Cavalry, 1804-1815

Officers and soldiers of The french imperial guard

Volume 4. Cavalry (Part Three), 1804 - 1815

In volume IV we complete the chapter on to the Gendarmes d'Elite - the famous "Immortels" - and then look at the other much less well-known cavalry units of the Garde. The Gendarmes d'Ordonnance and the Gardes d'Honneur, who fulfilled the Emperor's political aim of attracting the sons of the aristocracy and the wealthy bourgeoisie, fought with panache and distinction in Poland in 1807 and then in Germany and France in 1813 and 1814. After the Polish campaign in 1806, French troops were confronted with Cossacks and their particular way of fighting. From then on Napoleon did not rest until he had formed light cavalry units armed with lances and capable of countering these formidable opponents by using their way of manoeuvring. The Lithuanian Tartars, the Krakus whom Napoleon called "my Pigmy cavalry", and finally the Eclaireurs (Scouts) all stood up heroically - and often victoriously - to the hordes of Cossacks which they were confronted with during the 1813 and 1814 campaigns. At the end of this volume, we will start to study the Garde's prestigious Horse Artillery whose cannons thundered all across Europe.