Demi - brigade " Not to be confused with 13th Demi - Brigade of the Foreign Legion " The Demi - brigade ( ) was a military formation first used by the French Army during the French Revolutionary Wars . The " Demi - brigade " amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single unit . Each one was headed by a chef de brigade . The term " " Demi - brigade " " was chosen to avoid the feudal " ancien régime " connotations of the term " " Régiment " " . Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the term to be abandoned in 1803 , and the " demi - brigades " were renamed " " régiments " " . The term was reused by certain later units in the French Army , such as the 13th Foreign Legion Demi - Brigade , the only permanent demi - brigade in the modern French Army . Background . The French Legislative Assembly voted to declare war on Austria on 20 April 1792 , and Prussia joined the war against France . ended well for France , having conquered the Austrian Netherlands ( Belgium ) and parts of Germany . However , by early 1793 , having guillotined Louis XVI of France on 21 January , France found itself at war with a coalition including Great Britain , the German States , the Kingdom of Piedmont - Sardinia , and Spain in addition to Austria and Prussia . By , France had lost all the conquests of 1792 , was fighting on multiple fronts , and threatened with invasion . In an effort to reverse the setbacks , France took a number of measures . In late August 1793 , instigated by Lazare Carnot , France introduced the " levée en masse " , a mass conscription of young unmarried men . Also in late August , a law was passed to amalgamate the infantry , which saw the formation of " Demi - brigades " . Organized in 1794 as part of the French Revolutionary Armies . One regiment was made up of three brigades and one brigade was made up of 3 battalions . The main problem faced by the French Revolution infantry was a lack of unity . The Army included three main types of infantry , all with different uniforms , organizations , equipment , and rates of pay : The variations between units created logistical problems , and animosity ( due to different rates of pay ) among units . The purpose of the " Demi - brigade " was to blend all three formations into a single unit , with identical equipment , organization , pay , and uniforms . A " Demi - brigade " consisted of three infantry battalions : one battalion of regulars ( from old Royal regiments ) , and two battalions of either volunteers or national guards . Each battalion had the same organization of one company of grenadiers ( heavy infantry ) and eight companies of fusiliers ( regular infantry ) . On paper , a " Demi - brigade " would have 2 , 437 men and four six - pounder cannon s . The " levée en masse " had swelled the ranks of the French army , so by August 1794 over a million men ( 1 , 075 , 000 ) were under arms . The Demi - brigade created a streamlined and simple method of organizing the infantry . Due to the current war situation , " Demi - brigades " were not formed until early 1794 . Separate Demi - brigades were organised as line infantry ( " Demi - brigade de Bataille " , 1792 – 96 and " Demi - brigade d ' Infanterie de Ligne " , 1796 – 1803 ) and light infantry ( " Demi - brigade d ' Infanterie Légère " ) ; all lacked uniformity in either weapons or equipment . As the French Revolutionary Wars progressed , demi - brigades were issued with specific coloured uniform jackets . By late 1794 , France had completed the re - conquest of the Austrian Netherlands and Rhineland of Germany . The Demi - brigade survived the transition of the French government to the French Directory in 1795 , the ending of the First Coalition in 1797 after Napoleon ' s successful campaigns in Italy , renewed conflict with a Second Coalition , and Napoleon seizing power in 1799 to create the French Consulate . End of the Demi - brigade . Peace was restored under the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 , and Napoleon ordered the reinstatement of the historic term " " régiment " " in 1803 . The " Demi - brigades " were renamed as regiment s . The term has been revived for various French Army units since the Napoleonic period . Perhaps the most famous unit to be termed a " Demi - Brigade " is the 13th Foreign Legion Demi - Brigade , the only permanent demi - brigade in the modern French Army . Demi - brigades in Poland . In the Second Polish Republic , demi - brigades ( ) were organized in the ranks of Border Protection Corps ( in 1927 ) and National Defence units ( from 1937 ) .