The
Catholic and Royal Army of Vendée was composed of the three Vendéen armies although that of lower
Poitou joined only occasionally. During the year 1793, the Vendéen army was distinguished into sub-armies: The
army of Charette in the
Marais breton, the
Catholic and Royal Army of Anjou and Haut-Poitou, and that of
Bas-Poitou and Retz country, south of the Loire. The
Chouans of the north of the
Loire who joined the Vendéens during the
Virée de Galerne were named
Catholic and Royal Army of Bas-Anjou and of Haute-Bretagne. In reality, those armies were simply groups of fluctuating insurgents led by a chief who had authority over people following his beliefs. The only units with a quasi-permanent existence and organization are the "compagnies de paroisse" which grouped together members of the rural community who elected their captains. Although two-thirds of the insurgents were peasants, they only represented half of the men in these units, the rest being artisans and shopkeepers. The flaws of this army were its few health services and its lack of permanent fighters, even considering their reinforcements of republican deserters,
gabelous,
Germans or Swiss. Their weaponry and provisions were also poor. The
cavalry was only composed of noble chiefs, a few
game wardens and
peasants mounted on farm horses. The artillery was composed only of old
culverin taken from castles and a few cannons taken from the republicans, making it impossible for the Catholic and Royal Army to oppose a strong Republican army on open field, or to break the fortifications of a town like at
Granville. After the
Battle of Savenay, the army was reconstructed on paper but its actual existence was insignificant; the insurrection became a
chouannerie.
Peasant soldiers The royalist insurgents who take the name of Vendéens, and that the Republicans named
Brigands, originated from four
departments, southern
Maine-et-Loire, northern
Vendée, northern
Deux-Sèvres, et southern
Loire-Atlantique in the provinces of
Poitou,
Anjou and
Brittany. The insurgent territory took the name of
military Vendée. The great majority of Vendéen insurgents were peasants, armed with
scythes if they did not have rifles, but there were also a great number of
artisans, especially in the
Mauges region of Anjou. The mobilisation in the insurgent territories was massive. In Chemillé, the age of the insurgents varied from 11 to 67 years old. The typical age was 25 to 30 years old. A few women also fought among the Vendéens; the most famous one was
Renée Bordereau. The
army of Charette was known to have a few
amazons in its ranks, including
Céleste Bulkeley. It was only during the
Virée de Galerne that the officers started adopting signs to distinguish themselves from the troops. The generals and officers of the counsel took white scarves worn at the belt with knots of different colors.
La Rochejaquelein and
Donnissan wore a black knot,
Stofflet a red one, and
Marigny a blue one. Officers of a lower rank started wearing a white scarf attached to their left arm. Priests who opposed the revolution did not have a direct role in the war; a few held a seat in the royalist counsels and mainly took care of correspondences. For a priest to serve as an officer or to physically participate in combat was generally not well considered by Vendéens.
Regular army A few regular troops were formed in the army of Vendée, where they served as elite troops.
Charles de Bonchamps organized infantry and cavalry units whom he equipped with his own means. These troops were even given uniforms, grey for the infantry, green for the cavalry. Nonetheless, the Vendéens did not like leaving their homes for too long, so after a few days of combat they would leave the army and go back to their villages. Hence the Vendéens were incapable of keeping conquered towns like
Angers,
Saumur,
Thouars and
Fontenay-le-Comte, which were progressively abandoned and retaken by the republicans without difficulty. To fix this disadvantage, regular troops were recruited among republican deserters and insurgents exterior to
Vendée, especially
Angevins from northern
Maine-et-Loire and
Bretons from the
Loire-Atlantique. A few future
Chouan officers served with these troops, including
Georges Cadoudal,
Pierre-Mathurin Mercier,
Scépeaux,
Jean Terrien,
Joseph-Juste Coquereau and
Louis Courtillé. Regular cen troops also included a high number of foreigners, including
Russians,
Germans and many Jews (according to republican
Jacques Léonard Laplanche's writings). Among the foreign soldiers who joined the Vendéens are included the Germans of the and of the
Germanic Legion, as well as a battalion of 600 Swiss and Germans commanded by the baron of Keller, of which some were former
Swiss Guards.
Generals of the Vendée File:Cathelineau.jpg|
Jacques Cathelineau File:Maurice d'Elbée.jpg|
Maurice Gigost d'Elbée File:Bonchamps.jpg|
Charles de Bonchamps File:François-Athanase de Charette de La Contrie.jpg|
François-Athanase Charette de La Contrie File:Pierre-Narcisse Guérin Henri de la Rochejaquelin.jpeg|
Henri de La Rochejaquelein File:Louis de Lescure1.jpg|
Louis Marie de Lescure File:JeanNicolasStofflet.jpg|
Jean-Nicolas Stofflet File:Antoine Philippe de La Trémoille, Prince of Talmont by Léon Cogniet (Musée d'art et d'histoire de Cholet).jpg|
Antoine-Philippe de La Trémoïlle, Prince de Talmont File:Charles Sapinaud de La Rairie Portrait.jpg|
Charles Sapinaud de La Rairie Other leaders include:
Jacques Nicolas Fleuriot de La Fleuriais and
Charles Aimé de Royrand. ==Catholic and Royal Army of Brittany==