The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (French pronunciation: [ekɔl spesjal militɛʁ də sɛ̃siʁ], lit.

Its motto is Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre, literally meaning "They study to vanquish" or, more freely put, "Training for victory".

Renamed the École Spéciale Impériale Militaire after Bonaparte was proclaimed emperor, it moved in 1808 to Saint-Cyr-l'École (Yvelines) in the castle of the former Maison royale de Saint-Louis, a school for girls of the French nobility disbanded at the time of the Revolution.

After the defeat of the French Army against Germany in 1940, the school moved to the free zone, in the south of France, in Aix-en-Provence.

After the invasion of the free zone by the Germans in 1942, the school was disbanded, but French cadet officer training went on, part in Cherchell (Algeria, then Free French territory) and part in the United Kingdom (Cadets de la France Libre) under General de Gaulle's command, albeit under British supervision and guidance.

[citation needed] At the Libération of France in 1944, the school was reunited under the command of General de Lattre de Tassigny and settled in the somewhat remote and isolated military camp of Coëtquidan, Morbihan, because the "vieux bahut" (old school) had been severely damaged by an Allied bombing during the Libération campaign.

The school admitted its first female cadets in 1983 and underwent a minor reform in 2002 devised to broaden the diversity of its recruitment.

Alumni also count 11 Maréchaux de France, three French heads of state, two flying aces, six members of the Académie Française, and one Saint of the Catholic Church.

The collection shows the evolution of the uniform, personal objects, artwork, authentic documents, arms, clothing and family relics.

[7] The shako plumes are nicknamed Casoars (cassowaries), because they were first adopted in 1855 at the time of this colorful bird's first appearance in the Paris Zoo.

The Saint-Cyr cadets of the class of 1913–14, graduating ahead of time with the outbreak of World War I, reportedly vowed to lead their platoons in battle wearing the casoar on their service kepis.

At the end of the first year, the cadets are presented with the Casoar (the red and white plumes on their shakos) and with their officer's sword.

At the end of the third and final year, the cadets are promoted to the rank of lieutenant and receive their new insignia in a ceremony called the "triumph" (triomphe).

French students take exams on general knowledge, aptitude and intelligence; sit for an interview and pass a test of physical ability.