Complex sentence: Vivandière is a generic name for women attached to military regiments as camp followers, but also often occupying a place of honour as mascots: their function was to stiffen morale, particularly in wartime, when they would act as nurses on the battlefield.
Split into simpler sentences: Vivandière is a generic name for women attached to military regiments as camp followers, but also often occupying a place of honour as mascots. Their function was to stiffen morale, particularly in wartime, when they would act as nurses on the battlefield.