officers and men) and four fusilier companies (each numbering 132 officers and men) to each battalion. Image and recruitment basis The subsequent image of the Gardes Françaises as a socially-elite palace unit led solely by courtier officers may be largely incorrect. Most of the regimental officers were from outside Paris, and some, such as the future Maréchal Abraham de Fabert, did not have even the status of provincial aristocrats. The rank and file were recruited from all over France but through marriages and off-duty employment, they quickly established local ties in Paris, which were to influence their behaviour at the outbreak of the French Revolution. Guardsmen were enlisted for a minimum of eight years and were required to be French nationals with a minimum height of 1.73 m (5'8"), compared with the 1.68 m (5'6") of line infantry soldiers. The reported incident at the Battle of Fontenoy in which officers of the Gardes Françaises and their English counterparts invited each other to fire first is sometimes cited as an example of excessive chivalry amongst aristocratic opponents. However, in 18th-century warfare, the unit that held its fire until it was closest to the enemy would be able to deliver the most effective volley. On this occasion the Gardes Françaises fired first, with limited effect, and sustained heavy casualties, of 411 dead and wounded. Uniform During the years 1685 to 1789 the regiment wore dark "king's blue" coats, with red collars, cuffs and waistcoats. Breeches were red (later white), and leggings were white. Grenadiers had high fur hats, and the fusilier companies wore the standard tricorn of the French infantry. Coats and waistcoats were heavily embroidered in white or silver (for officers) braid. French Revolution The sympathy shown by the Gardes Françaises for the French Revolution at its outbreak was crucial to the initial success of the rising. The other two units of the Maison militaire du roi de France at the time, the Swiss Guards and the Bodyguard, remained loyal to the king, but they were smaller units than the Gardes Françaises and lacked the Parisian connections of the latter regiment. During weeks of disturbances prior to early July 1789 leading up to the fall of the Bastille, the regiment initially obeyed orders and on several occasions, it acted against the increasingly-unruly crowds. In April, during a riot at the Réveillon wallpaper factory, guardsmen had fired on a hostile crowd, killing