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Foot guards

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In some militaries, foot guards are senior infantry regiments. Foot guards are commonly responsible for guarding royal families or other state leaders, and they also often perform ceremonial duties accordingly, but at the same time are combat soldiers.

Harald V, the King of Norway, inspects Hans Majestet Kongens Garde with Dmitry Medvedev. The unit acts as foot guards for the Norwegian Army.

Foot Guards by country

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Canada

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The Governor General's Foot Guards is one of two active foot guards regiments in Canada.

Two regiments of foot guards exist in the Canadian Army's Primary Reserve, the Governor General's Foot Guards (GGFG) and the Canadian Grenadier Guards (CGG). The two foot guards, along with the Governor General's Horse Guards, form Canada's Household Division. Although the GGFG has its buttons in pairs, compared to the single buttons of the CGG, it is the more senior regiment. The paired buttons on the GGFG's scarlet tunic is a result of its historical alliance to the British Coldstream Guards, whose tunics are styled similarly.

The Canadian Guards was another regiment of foot guards from the Canadian Army's Regular Force, although it was reduced to nil strength and placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle in 1970. Its colours are deposited at Rideau Hall should it be desired to stand up the regiment again.

The Royal Regiment of Canada, despite being a line infantry regiment, wears foot guards full-dress uniform. This is in token of the alliance its predecessor The Royal Grenadiers had with the Grenadier Guards. The full-dress uniform has a scarlet-over-white plume, and buttons are worn singly in like manner.

Uniform details
Regiment Plume Button
grouping 		Badge
Position Colour Collar Shoulder
Governor General's Foot Guards Left Scarlet Pairs GGFG guards star Maple leaf
Canadian Grenadier Guards Left White Singly Grenade Grenade
Canadian Guards (reduced to nil strength) Left Red and white Singly Crowned maple branch Crowned maple branch

Denmark

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The foot guards of Denmark consists of the Royal Life Guards (Den Kongelige Livgarde). It is primarily a mechanized infantry regiment in the Danish Army, with the Guard Company of the regiment performing guard/ceremonial public duties for the Danish monarchy. They provide a permanent guard at the Amalienborg Palace, as well as mount at guard at Fredensborg Palace, Marselisborg Palace, Gråsten Palace, and Christiansborg Palace on occasion.

The regiment is currently composed of 4 active duty units:

Finland

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The Guard Jaeger Regiment is a Finnish Army unit that provides a guard of honour for the President of Finland.

The Guard Jaeger Regiment (Finnish: Kaartin Jääkärirykmentti, Swedish: Gardesjägarregementet) is a Finnish Army unit in Santahamina, an island district of Helsinki. The regiment trains guard jaegers for fighting in an urban environment. The Guard Battalion's (Finnish: Kaartin Pataljoona) two military police companies of the Guard Jaeger Regiment provide the ceremonial guard of honour for the President of Finland.

France

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The first infantry regiment of the Republican Guard is responsible for protecting the President of France and for ceremonial duties. Other historical French foot guard regiments include:

Germany

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The Wachbataillon performs ceremonial guard duty for the German Armed Forces.

The Wachbataillon perform ceremonial guard duty for various branches of the German government. It is currently the largest battalion in the Bundeswehr, having up to 1,000 soldiers based in Berlin. The battalion follows the tradition of the 1. Foot Guard Regiment (1. Garde-Rgt. z.F.).

India

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The President's Bodyguard regiment of the Indian Army the Republican Guard responsible for protecting the President of India on ceremonial occasions.

Italy

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Foot guards functions in the Italian Army are held by the Granatieri di Sardegna regiment.

The foot guards functions in the Italian Army are held by the Granatieri di Sardegna Brigade, direct heir of the original Guards' Regiment founded on April 18, 1659. The brigade's two regiments of guards infantry have a highly distinguished combat history and are still employed both in ceremonial and combat roles. The 3rd regiment serves as combat support.

The Carabinieri (the militarised gendarmerie-type law enforcement agency of Italy) also fields a ceremonial guards unit – the Reggimento Corazzieri ("Cuirassiers Regiment"), based in Rome, which carries its ceremonial role both on foot and on horseback at the Quirinal Palace – the official residence of the President of Italy. It is more compatible to a dragoons regiment while being more of a cuirassier unit due to its uniform.

Russia

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Russia's Presidential Regiment (also known as the Kremlin Regiment), although not a part of the Russian Armed Forces but part of the Russian Federal Protective Service, which directly reports to the President of Russia, is the elite unit that provides the guard of honor at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Moscow's Alexander Garden and is tasked with the protection of the President, his family and the Kremlin complex. When in the Kremlin itself (at Cathedral Square) or at Red Square, during important occasions and weekends, it maintains certain traditions of the Russian Imperial Guard through its uniforms and rifle and cavalry drills during the weekly Changing of the Guard ceremony together with the regimental band, Infantry units and the Cavalry Escort Squadron. The regiment, since the mid-2010s, has also provided sentries at the Spasskaya Tower entrance facing Red Square. In the future, the regiment will be reinforced by the Semyonovsky Regiment (reestablished in 2013), which falls under the Armed Forces and is currently the sole independent regiment of infantry in the Russian Ground Forces. The 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment, being a part of the Armed Forces, thus only performs honor guard duties only during state visits to Russia, wreath laying ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the major parades in Moscow (May 9 and November 7, respectively), as well as in major anniversary parades all over Russia if needed.

Spain

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Juan Carlos I inspects the Spanish Royal Guard, a unit that originates from the Monteros de Espinosa.

Spain's Guardia Real is one of the oldest bodyguard units in the world. On top of protecting the king and deploying overseas, they also perform ceremonial duties. The regiment primarily provide protection to members of Spanish royal family, as well as royal households such as the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Palace of El Pardo and the Palace of Zarzuela. Its origins come from the Monteros de Espinosa, which is the oldest royal bodyguard unit on the European continent. Its organizational structure is based around five battalion-sized units including the High Command Group, Escorts Group, Honors Group, Logistics Group, and the Musical Unit of the Spanish Royal Guard.

The Royal Guard Honors Group is the principal foot guards unit of the Armed Forces, which provides ceremonial and actual security to the royal family. Permanently garrisoned in Madrid, the capital city, the battalion-sized formation is organized into:

  • Group HQ
  • Army Company "Monteros de Espinosa"
    • 1st Platoon
    • 2nd Platoon
    • 3rd Platoon
    • Drill Team Platoon
  • Navy and Marine Composite Company "Mar Océano"
    • 1st Platoon
    • 2nd Platoon
    • 3rd Platoon
  • Air Force Squadron "Plus Ultra"
    • 1st Flight
    • 2nd Flight
    • 3rd Flight
  • Mountaineering Group
  • Royal Guard Diving Unit

The other foot guards regiment of the armed forces is the Spanish Army's Infantry Regiment "Inmemorial del Rey" No. 1 stationed in the Army Headquarters, Buenavista Palace, Madrid. It is one of the oldest standing guards units in the world, raised by King Ferdinand III of Castile in 1248. Traditionally, as the regiment is linked to the Spanish royal family and to the sovereign in his/her duty as Captain General and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, all the princes of Asturias since 1862 are enrolled as honorary soldiers in the 1st Guards Company. The duty of Foot Guards is the responsibility of the Honor Guard Battalion "Old Guard of Castille", which is part of the regiment and organized into:

  • Battalion HQ
  • 1st Guards Company
  • 2nd Guards Company
  • Artillery Honors Section
  • Battalion Corps of Drums
    • Drum and Bugle Section
    • Fife and Drum section

Sweden

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The Swedish Royal Guards is a unit responsible for protecting the Swedish Royal Family.

The Royal Guards is responsible for protection of the Swedish Royal Family. They are made up of the Life Guards. The Royal Guard has been responsible for providing security to Stockholm Palace since 1523. It is the primary honour guard detail for the king as well as an emergency unit for the capital. The guard is split up into two sections, the guard at Stockholm Palace, and a smaller detachment stationed at Drottningholm Palace. The Royal Guards are most visible at state arrival ceremonies for visiting heads of state visiting Sweden, where it mounts the guard of honour. It performs the changing of the guard ceremony at the Outer Courtyard of the palace, drawing approximately 800,000 tourists per year. The foot guards component is made up of three foot guards companies that fall under the King's Guards Battalion, all performing public duties alongside their combat and security roles. In addition, the 12th Motorized Infantry Battalion (raised 2016) is also designated foot guards, but only performs combat operations.

Ukraine

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The Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky Independent Presidential Brigade is a special military unit of Ukrainian Armed Forces which is mandated to defend the President of Ukraine in his duty as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the First Family, and the presidential residences and facilities assigned to the presidential office. With its Honor Guard Battalion providing ceremonial guard duty for official events.

The brigade was raised in 1992 as a National Guard infantry regiment and was transferred to the AFU in 2000.

United Kingdom

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Household Division Second World War memorial, London — note the badges of the five regiments: grenade, thistle, leek, shamrock and Garter Star.

The Foot Guards are the Regular Infantry regiments of the Household Division of the British Army. There have been six active regiments of foot guards and one reserve regiment, five of which still exist. The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was a reserve[1] formation of the Household Brigade in existence from 1900 to 1901. The Machine Gun Guards, which was formed during the First World War, was disbanded in 1920.

 
The Coldstream Guards engage the French at Hougoumont, during the Battle of Waterloo. The Guard is the oldest continuously serving regiment in the British Army's regular force.

While these regiments have other distinguishing features, a simple method of distinguishing members of the different Guards units by their appearance is by the spacing of buttons on the tunic. The ascending number of buttons also indicates the order in which the regiments were formed, although the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, an ancestor of the Grenadier Guards, is younger than the regiment that now takes the name of the Coldstream Guards, the oldest continuously serving regiment in the regular British Army (there are older regiments in the Army Reserve). There are various other distinguishing features of the uniforms of the regiments, such as the colour of the plume, which side it is worn on the bearskin, the collar badge and the shoulder badge. When all five regiments parade together, they are in the order of Grenadier Guards on the right flank, then Scots Guards, Welsh Guards, Irish Guards and Coldstream Guards on the left flank. This is because although the Coldstream are ranked second in seniority, their motto is "Nulli Secundus" ('Second to None').

The five regiments of Foot Guards, lined up as they parade:

Regiment Plume Button
grouping 		Badge Officer
pips
Position Colour Collar Shoulder
Grenadier Guards Left White Singly Grenade Royal Cypher Garter Star
Scots Guards — Threes Thistle Thistle Star Thistle Star
Welsh Guards Left White-green-white Fives Leek Leek Garter Star
Irish Guards Right Blue Fours Shamrock St Patrick Star St Patrick Star
Coldstream Guards Right Red Pairs Garter Star Rose Garter Star

Units of the Foot Guards

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A group of foot guards drawn from the Household Infantry Division
  • Grenadier Guards
  • Coldstream Guards
  • Scots Guards
  • Irish Guards
    • 1st Battalion, Irish Guards
    • No. 9 Company, Irish Guards
    • No. 12 Company, Irish Guards
    • No. 15 (Loos) Company, Irish Guards, Camberwell
  • Welsh Guards
    • 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards

The first four regiments each have separate incremental companies, which keep custody of the colours and maintain the customs and traditions of the currently dormant 2nd Battalions. These companies perform ceremonial and security duties in London.

 
British Foot Guards are appointed for public duties, such as mounting the King's Guard.

One battalion is appointed for public duties, along with the incremental companies, it provides the King's Guard, the Tower of London Guard and the Windsor Castle Guard. The Guards Battalions on Public Duties are located in barracks close to Buckingham Palace for them to be able to reach the Palace very quickly in an emergency. The independent incremental companies of the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards are permanently based at Wellington Barracks, Westminster, which is located just 300 yards from Buckingham Palace. A battalion is based at Victoria Barracks, Windsor, a quarter of a mile south of the Castle.

The Guards Division received a new battalion following the restructuring of the army in 2004, when the London Regiment became the first reserve army unit in this division. The regiment was subsequently disbanded, and its personnel moved to reserve companies of the four senior foot guards regiments.

The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was in existence during the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1901. The Guards Machine Gun Regiment was raised for service during the First World War. Initially, each brigade of the Guards Division had a machine gun company attached. In 1917, these companies were regimented to form a battalion. Further battalions (the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions) were formed by conversion of the Household Cavalry regiments. King George V ordered that the regiment be classified as the Sixth Regiment of Foot Guards, or Machine Gun Guards. However, it was disbanded in 1920.

Before the Second World War, Guards recruits were required to be at least 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) tall. They initially enlisted for seven years with the colours and a further five years with the reserve or four years and eight years. They trained at the Guards' Depot in Caterham, Surrey.[2]

United States

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The United States has ceremonial units for each of the six branches of the Armed Forces with one unit serving two branches. They form honor guards for the President, foreign heads of state, and other military and civilian dignitaries. They form the core military element of state-level ceremonies including the Inauguration of the President and state funerals. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as "The Old Guard", is the Army's escort/ceremonial guard to the President, and their units include the Tomb Guards for the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington national cemetery.

The State Defense Force of Connecticut has a battalion of the Governor's Foot Guard, a part-time unit that provides ceremonial functions organized into two guards infantry companies. It consists of four different units of an organized militia in the Connecticut State Militia, two of which are foot guards and the other two being horse guard units.

The Royal Guards of Hawaii is a ceremonial foot guard unit of the Hawaii Air National Guard which acts as the honour guard for the Governor of Hawaii. It re-enacts 19th century royal bodyguards of King Kalakaua in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Their uniform includes a pith Helmet, and white dress pants. When on parade, the 50-member royal guard carries the Springfield 45-70 rifle.

The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, inheritor of the traditions and lineage of the legendary 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, is a foot guards regiment of the Massachusetts Army National Guard that serves as the official ceremonial guards of honor for the Governor of Massachusetts.

Other nations

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Many other nations have regiments of foot guards in their armies, as the term 'guards' is an honorific to distinguish elite soldiers. Most monarchies have at least one regiment of guards, part of whose duties is to guard the Royal Family.The same goes for most republics; for instance:

Other countries that have Guards Units

Guards Bands

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The unit military bands of these guards hold senior positions within the armed forces of their home country. These bands, often internationally known informally as Guards Bands have included the following:

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ "Welcome".
  2. ^ War Office, His Majesty's Army, 1938
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British and Commonwealth

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Other nations

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