Foot guards

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Hans Majestet Kongens Garde with Dmitry Medvedev

. The unit acts as foot guards for the Norwegian Army.

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.

Foot Guards by country

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

The foot guards of Denmark consists of the

on occasion.

The regiment is currently composed of 4 active duty units:

Finland

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

France

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:

• Garde du Corps
  (1419–1791; 1815–1830)
• Gardes Françaises
  (1563–1789)
• Swiss Guards
  (1616–1792)
• Imperial Guard (1804–1815)
  • Old Guard
  • Middle Guard
  • Young Guard
• Imperial Guard Corps (1854–1870)

Germany

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

The

on ceremonial occasions.

Italy

Granatieri di Sardegna

regiment.

The foot guards functions in 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

. It is more compatible to a dragoons regiment while being more of a cuirassier unit due to its uniform.

Russia

, 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

Spanish Royal Guard, a unit that originates from the Monteros de Espinosa

.

Spain's

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

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

Swedish Royal Family

.

The

. 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

The

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

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

First World War

, was disbanded in 1920.

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

• Grenadier Guards
  • 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards
  • Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards
  • Ypres Company, Grenadier Guards, Kingston upon Thames
• Coldstream Guards
  • 1st Battalion, Coldstream Guards
  • No. 7 Company, Coldstream Guards
  • No. 17 Company, Coldstream Guards, Hammersmith
• Scots Guards
  • 1st Battalion, Scots Guards
  • F Company, Scots Guards
  • G (Messines) Company, Scots Guards, Westminster
• 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

.

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

unit in this division. The regiment was subsequently disbanded, and its personnel moved to reserve companies of the four senior foot guards regiments.

The

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

United States

The

Arlington national cemetery

.

The

, two of which are foot guards and the other two being horse guard units.

The

.

The

.

Other nations

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:

• the Počasno-zaštitna bojna (Honor Guard Battalion), the elite ceremonial unit of Croatian Armed Forces.
• the
  honor guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
  .
• The Presidential Security Group of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fire Protection is the combined escort and security brigade for the President of the Philippines and wear on ceremony and parade the rayadillo uniforms of the Philippine Army during the Philippine Revolution, adapted for the unit due to its importance, with the dress being dark blue instead of light blue. This unique formation is the only one of its kind, with its members coming from the armed and police services, the coast guard and the fire services.
• Brazil has the Presidential Guard Battalion in Brasília, as the primary foot guards unit of the Brazilian Army, tasked with the protection of the President of Brazil and his residence, the National Congress of Brazil, and all other government buildings in the Brazilian Federal District. It has the lineage of the Imperial Guards Battalion formed by Emperor Dom Pedro I in 1822 and as such wears its uniform in all ceremonies.
  • Brazil also has the
    Eastern Military Command, and Foot Guards companies in the other military regions within the Brazilian Army. Their role is the defense of military installations and to reinforce the Army Police
    during contingencies and major events.
• The
  Bogota
  , the capital city.
• The
  President of Venezuela, and to the Ministry of Defense, it is a separate service branch of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela
  .
• Bolivia's guard unit is the Bolivian Colorados Regiment of the Bolivian Army.
• In Poland, honor guards duties are performed by the 1st Guards Battalion,
  Representative Honor Guard Regiment of the Polish Armed Forces in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and during state visits at the Presidential Palace, Warsaw
  .
• The President's Own Guard Regiment (POGR) is foot guard regiment in the Ghana Army which serves as a light infantry unit and a Guard of honour for the President of Ghana.
• The
  President's Guard of the Sri Lanka Army
  served as a foot guard unit until 2015.

Other countries that have Guards Units

• Russia and Belarus, as well as the former Soviet Union republics in the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Baltic (except Lithuania) have
  Guards units
  in their own respective armed forces units. A historical extension of the Russian Imperial Guard, these Guards units represent the elite troops of these nations and in the Russian and Belarusian units, remind everyone of these units' contribution to the Second World War and the war's Allied victory in the eastern parts of Europe and eastern Asia.
• Romania's guard unit is the 30th Guards Brigade "Michael the Brave" of the Romanian Land Forces Logistics Command.
• Bulgaria's guard formation is the National Guard Unit. According to the country's Armed Forces Law it forms an integral part of the Armed Forces of Bulgaria, but is outside Defence Staff subordination and falls under the direct authority of the Ministry of Defense. It is a regimental equivalent, but with units at reduced strength. The National Guards Unit is based in the capital Sofia, numbers up to 1 000 officers, NCOs, guardsmen and civilian staff and has its own band. The National Guard Unit's sole function is purely ceremonial and according to the Constitution of Bulgaria it is a symbol of the Bulgarian State, next to the national flag, coat of arms and the national anthem. Throughout most of the time of its existence during the monarchy the Bulgarian Guard has been a cavalry unit, which is the reason why today's infantry ceremonial unit sports a cavalry style uniform, but nowadays, like cavalry dragoons of the past, carry only rifles (SKS, the color guard included) while only the officers carry sabres.
• The Guard's Brigade is the security unit is the Nigerian Army.
• Serbian Guards Unit headquartered in Belgrade and serves as the guards unit of the Serbian Armed Forces. Being a full-time regiment it serves as the honor guard to the President of Serbia and comes under the command of the Serbian General Staff
  .
• President of the Republic of Turkey. Unlike the rest of Turkish Armed Forces, especially the Turkish Land Forces
  , they wear Blue-White Ceremonial Dress Uniforms full-time and serve as an honorific unit to the President of Turkey, with TLF personnel forming the majority of serving personnel.
• The National Ceremonial Guard in South Africa performs honor guard duties as part of the South African National Defence Force to the President of South Africa.
• The Garderegiment Grenadiers en Jagers & Garderegiment Fuseliers Prinses Irene are the two foot guard regiments in the Netherlands.
• The foot guards of Norway consists of the
  Hans Majestet Kongens Garde
  (lit., His Majesty The King's Guard; the Royal Guards).

Guards Bands

The unit

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:

• The Guards Brass Band (Bulgaria)
• Kaartin Soittokunta (Finland
  )
• Band of the Guards Brigade (Nigeria)
• Band of the
  Brigade of The Guards Training Centre (India
  )
• Bands of the Household Division (UK)

See also

• Guard Mounting
• Household Cavalry (Horse Guards)
• King's Guard
• Household Division

Footnotes

External links

British and Commonwealth

• Grenadier Guards
• Coldstream Guards
• Scots Guards
• Irish Guards
• Welsh Guards
• Governor General's Foot Guards
• The Canadian Grenadier Guards
• Federation Guard
• Brigade of the Guards

Other nations

• Den Kongelige Livgarde
• Högvakten
• Hans Majestet Kongens Garde
• [1] and [2] – Governor's Guards