of Canada.
Today, regiments using the name grenadiers are effectively indistinguishable from other infantry, especially when , RPGs, and other types of explosive arms have become standard-issue weaponry; however, such regiments retain at least the tradition of their elite past. Grenadier can also refer to soldiers using , including those mounted on rifles. During World War I a proposal to designate specialist grenade launching units in the British Army as grenadiers was vetoed by the Grenadier Guards, who considered that they now had exclusive rights to the ancient distinction, and the term "bomber" was substituted.
During World War I, German troops referred to as , who were early combat engineers or and stormtroopers began using two types of hand grenades in trench warfare operations against the French to clear opposing trenches of troops. The more effective of the two was the so-called "potato masher" Stielhandgranate, which were stick grenades.p.36, Gudmundsson, Hyland
The term Panzergrenadier was adopted in the German Wehrmacht to describe mechanized heavy infantry elements whose greater protection and mobility allowed them to keep pace with (and provide intimate protection to) armoured units and formations. This designation reflects the traditional role of grenadiers as shock troops. The term in today's Bundeswehr refer to mechanized infantry.
When parachute units were first created in the United States Army, the Air Corps desired them to be under their control and to be designated "air grenadiers".p.5 Rottman, Gordon US Army Airborne 1940-90 Osprey Publishing, 18/09/2012
The last known unit to serve as grenadiers, and employing grenades as their weapons, was a special "Grenadier brigade" formed by the Red Army within the 4th Army during the Tikhvin defensive operation in October 1941. It was a measure taken because of lack of firearms, and the commander of the brigade was appropriately General Major G.T. Timofeyev who had served in one of the Russian Imperial Army's grenadier regiments during the First World War.Alexei Valeriyevich Isayev, Cauldrons of 41': History of the Great Patriotic War which we didn't know, Yauza, Moscow, 2005 [1] In the Vietnam War, U.S. squads usually had at least one soldier whose role was that of a grenadier, armed with just an M79 grenade launcher and an M1911 pistol, though in some cases grenadiers were not even issued this sidearm. The M79 was designed to bridge the gap between the maximum throwing range of a grenade and the minimum distance of mortar fire. The XM148 grenade launcher, the M79's replacement designed to be mounted to the M16 rifle, was first issued in December 1966, but was beset by problems: the cocking mechanism was difficult to squeeze, the sight was hard to use, and the complicated trigger design required constant maintenance. By May 1967, it was deemed unsuitable for use in the field, and was eventually replaced by the M203 grenade launcher. Though the M203 was later replaced by the M320 Grenade Launcher Module in U.S. Army service starting in 2009, the M203 remains a popular and familiar choice in the grenadier role and is still issued by other U.S. military branches.
Unlike most other units that carried the title of "grenadiers", the Argentine Grenadiers are a cavalry unit, and continue to mount horses for ceremonial purposes, as well as carrying lances and cavalry sabers.
The 10th Royal Grenadiers (later The Royal Grenadiers) of Toronto later became the Royal Regiment of Canada with tradition surviving in a grenadier company.
The Winnipeg Grenadiers was one of the two Canadian infantry regiments of C Force that took part in the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941. The regiment is currently on the Supplementary Order of Battle.
The Chilean Grenadiers' uniforms, until 2011, were similar to the full Feldgrau uniforms of the Chilean Army, but adapted for the cavalry and like their Argentine counterparts, carry lances but not cavalry sabers, which are reserved for officers and the mounted colors guard escort. Starting in 2011, the regiment now wears a cavalry light blue full dress uniform with for all ranks.
Although the Coldstream Guards can trace their origins to an earlier date (1650) than that of the Grenadier Guards (1656), they are officially recognized as second in seniority since having been formed initially to serve the Commonwealth, their service to the Crown only dates from the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.Major R.M. Barnes, page 26 "A History of the Regiments & Uniforms of the British Army", First Sphere Books 1971,
The United States Marine Corps rifle squad consists of three four-man fireteams including a team leader who also works as the M203 grenadier. During the Vietnam War there was one grenadier in the squad armed with an M79 grenade launcher.
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