Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde Impériale
Encyclopedia
The Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde Impériale (in English
: Horse Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard) constituted a light cavalry
regiment in the Consular, then Imperial Guard during the French Consulate
and First French Empire
respectively. They were the second senior "Old Guard" cavalry regiment of the Imperial Guard, after the Grenadiers à Cheval
. The regiment had its origins in the Guides raised by General Bonaparte during his Italian Campaign of 1796. It was the Chasseurs that usually provided personal escort to Napoleon, and he often wore the uniform of the regiment in recognition of this service. The regiment was not only known for its lavish uniform, but its combat history as well.
to return to France he took with him a detachment of 180 Guides à cheval and 125 Guides à pied. The men chosen were the most devoted veterans from each company. Soon after the coup d'état
of 18 Brumaire
the Guides, who had stayed in the south of France, were summoned to Paris
and quartered in the Caserne
de Babylone. A decree of 28 November reorganized the Garde du Directoire as the Garde des Consuls, but it makes no mention of the Chasseurs.
By a decree of 3 January 1800 a company
of Chasseurs à cheval was created. Its commanding officer was Napoleon's stepson, captain Eugène de Beauharnais
, who was promoted major
on 5 March. The strength was 4 officers and 113 men, the latter being chosen from the Guides who had returned from Egypt, and 112 were veterans of the Italian Campaign of 1796. The cavalry of the Garde Consulaire, two squadrons of Grenadiers à Cheval
and the company of chasseurs, was commanded by Chef de brigade
Jean-Baptiste Bessières
. In May the company left Paris for Italy
. It crossed the Great St Bernard Pass and was heavily engaged at the battle of Marengo (14 June) losing 70 out of its 115 horses. At the end of the campaign the corps returned to Paris. By a consular decree of 8 September it was augmented, becoming a squadron of two companies (troops) and 234 men.
By a decree of 6 August 1801 the corps was increased to a headquarters and two squadrons. The staff was: 1 chef d'escadron
, 1 adjutant-major
, 2 porte-étendard
, 1 brigadier-trompette
, and 4 maîtres-ouvriers. At the end of September the remainder of the Guides got back from Egypt and were merged into the corps. By a decree of 14 November the chasseurs became a regiment. In theory the commanding officer was to be a Chef de brigade, but in fact Bonaparte retained Chef d'escadron Beauharnais in command.
By decree of 8 March 1802 the Headquarters was increased. It now included four standard-bearers, a trumpet-major
, two trumpet corporals and a timbalier (kettle-drummer
). By decree of 1 October the regiment was increased to four squadrons, with a total strength of 56 officers and 959 men. Beauharnais was promoted Chef de brigade (13 October), and now had as his squadron commanders Morland, Nicolas Dahlmann
, Frédéric Auguste de Beurmann and Joseph Damingue, a negro
who had distinguished himself at the Bridge of Arcole
in 1796.
From 22 March 1803, when summer training (travail d'été) began, the men were to parade on horseback every Monday and Thursday at 7.30 a.m. precisely on the Champ de Mars
. Every Wednesday at the same hour they went through the foot exercise. In winter the parades seem to have been at 9.00 a.m. Swimming and rowing
were among the exercises carried out in 1802 and 1803.
By a decree of 21 January 1804 the regiment was given a major who was to rank with the colonel
s of the line. The intrepid Morland was given this appointment. By the same decree the company of Mamluk
s was attached to the regiment. By an Order of the Day of 18 May the Garde des Consuls became the Garde Impériale.
On 13 May 1805 Beauharnais was made Viceroy
of Italy
, but he retained nominal command of the regiment until about 1808. Morland now became the actual commanding officer with the title of Colonel Commandant en second, and Dahlmann was promoted major. On 17 September a squadron of vélites (four companies) was created. It seems to have been intended as a kind of holding reinforcement unit. The regiment and the Mamluks greatly distinguished themselves at the battle of Austerlitz
(2 December), where two squadrons and the Mamluks were led to the charge by Napoleon's senior aide-de-camp
, General Rapp
, inflicting heavy casualties on the Russian Imperial Guard and capturing Prince Repnin, the commander of the Chevalier Guard. At Austerlitz the Chasseurs suffered 19 officer casualties, including Colonel Morland, killed, and three squadron commanders wounded. Dahlmann now succeeded Morland, and Claude-Étienne Guyot
became major.
The regiment missed the battle of Jena (14 October 1806), where the 1st Hussar
s had the privilege of escorting the Emperor. The Chasseurs did, however, take part in Napoleon's triumphal entry into Berlin
. At Eylau
(8 February 1807) the regiment took part in Murat
's great charge of 80 squadrons, which relieved the pressure on the French centre at the crisis of the battle. Seventeen of the officers were hit. In addition Dahlmann was mortally wounded. He had recently been promoted general (30 December 1806), but having no command he asked to be allowed to lead his old regiment and fell at their head. Major Guyot commanded the regiment for the rest of the year, and Thiry was also promoted major (16 February).
On 18 January 1808 Général de Brigade Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes replaced Dahlmann in command of the regiment. The regiment was in Madrid
when the populace rose on 2 May
and eight of the officers, including Major Pierre Daumesnil, were wounded as well as five officers of the Mamluks. The regiment took part in General Montbrun's charge up the road at Somosierra
(30 November) but lost no officers for the Spanish gunners only managed to get off one salvo before the Polish and French cavalry got amongst them with the sabre. (This was the second charge, not the one in which the 3rd squadron of the First Regiment of Polish Chevau-Légers
was practically wiped out.)
On 28 November Napoleon, engaged in pressing the retreat of Sir John Moore towards Corunna
, rode ahead of his army into the village of Valderas
, which the British had quit but two hours previously. He was accompanied only by his staff and a squadron of the chasseurs. When Marshal
Ney
found that the Emperor had thus exposed himself he said to him: "Sire, I thank Your Majesty for acting as my advance guard." That it had been imprudent was proved next day (29 December) when General Lefebvre-Desnouettes caught up with the British rearguard, forded the River Esla and drove in their pickets, only to be rudely counter-attacked by Lord Paget
(the Uxbridge of Waterloo
fame), who led his men under cover of the houses of Benavente
to assail the French flank. Lefebvre-Desnouettes, wounded by a pistol shot, was taken prisoner. The regiment had 6 other officers hurt and 2 captains taken, besides 55 chasseurs killed and wounded and 73 captured. To be outflanked and cut up in this fashion was a rude and novel experience for the Emperor's "favourite children". The British cavalry who achieved this feat were the 10th Hussars with pickets of the 18th and the 3rd Hussars of the King's German Legion
. Their losses amounted to no more than 50. It was this affair more than anything that convinced the Emperor that Moore had slipped from his clutches. It was time to return to France.
The regiment was at home again by the end of February 1809. About this time it absorbed the Chevau-légers of the Grand Duke
of Berg
, formerly the Guides de Murat (11 January) and the Guides du Maréchal Mortier
(1 February). On 5 June Major Guyot became colonel commandant en second. Thiry was made général de brigade in the line, and, on the 13th, Daumesnil and Hercule Corbineau
were promoted majors. At Wagram
the Guard cavalry supported the right flank of MacDonald's great column which struck the decisive blow. The regiment suffered at Wagram (6 July) having 5 officers killed and 10 wounded, including the two newly promoted majors, each of whom lost a leg. Colonel Guyot was promoted général de brigade (9 August), retaining the command, and Colonel Jean Dieudonné Lion (14th Chasseurs) was brought in as third major of the corps.
1810 was a quiet year, with only one officer wounded escorting prisoners in Spain
. On 1 August 1811 the regiment was increased to five squadrons and the vélites were done away with. During the year squadrons were sent successively to serve with the divisions of the Garde in Spain. Guyot was promoted général de division, but still retained the command. To replace Corbineau and Daumesnil as majors the regiment received Colonel François d'Haugéranville (6 August) and General Baron Exelmans
(24 December).
On 6 May 1812 General Lefebvre-Desnouettes, who had escaped by breaking his parole, returned from his captivity in England
and resumed command of the regiment. The chasseurs, five squadrons and the company of Mamluks, went through the Russian campaign
, but though they lost 500 men, they only had 10 officers hit. At Borodino
they had no officer casualties at all. But on 25 October, the day after the battle of Maloyaroslavets
two squadrons, escorting the Emperor on a reconnaissance, were sharply engaged and had 4 officers wounded. A body of Cossack
s appeared suddenly from a wood and charged straight at Napoleon. General Rapp and the escort managed to beat them off, but not before one had fought his way to within twenty yards of the Emperor. From this day forth, haunted by the fear of captivity, he always carried a bag of poison on a string about his neck. The regiment's losses in this campaign must on the whole be attributed not so much to the fighting as to the Russian climate.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: Horse Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard) constituted a light cavalry
Light cavalry
Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
regiment in the Consular, then Imperial Guard during the French Consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...
and First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
respectively. They were the second senior "Old Guard" cavalry regiment of the Imperial Guard, after the Grenadiers à Cheval
Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale
The Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale constituted a heavy cavalry regiment in the Consular, then Imperial Guard during the French Consulate and First French Empire respectively...
. The regiment had its origins in the Guides raised by General Bonaparte during his Italian Campaign of 1796. It was the Chasseurs that usually provided personal escort to Napoleon, and he often wore the uniform of the regiment in recognition of this service. The regiment was not only known for its lavish uniform, but its combat history as well.
Service history
When at the end of August 1799 Bonaparte left EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to return to France he took with him a detachment of 180 Guides à cheval and 125 Guides à pied. The men chosen were the most devoted veterans from each company. Soon after the coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of 18 Brumaire
18 Brumaire
The coup of 18 Brumaire was the coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate...
the Guides, who had stayed in the south of France, were summoned to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and quartered in the Caserne
Casern
In fortification, caserns, also spelled cazern or caserne, are little rooms, lodgments, or apartments, erected between the ramparts, and the houses of fortified towns, or even on the ramparts themselves; to serve as lodgings for the soldiers of the garrison, to ease the garrison, in Portugal and...
de Babylone. A decree of 28 November reorganized the Garde du Directoire as the Garde des Consuls, but it makes no mention of the Chasseurs.
By a decree of 3 January 1800 a company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
of Chasseurs à cheval was created. Its commanding officer was Napoleon's stepson, captain Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la...
, who was promoted major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
on 5 March. The strength was 4 officers and 113 men, the latter being chosen from the Guides who had returned from Egypt, and 112 were veterans of the Italian Campaign of 1796. The cavalry of the Garde Consulaire, two squadrons of Grenadiers à Cheval
Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale
The Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale constituted a heavy cavalry regiment in the Consular, then Imperial Guard during the French Consulate and First French Empire respectively...
and the company of chasseurs, was commanded by Chef de brigade
Chef de brigade
Chef de brigade was a military rank, equivalent to colonel, in the French Revolutionary army, in command of a demi-brigade. Both that unit and that rank were created at the same time, in 1793. The two designations disappeared just before the institution of the French Empire, in 1803, with the...
Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Jean-Baptiste Bessières
Jean-Baptiste Bessières, 1st Duc d' Istria was a Marshal of France of the Napoleonic Era. His younger brother, Bertrand, followed in his footsteps and eventually became a Divisional General...
. In May the company left Paris for Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It crossed the Great St Bernard Pass and was heavily engaged at the battle of Marengo (14 June) losing 70 out of its 115 horses. At the end of the campaign the corps returned to Paris. By a consular decree of 8 September it was augmented, becoming a squadron of two companies (troops) and 234 men.
By a decree of 6 August 1801 the corps was increased to a headquarters and two squadrons. The staff was: 1 chef d'escadron
Chef d'escadron
In the French armed forces , Chef d'escadron is the title of a commandant in the Artillery and Baggage Train Corps and in the Gendarmerie....
, 1 adjutant-major
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
, 2 porte-étendard
Standard-bearer
A standard-bearer is a person who bears an emblem called an ensign or standard, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used as a formal, visual symbol of a state, prince, military unit, etc.This can either be an occasional duty, often seen as an honour , or a...
, 1 brigadier-trompette
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, and 4 maîtres-ouvriers. At the end of September the remainder of the Guides got back from Egypt and were merged into the corps. By a decree of 14 November the chasseurs became a regiment. In theory the commanding officer was to be a Chef de brigade, but in fact Bonaparte retained Chef d'escadron Beauharnais in command.
By decree of 8 March 1802 the Headquarters was increased. It now included four standard-bearers, a trumpet-major
Trumpet Major
Trumpet Major is an appointment in British Army cavalry regiments or the Royal Horse Artillery, held by a Sergeant or a more senior non-commissioned officer or Warrant Officer. His job is to supervise the training and deployment of trumpeters who blow daily duty and ceremonial calls...
, two trumpet corporals and a timbalier (kettle-drummer
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
). By decree of 1 October the regiment was increased to four squadrons, with a total strength of 56 officers and 959 men. Beauharnais was promoted Chef de brigade (13 October), and now had as his squadron commanders Morland, Nicolas Dahlmann
Nicolas Dahlmann
Nicolas Dahlmann was a French cavalry general of the Napoleonic wars.-Early life:Dahlmann was born in Thionville as a son of a trumpeter and enlisted in the French Army in 1777 at the age of 8, where his father and older brother were already serving in the Regiment Dauphin Cavalerie, which later...
, Frédéric Auguste de Beurmann and Joseph Damingue, a negro
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
who had distinguished himself at the Bridge of Arcole
Battle of the Bridge of Arcole
The Battle of Arcole, or Battle of Arcola saw a bold manœuvre by Napoleon Bonaparte's French Army of Italy to outflank the Austrian army under József Alvinczi and cut its line of retreat...
in 1796.
From 22 March 1803, when summer training (travail d'été) began, the men were to parade on horseback every Monday and Thursday at 7.30 a.m. precisely on the Champ de Mars
Champ de Mars
The Champ de Mars is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius in Rome, a tribute to the Roman god of war...
. Every Wednesday at the same hour they went through the foot exercise. In winter the parades seem to have been at 9.00 a.m. Swimming and rowing
Watercraft rowing
Watercraft rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of oars in the water. The difference between paddling and rowing is that with rowing the oars have a mechanical connection with the boat whereas with paddling the paddles are hand-held with no mechanical connection.This article...
were among the exercises carried out in 1802 and 1803.
By a decree of 21 January 1804 the regiment was given a major who was to rank with the colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
s of the line. The intrepid Morland was given this appointment. By the same decree the company of Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s was attached to the regiment. By an Order of the Day of 18 May the Garde des Consuls became the Garde Impériale.
On 13 May 1805 Beauharnais was made Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...
, but he retained nominal command of the regiment until about 1808. Morland now became the actual commanding officer with the title of Colonel Commandant en second, and Dahlmann was promoted major. On 17 September a squadron of vélites (four companies) was created. It seems to have been intended as a kind of holding reinforcement unit. The regiment and the Mamluks greatly distinguished themselves at the battle of Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
(2 December), where two squadrons and the Mamluks were led to the charge by Napoleon's senior aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
, General Rapp
Jean Rapp
Jean Rapp was a French Army general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Rapp was born the son of the janitor of the town-hall of Colmar. He began theological studies to became a clergy man, but with his build and heated character, he was better suited to the military,...
, inflicting heavy casualties on the Russian Imperial Guard and capturing Prince Repnin, the commander of the Chevalier Guard. At Austerlitz the Chasseurs suffered 19 officer casualties, including Colonel Morland, killed, and three squadron commanders wounded. Dahlmann now succeeded Morland, and Claude-Étienne Guyot
Claude-Étienne Guyot
Claude-Étienne Guyot, count of the Empire, was a French general of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, noted for commanding cavalry.-Early career during the Revolutionary Wars:...
became major.
The regiment missed the battle of Jena (14 October 1806), where the 1st Hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
s had the privilege of escorting the Emperor. The Chasseurs did, however, take part in Napoleon's triumphal entry into Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. At Eylau
Battle of Eylau
The Battle of Eylau or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, 7 and 8 February 1807, was a bloody and inconclusive battle between Napoléon's Grande Armée and a Russian Empire army under Levin August, Count von Bennigsen near the town of Preußisch Eylau in East Prussia. Late in the battle, the Russians...
(8 February 1807) the regiment took part in Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
's great charge of 80 squadrons, which relieved the pressure on the French centre at the crisis of the battle. Seventeen of the officers were hit. In addition Dahlmann was mortally wounded. He had recently been promoted general (30 December 1806), but having no command he asked to be allowed to lead his old regiment and fell at their head. Major Guyot commanded the regiment for the rest of the year, and Thiry was also promoted major (16 February).
On 18 January 1808 Général de Brigade Charles Lefebvre-Desnouettes replaced Dahlmann in command of the regiment. The regiment was in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
when the populace rose on 2 May
Dos de Mayo Uprising
On the second of May , 1808, the people of Madrid rebelled against the occupation of the city by French troops, provoking a brutal repression by the French Imperial forces and triggering the Peninsular War.-Background:...
and eight of the officers, including Major Pierre Daumesnil, were wounded as well as five officers of the Mamluks. The regiment took part in General Montbrun's charge up the road at Somosierra
Battle of Somosierra
The Battle of Somosierra occurred November 30, 1808 in the Peninsular War, when a French army under Napoleon I forced a passage through the Sierra de Guadarrama shielding Madrid....
(30 November) but lost no officers for the Spanish gunners only managed to get off one salvo before the Polish and French cavalry got amongst them with the sabre. (This was the second charge, not the one in which the 3rd squadron of the First Regiment of Polish Chevau-Légers
Polish 1st Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard
The [Polish] 1st Light Cavalry Lancer Regiment of the Imperial Guard was a formation of Polish light cavalry that served Emperor Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars.The Regiment, as part of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, fought in many battles,...
was practically wiped out.)
On 28 November Napoleon, engaged in pressing the retreat of Sir John Moore towards Corunna
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
, rode ahead of his army into the village of Valderas
Valderas
Valderas is a municipality located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 2,049 inhabitants.-See also:* Leonese language...
, which the British had quit but two hours previously. He was accompanied only by his staff and a squadron of the chasseurs. When Marshal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
Ney
Michel Ney
Michel Ney , 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon I...
found that the Emperor had thus exposed himself he said to him: "Sire, I thank Your Majesty for acting as my advance guard." That it had been imprudent was proved next day (29 December) when General Lefebvre-Desnouettes caught up with the British rearguard, forded the River Esla and drove in their pickets, only to be rudely counter-attacked by Lord Paget
Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Field Marshal Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, KG, GCB, GCH, PC , styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as The Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British military leader and politician, now chiefly remembered for leading the charge of the heavy cavalry against...
(the Uxbridge of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
fame), who led his men under cover of the houses of Benavente
Battle of Benavente
The Battle of Benavente was a cavalry clash in which the British cavalry of Lord Paget defeated the elite Chasseurs à Cheval of the French Imperial Guard during the Corunna Campaign of the Peninsular War. The French chasseurs were broken and forced into the River Esla; their commanding officer,...
to assail the French flank. Lefebvre-Desnouettes, wounded by a pistol shot, was taken prisoner. The regiment had 6 other officers hurt and 2 captains taken, besides 55 chasseurs killed and wounded and 73 captured. To be outflanked and cut up in this fashion was a rude and novel experience for the Emperor's "favourite children". The British cavalry who achieved this feat were the 10th Hussars with pickets of the 18th and the 3rd Hussars of the King's German Legion
King's German Legion
The King's German Legion was a British Army unit of expatriate German personnel, 1803–16. The Legion achieved the distinction of being the only German force to fight without interruption against the French during the Napoleonic Wars....
. Their losses amounted to no more than 50. It was this affair more than anything that convinced the Emperor that Moore had slipped from his clutches. It was time to return to France.
The regiment was at home again by the end of February 1809. About this time it absorbed the Chevau-légers of the Grand Duke
Grand Duke
The title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
of Berg
Grand Duchy of Berg
The Grand Duchy of Berg was established by Napoleon Bonaparte after his victory at the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz on territories between the French Empire at the Rhine river and the Kingdom of Westphalia.-History:...
, formerly the Guides de Murat (11 January) and the Guides du Maréchal Mortier
Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier
Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, 1st Duc de Trévise was a French general and Marshal of France under Napoleon I.-Biography:...
(1 February). On 5 June Major Guyot became colonel commandant en second. Thiry was made général de brigade in the line, and, on the 13th, Daumesnil and Hercule Corbineau
Hercule Corbineau
Marie Louis Hercule Hubert Corbineau was a French soldier of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.-Biography:...
were promoted majors. At Wagram
Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram was the decisive military engagement of the War of the Fifth Coalition. It took place on the Marchfeld plain, on the north bank of the Danube. An important site of the battle was the village of Deutsch-Wagram, 10 kilometres northeast of Vienna, which would give its name to the...
the Guard cavalry supported the right flank of MacDonald's great column which struck the decisive blow. The regiment suffered at Wagram (6 July) having 5 officers killed and 10 wounded, including the two newly promoted majors, each of whom lost a leg. Colonel Guyot was promoted général de brigade (9 August), retaining the command, and Colonel Jean Dieudonné Lion (14th Chasseurs) was brought in as third major of the corps.
1810 was a quiet year, with only one officer wounded escorting prisoners in Spain
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
. On 1 August 1811 the regiment was increased to five squadrons and the vélites were done away with. During the year squadrons were sent successively to serve with the divisions of the Garde in Spain. Guyot was promoted général de division, but still retained the command. To replace Corbineau and Daumesnil as majors the regiment received Colonel François d'Haugéranville (6 August) and General Baron Exelmans
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans
Rémi Joseph Isidore Exelmans, 1st Comte Exelmans was a distinguished French soldier of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as a political figure of the following period.-Early career:...
(24 December).
On 6 May 1812 General Lefebvre-Desnouettes, who had escaped by breaking his parole, returned from his captivity in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and resumed command of the regiment. The chasseurs, five squadrons and the company of Mamluks, went through the Russian campaign
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia of 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. It reduced the French and allied invasion forces to a tiny fraction of their initial strength and triggered a major shift in European politics as it dramatically weakened French hegemony in Europe...
, but though they lost 500 men, they only had 10 officers hit. At Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
they had no officer casualties at all. But on 25 October, the day after the battle of Maloyaroslavets
Battle of Maloyaroslavets
The Battle of Maloyaroslavets took place on 24 October 1812, between the Russians, under Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, and part of the corps of Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepson, under General Alexis Joseph Delzons which numbered about 20,000 strong.-Prelude:On 19 October, Napoleon...
two squadrons, escorting the Emperor on a reconnaissance, were sharply engaged and had 4 officers wounded. A body of Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
s appeared suddenly from a wood and charged straight at Napoleon. General Rapp and the escort managed to beat them off, but not before one had fought his way to within twenty yards of the Emperor. From this day forth, haunted by the fear of captivity, he always carried a bag of poison on a string about his neck. The regiment's losses in this campaign must on the whole be attributed not so much to the fighting as to the Russian climate.