La Grande Armée was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empire to exercise unprecedented control over most of Europe. Widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest fighting forces ever assembled, it suffered enormous losses during the disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, after which it never recovered its strategic superiority.
The Imperial Guard was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle. The Guard was divided into the staff, infantry, cavalry, and artillery regiments, as well as battalions of sappers and marines. The guard itself as a whole distinguished between the experienced veterans and less experienced members by being separated into three sections: the Old Guard, Middle Guard and Young Guard. The Young Guard was virtually annihilated in the Battle of Krasnoi during the French invasion of Russia.
A carabinier is in principle a soldier armed with a carbine, musket, or rifle, which became commonplace by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The word is derived from the identical French word carabinier.
The French Imperial Eagle refers to the figure of an eagle on a staff carried into battle as a standard by the Grande Armée of Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars.
The French Revolutionary Army was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment and their great numbers. Although they experienced early disastrous defeats, the revolutionary armies successfully expelled foreign forces from French soil and then overran many neighboring countries, establishing client republics. Leading generals included Napoleon Bonaparte, Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, André Masséna and Jean Victor Marie Moreau.
The voltigeurs were French military skirmish units created in 1804 by Emperor Napoleon I. They replaced the second company of fusiliers in each existing infantry battalion.
The 2e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers de la Garde Impériale was a light cavalry regiment in Napoleon I's Imperial Guard. They were formed in 1810, after the Kingdom of Holland was annexed by France, but their original purpose was to serve as hussars of the Dutch Royal Guard. The units, who were of an elite order, were known for their loyalty and military might, as well as their professionalism in and out of battle.
The Éclaireurs of the Guard was a Corps of cavalry scouts of the French Imperial Guard, which included three cavalry regiments created by Napoleon when he reorganised the Imperial Guard following the disaster of the French invasion of Russia. The Corps was created in Article I of the decree of 4 December 1813.
The 1st Polish Light Cavalry Lancers Regiment of the Imperial Guard was a foreign Polish light cavalry lancers regiment which served as part of Napoleon's Imperial Guard during the Napoleonic Wars. The regiment, as part of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, fought in many battles, distinguishing itself at Wagram, Berezina, Hanau and especially Somosierra. On at least three occasions, light-horsemen of the regiment saved Napoleon's life.
The Mounted Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard was a heavy cavalry regiment in the Consular, then Imperial Guard during the French Consulate and First French Empire respectively. They were the senior Old Guard cavalry regiment of the Imperial Guard and from 1806 were brigaded together with the Dragoons of the Imperial Guard.
The IV Cavalry Corps of the Grande Armée was a French military unit that existed during the Napoleonic Wars. The corps was created in 1812 and rebuilt in 1813 and 1815. Emperor Napoleon I first organized the corps for the invasion of Russia. Under General Victor de Fay de La Tour-Maubourg, the corps fought at Borodino. During the War of the Sixth Coalition in 1813, General François Étienne de Kellermann commanded the all-Polish corps at Leipzig.
The Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard were a cavalry unit that served in Napoleon I’s Imperial Guard during the Napoleonic Wars. Originally made up of Mameluk slave soldiers, the unit eventually was mostly recruited from a wide mixture of Middle Eastern and European soldiers. Originally only mustering a single squadron, a second squadron would be raised from European cavalrymen in 1813, both squadrons served under the Mounted Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard. The various spellings of the squadron's title include Mamelukes, Mamluks and Mamelouks.
The Empress's Dragoons of the Imperial Guard was a heavy cavalry unit formed by Napoleon I through the decree of April 15, 1806. The "dragoon" regiments of the line had distinguished themselves in the German campaign of 1805, and therefore Napoleon decided to reorganize the cavalry of the Guard and create within it a regiment of dragoon guards. This regiment was colloquially known as the Dragons de l'Impératrice, in honor of Empress Joséphine. Following the Bourbon Restoration, they were renamed as the Royal Dragoon Corps of France but were disbanded shortly afterwards. The Empress' Dragoons were reformed during the Second Empire (1852-1870).
The Lithuanian Tatars of the Imperial Guard were a light cavalry squadron of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, in the service of the French Army from 1812 to 1814. The Lithuanian Tatars, descendants of Crimean Tatars, were organized into a single squadron at the beginning of the Russian Campaign. Their first commander was Squadron Leader Achmatowicz, who was killed at Vilnius and succeeded by Captain Ulan, who led the unit through the remainder of the war. Following the First Abdication of Napoleon, all foreign units were disbanded, and the regiment followed.
The Dutch Grenadiers were a French Imperial Guard regiment during the Napoleonic Wars. They were originally formed out of Louis Bonaparte's royal guard in the Kingdom of Holland.
François Roguet became a French division commander in the Imperial Guard during the Napoleonic Wars. He enlisted in the French Royal Army in 1789. His regiment was assigned to the Army of Italy in 1792 and fought in the Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars. He commanded a battalion at the Battle of Rivoli in 1797. He was badly wounded at the Battle of Verona in 1799. For suppressing partisans he was promoted to command an infantry regiment.
Marie-Louise is a term used to refer to the last conscripts raised in the First French Empire, raised for Napoleon's army, who were mostly teenage boys. The name derived from Empress Marie-Louise who issued decrees dated 9 October 1813 ordering the conscription of 280,000 men but it has been extended more widely to those that served as conscripts between 1813 and 1815. Many French men were dead or disabled at this stage of the Napoleonic Wars, and teenage boys were called to defend against an anticipated invasion of north-east France by the Sixth Coalition. Owing to a manpower shortage the conscription was extended for the first time to those aged 14 and those as short as 5 feet 1 inch (1.55 m).
The French Imperial Army was the land force branch of the French imperial military during the Napoleonic era.
The Sailors of the Imperial Guard were a naval unit within Napoleon's Imperial Guard. The unit's soldiers not only operated as naval infantry but as gunners, sailors and engineers. Napoleon himself stated, "They were good sailors, then they were the best soldiers. And they did everything - they were soldiers, gunners, sappers, everything!".
The 3rd Lithuanian Light Cavalry Lancers Regiment of the Imperial Guard was a foreign Lithuanian light cavalry lancers regiment which served as part of Napoleon's Imperial Guard during the Napoleonic Wars.
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