Editing Grenadier (section)

==Elite status in the 18th century==
Grenade usage declined in the 18th century, a fact that can be attributed to the improved effectiveness of [[infantry]] line tactics and [[flintlock]] technology. The need for elite [[shock troops|assault troops]] remained, however, and the existing grenadier companies were used for this purpose. As noted, above average physical size had been considered important for the original grenadiers and, in principle, height and strength remained the basis of selection for these picked companies. In the British regiments of foot during the 18th century the preference was, however, to draw on steady veterans for appointment to individual vacancies in a grenadier company (one of the ten companies comprising each regiment). The traditional criterion of size was only resorted to when newly raised regiments required a quick sorting of a mass of new recruits.<ref>Stuart Reid, page 16 "British Redcoat 1740-93", {{ISBN|1-85532-554-3}}</ref> Prior to the [[Battle of Culloden]] in 1745 the [[Prince William, Duke of Cumberland|Duke of Cumberland]] ordered that grenadier companies were "to be completed out of the best men of their respective Regiments, and to be constantly kept so".<ref>{{cite book|first=Stuart|last=Reid|page=11|title=Cumberland's Culloden Army 1745-46|date=23 October 2012 |location=Oxford|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84908-846-6}}</ref>

By contrast, French grenadier companies of the 18th century appear to have selected their new recruits according to the classic criteria of height. However with the outbreak of the Revolutionary Wars the urgency of mass mobilisation meant that the selection of grenadier and other special sub-units was done according to the preferences of individual officers.<ref>{{cite book|first=Terry|last=Crowdy|page=10|title=French Revolutionary Infantryman 1791-1802|date=2003 |location=Oxford|publisher=Osprey Publishing|ISBN=1-84176-552-X}}</ref> 
  
Transferral to a grenadier company generally meant both enhanced status and an increase in pay.<ref>{{cite book|first=Stuart|last=Reid|page=18|title=British Redcoat 1740-93 |date=15 January 1997 |location=Oxford|publisher=Osprey|isbn=1-85532-554-3}}</ref>

Whether for reasons of appearance or reputation, grenadiers tended to be the showpiece troops of their respective armies. In the [[Spanish Army]] of the early 19th century, for example, grenadier companies were excused routine duties such as town patrols but were expected to provide guards at the headquarters and residences of senior officers. When a regiment was in line formation the grenadier company always formed on the right flank. In the British Army, when [[Trooping the Colour]], "[[The British Grenadiers]]" march is played no matter which regiment is on the parade ground, as the colour party stands at the right-hand end of the line, as every regiment formerly had a company of grenadiers at the right of their formation.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}