Voltigeurs
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The Voltigeurs (Vaulters) were French skirmish military units created in 1804 by Napoleon. The term referred to an infantry taken to the first lines of the front by a cavalry who took him behind. The term was then used to design light infantry units of an elite company acting as a tirailleur (sharpshooter) before the line of a batallon. The Imperial Guard had at times 19 regiments of voltigeurs, who were then the best sharpshooters of the French military, but not as good in contact battle.
