Editing Sapper (section)

====History====
[[File:Sapeurs du génie de la Garde impériale, 1810_crop.jpg|thumb|right|French Imperial Guard sappers, 1810]]
The French Corps of Engineers was created under the command of [[Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban|Marshal Vauban]] during the late 17th century. Its members were called sappers if their function was to destroy enemy fortifications by using [[trench]]es or ''sape'' and miners if they engaged in [[tunnel warfare]] or ''mine''. The Corps of the Engineers was suppressed during two short periods (1720-1729 and 1769–1793) and sappers and miners were part of the Artillery regiments. In 1793, the Corps was reorganized into companies of miners and battalions of sappers, each assigned to a particular division.

Eventually, as the missions of the Corps grew more diversified, additional titles were used by combat engineers, such as [[Conductor (military appointment)|Conductor]] (''sapeur-conducteur'') in 1810, entrusted with the logistics of the Corps, Firefighter (''sapeur-pompier'') in 1810 or [[telegraph]] sapper (''sapeur-télégraphiste''). In 1814, the companies of miners were integrated into the sapper battalions, themselves organized in Engineers Regiments (''régiments du génie''). In 1875, the distinction between miners and sappers was abolished and all members of the Corps of Engineers were titled sappers-miners, though only sapper was used in common usage. In 1894, the ''pontonniers'' or bridgemakers were transferred from the Artillery Corps to the Engineers, thus creating the title ''sapeurs-pontonniers''. In 1909, the Engineering Arm of the Army Staff was entrusted the burgeoning Air Service (''Aérostation militaire''), its personal was titled sapper-airman (''sapeur-aérostier''). The titled was disused in 1914 when the Air Service took its independence from the Engineering Arm.