French and Belgian military records, or what the French call ‘matricules militaire’ or ‘registres matricules’ are becoming more available over both countries. The trouble is, there’re not all in one place, but scattered across the internet. So the problem becomes finding these pockets of records easily instead of all endless searching across the internet.
So, voila, the birth of this page. Here you can find places that offer a variety of different collections of military information I do this, so you don’t have to.
Military Enlistments and records can offer a goodie bag of genealogical information. You could find the parents’ names as well as the date and place of birth, if the soldier died during service, and if he deserted.
Early French military enlistment records of the “Ancien Regime” (pre-revolution) can be exasperating and confusing to search through. Do we understand the different regiments and their functions? Do we understand the provinces of the Ancient Regime and how the armies operated then” Do we know what “Dragons” and “Hussards” are? How to search and navigate through all of available records at ‘Memoire des Hommes’
Post Revolution military records are easier to find and in a lot of departments, they are searchable. Starting with the Napoleonic era of 1802-1815, through 1918 are available. Each French department can hold military enlistments records as early as 1836.
UPDATED! March 15, 2026
French Military
France’s Departmental Military Archives. You can find online military enlistment records for each department here, You could find records as early as 1836 up until 1946. These enlistment records would be found under each Department’s ‘matricules militaire’ category.
Military Enlistments of the “l’Ancien Régime” 1682-1793 at Mémoire des Hommes. Military Enlistments of the Ancient Regime for France (including what is now known as Belgium) is a MASSIVE repository of online digitized image records of enlistments, different branches of army i.e. Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery and more. Early records have the old names of regions and Provinces (ex: Anjou) that don’t exist today. There is a search feature, but it is an incomplete, ongoing, and growing indexing project.Volunteers have indexed an impressive amount of the military enrollments. But the bulk of these records are only browsable for now. This requires a lot of time going through each regiment looking for your ancestors. There are filters on the right side of the page that help narrow down fields so you can browse better. Click here for instructions on how to navigate through this database..
French Revolution era Enlistments and consulates is a spectacular find and resource at the Memoire des Hommes repository. There are two extensive volumes to browse through. Volume 1 – 1791- 1829, and Volume 2 -1793-1803. I like to use the ‘arbre’ (tree view) option of viewing instead of the “tableau” (table view). I just find that it’s easier for me to look for the branches of military posted. You can find those tab links at the top of the military listings.
Mémoire des Hommes French & Belgian Military Enlistments
Searchable database of community indexed French and Belgian enlistments from as early as 1719 to the Napoleonic era. Search by names and by ‘department of naissance’ or ‘pays de naissance’. Images of enlistments included. This is an incomplete but growing indexing project.
Military Troops & Enlistment of Soldiers at Mémoire des Hommes. This is an incomplete, but ongoing and growing search by name‘ project. The years of 1747 – 1839 and 1802-1815 are being indexed, and the one that are already indexed are available.
Miltary Enlistments 1802-1815 at Mémoire des Hommes Browsable Napoleonic War enlistments. With images
New! Soldiers of War Burials A searchable database of burials at cemetaries of soldiers who died during the wars from the Franco-Prussian, Napoleonic, both world wars, and overseas. So many French solidiers who died and buried were labled as unknown, with a possibly of a first name, but most were buried with no names. The most burials came from World War l, the count being 580,618.
Geneanet’s Military Archives Geneanet continues to shine with their ongoing indexing project of the Napoleonic War enlistments 1802-1815. This is an index.
FrenchGenWeb 1914-1918 A cross referenced database of French soldiers who died for France during the first World War
Memorial Genweb “List and honor the soldiers and resistance fighters who gave their lives for France during conflicts or missions, the civilian victims of acts of war as well as the foreign soldiers who died on our territory”
The Honor Roll 1914-1918 A browsable index of soldiers, with photos and citations, recognized for valor in combat and gallantry in action against an enemy of France. Photos were first published in “L’Illustration” newspaper. Researched and compiled by the hard work of Jean-Luc Dron
The World Remembers 1914-1922, A searchable database of French and Belgian soldiers who died during the first World War. Includes other countries as well.
French Prisoners of War Second World War. 100 issues for years 1940 –1941 at Gallica – the online French newspaper repository
New! Women in Combat – A list of 100 heroic French women and their biographies (some with their pictures) starting from the Franco-Prussian war, World War l, and World War ll of whom awarded multiple honors by the French Government for their bravery, contribution in the service of France. During WW ll, many were captured and interrogated by Prussians, Germans, then tortured, executed, including decapitation or sent to Ravensbruck (WW II), where they were eventually executed or died of disease. The first link, features the women’s names but you won’t be able to translate the individual biographies. This second download link is the catalog full listing of French women, with their biographies, who risked their lives to save others as nurses who tended both French soliders, as well as Prussian and German soldiers behind enemy lines, or as pilots, or committed themselves as spies for France. The .pdf is all in French, but you can copy and paste the biography into a translator.
Genealomaniac -Search for your French ancestors though the massive listings of websites available at Bookmark it!
Ancestramil – An online database of military men, with detailed facts of service who served 1792-1918 Contributions for the Search of French Military Ancestors