Les invalides

The Musée de l'Armée (Army Museum), founded in 1905 with the merger of the Musée d'Artillerie and the Musée Historique de l'Armée, is a national military museum of France. The museum is home to a vast collection of 500,000 artifacts from antiquity to the 20th century. Its collections include weapons, armor, artillery, uniforms, emblems and paintings.

The Musée de l'Armé actually houses the third largest collection of antique armor and arms in the world and these are conveniently displayed by theme and in chronological order for its visitors

The old department contains one of Europe's major collections of weapons and amour, covering military history from the 13th to the 17th century. We are now entering the Medieval room that displays arms and armor from the 13th century right through to the 15th century and includes items such as medieval swords.

The richness of its ancient collections is what makes the Army Museum one of the three largest arms museum in the world.
Extending from the Crown collections, the presentation of arms and armor follows a path organized chronologically, from Saint Louis to Louis XIII, from knights to the standing army, but also according to themes.

Medieval swords

Amazingly intricate shields, helmet, and faceplate. - See more at: http://www.coolstuffinparis.com/musee-de-larmee.php#sthash.ZQcFDCP3.dpuf

Human visors

Sword of Francis 1, King of France from 1515 to 1547

Francis I, who was king of France from 1515 to 1547 - See more at: http://www.coolstuffinparis.com/musee-de-larmee.php#sthash.sfJeRoDY.dpuf

This is the left wing of the former refectory known as Vauban Hall or Detaille Hall, because it was originally intended to house the collection of militaria bequeathed to the museum by Edouard Detaille. Here the walls are decorated by large paintings battles depicting territories conquered by Louis XIV during the War of Devolution (1667-1668).

Scene depecting French infantry struggle to defend a large gateway from the onslaught of the Prussian Infantry during the Franco - Prussian war.

Remise de ses nouveaux drapeaux et étendards à l’armée française sur l’hippodrome de Longchamp, le 14 juillet 1880- "Delivery of new flags and banners in the French army during a military ceremony held July 14, 1880"

Indeed, in 1879 the Freycinet government decides to replace the emblems hastily adopted in 1871 after the fall of France to the Germans. This military ceremony is a symbolic testimony to the strengthening of Republican political power in which the union of the army of the Republic and the nation is celebrated

From the hundred days (1815) to the Franco-Prussian war of 1870

In the 19th century, the successive regimes attempted to adapt and reform the military apparatus according to the national political situation and the main lines of national foreign policy. As regards operations, this period was marked in Europe by expeditions aimed at helping France resume a dominant position among European nations- Spain (1823), Italy (1859), etc. - and by the Franco - Prussian War of 1870-71.

Within large display cases are eighteen full-sized equestrian figures which depict the evolution of French cavalry uniforms from the Consulate period (1800) up to World War II.

British Army uniform

Once the galleries have been visited, we went to see the artillery pieces which are also on display along the pavilion walls fronting the main courtyard.