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Uniformierung & Ausrüstung

The Uniforms of the French Army under Napoleon I (1800 - 1815) - (Old) Imperial Guard - Mounted Grenadiers

The Imperial Guard included various branches of cavalry. Already with the precursor of the Imperial Guard, the Consular Guard, the mounted grenadiers formed its heavy cavalry together with the chasseurs on horseback (Chasseurs à cheval). Originally they had been created in 1796 as a mounted unit to protect the Directory. Their authorized strength in 1804 consisted of four squadrons with two companies each and totaled 1,018 men. At the end of 1805 there were 1,310 men, as two velites companies had been incorporated into the formation. After the costly Russian campaign, at the beginning of 1813 only 127 mounted grenadiers could still be mustered.

Uniformierung & Ausrüstung

The Uniforms of the French Army under Napoleon I (1800 - 1815) - The Imperial Guard - The Pupils

When the Dutch troops were incorporated into the imperial army, a decision also had to be made regarding a cadet corps (existing since 1808), whose members were exclusively orphans.

Uniformierung & Ausrüstung

The Uniforms of the French Army under Napoleon I. (1800 - 1815) - (Old) Imperial Guard - Foot Chasseurs

The Imperial Guard included, in addition to the general staff, the Corps of Foot Grenadiers, the Corps of Foot Chasseurs and the Guard's pupils, as well as the cavalry and other formations such as the elite and ordnance gendarmes, the artillery, the pioneers, etc..

Uniformierung & Ausrüstung

The uniforms of the French Army under Napoleon I. (1800 - 1815) - (Old) Imperial Guard - Grenadiers on Foot (1st and 2nd Regiment)

Philipp Haythornthwaite writes of the Guard Grenadiers: "The Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard were without doubt the most famous of all the corps fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. A mystique surrounded them, the sheen of loyalty, of bravery, of experience, of invincibility" (Uniforms of the Battle of Waterloo, p. 146)..

Uniformierung & Ausrüstung

Hippolyte Bellangé, The Soldiers of the French Republic and the Empire.

Uniformierung & Ausrüstung

The uniforms of the French Army under Napoleon I. (1800 - 1815) - Marshals and Generality I.

Marshal Bessières in the uniform of the Guard Horse Chasseurs. After an original watercolor by Maurice Sébastien LAURENT (1887 – 1973) in the possession of the author. Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bessières had already been granted the rank of Marshal on 09.05.1804. He was born on 06.08.1768 in Prayssac (Quercy) and died on 01.05.1813 near Rippach. In 1808 Bessières was appointed by Napoleon as Duc d’Istrie (Duke of Istria). As Colonel Général he commanded the Guard cavalry and distinguished himself particularly at Austerlitz (1805) and Friedland (1808) as well as at Wagram (1809). Here Bessières is not wearing the special uniform for marshals, but that of the Guard Horse Chasseurs. As a sign of his rank as Marshal, however, one can see the marshal's baton covered with velvet and embroidered with golden eagles.