not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces." Hessian troops served in America on official duty from the armed forces of Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Hanau. Protocol I also requires a mercenary to be "promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party." While not formally incorporated into the British military, Hessian troops were paid the same wages as British soldiers. Service during the American Revolution Great Britain maintained a relatively small standing army, so it found itself in great need of troops at the outset of the American Revolutionary War. Several German princes saw an opportunity to earn extra income by hiring out their regular army units for service in America. Their troops entered the British service not as individuals, but in entire units, with their usual uniforms, flags, equipment, and officers. Methods of recruitment varied according to the state of origin. The contingent from Waldeck was drawn from an army based on universal conscription, from which only students were exempt. Other German princes relied on long-service voluntary enlistment supplemented by conscription when numbers fell short. Many princes were closely related to the British House of Hanover and were comfortable placing their troops under British command. A total of 29,875 German troops fought alongside British troops in the Revolutionary War, of which 16,992 came from Hesse-Kassel and 2,422 from Hesse-Hanau. Other contingents came from Brunswick (4,300), Ansbach-Bayreuth (2,353), Anhalt-Zerbst (1,119), and Waldeck (1,225). As the majority of the German troops came from Hesse, Americans use the term "Hessians" to refer to all German troops fighting on the British side. Deployment Hessian troops included Jägers, hussars, three artillery companies, and four battalions of grenadiers. Most infantrymen were chasseurs (sharpshooters), musketeers, and fusiliers. Line infantry was armed with muskets, while the Hessian artillery used the three-pound cannon. The elite Jäger battalions used the Büchse, a short, large-caliber rifle well-suited to woodland combat. Initially, the typical regiment was made up of 500 to 600 men. Later in the war, due to death in battle, death by disease, and general desertion to settle in the Colonies, the regiments may have been reduced to only around 300 to 400 men. The first Hessian troops