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.Pigeard, 139-140.
A part of the Republican Consular Guard, the Grenadiers became the senior "Old Guard" heavy cavalry regiment when the Imperial Guard was founded, in 1804. Their maximum official complement was just over 1100 officers and troopers, commanded by a general of division or a seasoned general of brigade, with some of the most famous cavalrymen of the time as commander.
Rarely committed to battle during the Napoleonic Wars, they were usually kept in reserve, alongside the Emperor, during the most significant battles. When sent into action, such as during the battles of Marengo, Austerlitz, Eylau, Hanau or Waterloo, as well as during a number of actions of 1814, results were usually impressive. The regiment was disbanded in 1815, after Napoleon's downfall and the second restoration of the Bourbons.
Origins and organisation
The origins of the Guard Horse Grenadiers dated back to the Constitution of the Year III, which provided for the organisation of a guard for the French Directory. Within this guard, a cavalry regiment was formed and most cavalrymen were drawn from the 9th dragoons. However, the horse guards would only take service in 1796 and a 1797 regulation stated that the guards were to be called 'grenadiers'. The next major reorganisation came with the French Consulate, just days after the Coup of 18 Brumaire. This reorganisation reshuffled the general staff of the regiment and gave its command to chef de brigade (colonel) Michel Ordener, assisted by three chefs d'escadron (squadron commanders). Further reorganisations in 1801 and 1802 were conducted under the supervision of General Jean-Baptiste Bessières, bringing the regiment to four squadrons of two companies each and integrating it in the newly created Consular Guard, with the general staff of the regiment also expanded.
On May 18, 1804, with the creation of the Imperial Guard, the horse grenadier regiment was integrated in this newly created unit. A decree from July of that year stated that the general staff of the regiment was to be extended to 32 men and that the regiment would be organised in four squadrons of two companies each, with 123 men in each company, for a total of 1016 officers and men. The next year, two squadrons of vélites, totaling 800 men were added, as well as a major en second (deputy commander). The two vélite squadrons would only be disbanded in August 1811, with the men being reshuffled in a 5-squadron regiment, totaling 1250 men. A further reorganisation was operated just before the Russian campaign, bringing the number of squadrons back down to four. In January 1813, after the Russian disaster, the regiment was once again reorganised, with the addition of a fifth and then a sixth squadron of 2 companies each. These two squadrons were both considered Young Guard and were also known as the 2nd Grenadiers à Cheval regiment. Throughout the War of the Sixth Coalition the regiment would fight in this format, with each of the four Old Guard squadrons being formed of 2 companies, 124 officers and men each.Pigeard, 141.
Following the abdication of the Emperor Napoleon I in 1814, the restored Bourbons planned to erase the identity of this regiment by asking Marshal Michel Ney to disband and then reorganise the men into a new regiment called cuirassiers de France (cuirassiers of France), which included 4 squadrons. The men that had formed the original 6th Young Guard squadron were apparently all transferred to the Carabiniers-à-Cheval. With the comeback of Napoleon during the Hundred Days, the regiment was once again transformed into the Horse Grenadiers of the Imperial Guard and after the fall of Napoleon, the regiment was permanently disbanded on November 25, 1815.
Commanders The Grenadiers à Cheval regiment was commanded by a general of division, who had the title of colonel commandant (colonel commander), assisted by a brigadier general, who had the title of colonel-major (colonel major), also called major en premier (first major), himself assisted by a general or colonel, with the title of major en second (second major). Pigeard offers a complete table of the regiment's commanders:Pigeard, 147. FunctionColonel commanderColonel-majorSecond majorRankGeneral of divisionBrigadier generalBrigadier general or ColonelGeneral OfficersBessières (December 1799-July 1800)Ordener (July 1800-May 1806)Walther (May 1806-November 1813)Guyot (November 1813 - November 1815)OuliéLepicLaferrière-LévesqueJamin de BermuyChastelExelmansCastex
On July 18, 1800, as Bessières was called to take overall command of the entire Consular Guard Cavalry, the seasoned Colonel Ordener took command of the horse grenadier regiment, a command which the latter would keep until May 20, 1806, when he retired from active service. In 1806, with the creation of a second heavy cavalry regiment in the Guard, the 'Dragoons of the Empress', a heavy cavalry brigade was formed and put under the command of a general of division. The command would be given to a senior cavalryman, General Frédéric Henri Walther, a veteran of the French Revolutionary Wars, who would command the unit until his death, on November 24, 1813. His successor would be 45-year-old Claude-Étienne Guyot, who would command the brigade until the fall of the Empire in July 1815. During this period, the most remarkable commander of the regiment would be the battle-hardened Louis Lepic, commanding as colonel-major.
Battles
War of the Second Coalition The first true engagement of the unit took place in dramatic circumstances during the War of the Second Coalition, at Marengo. As First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte was losing the battle against the Austrians, Louis Desaix's French division appeared on the field of battle. As Desaix's men charged, two separate cavalry charges helped change the course of the battle: Kellermann's brigade deployed skillfully on the Austrian right, before charging and breaking everything in its way, and on the Austrian left Bessières organised a massive charge with the whole Consular Guard cavalry and increased the panic and rout of the enemy troops. Following the battle, Bessières received high praise for his actions from the First Consul, who said to the general: "Under your command, the Guard covered itself with glory; it could not have performed better under the given circumstances." Little over a month after the battle, the command of the regiment was taken by Lorainer colonel Michel Ordener.Pigeard, "La Garde Impériale", p. 142.
War of the Third Coalition
Five years would pass before the grenadiers' next engagement, which occurred during the War of the Third Coalition. As war broke out with Russia and Austria, the horse grenadiers, now a part of the Imperial Guard, crossed the Rhine into Germany on October 1, 1805. Ten days after that, they were at Augsburg and on October 20 they were present at the surrender of Ulm. They would see their only major action during this campaign on December 2, on the Pratzen plateau, at the Battle of Austerlitz. During this battle, Napoleon had planned to break the Austro-Russian centre and thus split their forces. The plan was well under way towards mid morning but a potentially dangerous situation for the French occurred when the Russian Imperial Guard under Grand Duke Constantine arrived and attacked the French from Vandamme's division around Stary Vinohrady ('the old vineyards'). At first, one battalion of the French 4th Line regiment was caught in an awkward position and broken by the Russian Guard cavalry supported by artillery, with the French battalion losing its eagle and over 400 men. Then, the 24th Light regiment, which was coming up in support of the 4th, was also thrown back in disarray. It was at this moment that Napoleon sent in his Guard cavalry: 4 squadrons, 423 men, of the Mounted Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard and Mameluke regiment and 4 squadrons, 706 men, of the Grenadiers à Cheval regiment, with a battery of Guard horse artillery in support. The grenadiers charged vigorously and clashed with the Russian Chevalier Guard Regiment. After a short mêlée, the horse grenadiers broke the opponent, inflicting heavy casualties and capturing over 200 men, their commander - Prince Repnin - with his general staff, as well as 27 pieces of artillery, with the loss of just 2 killed and 22 wounded (among which 6 officers wounded).Smith, 58-29, 247.
War of the Fourth Coalition
In May 1806, General Walther replaced Ordener. Due to his seniority, Walther was also second-in-command of the entire Guard cavalry and exercised this command whenever Marshal Bessières was not available for service. The blitz 1806 campaign against Prussia went on without the regiment seeing any action. Nonetheless, war continued the next year in Poland, with the French in pursuit of the Russian army.Pigeard, 143.
The rigors of the Polish winter, the bad roads and the extreme poverty of certain regions brought about considerable misery for both sides and rendered proper reconnaissance virtually impossible. After some initial maneuvering and minor engagements, the first major battle occurred at Eylau. Here, the Grande Armée gave battle, despite being seriously outnumberedHourtoulle, 4-13. and with the expected reinforcements failing to materialise, Napoleon's position was looking increasingly perilous. The Emperor thus ordered Marshal Murat to launch the entire reserve cavalry into a massive charge. At first, Murat led forward two dragoons and one cuirassiers divisions and these men pierced the Russian line and carried on beyond, only to find themselves behind enemy lines and in serious danger of being surrounded. As a result, the Emperor ordered Marshal Bessières to help the stranded reserve cavalry and thus a second cavalry charge ensued, spearheaded by the Chasseurs à Cheval and followed by the heavy cavalry of the 5th cuirassiers and Grenadiers à Cheval. Commanding the horse grenadiers was Colonel Lepic who superbly led two squadrons of the regiment, as they stormed through the first and second Russian lines, stopping only in front of the enemy reserves. As the handful of horse grenadiers arrived in front of this third enemy line, they were all but surrounded and the Russians at once demanded that they surrender. Lepic defiantly retorted: "Have a look at my men and tell me if they look like ones who want to surrender!" and he immediately ordered a charge, hacking his way back to his own lines. The regiment lost 4 officers dead and 14 officers wounded, as well as a large number of troopers, but the charge of the Guard cavalry did allow their fellow reserve cavalry to break their encirclement and get back to their original positions. The French would go on to draw the bloody Battle of Eylau later that evening.Hourtoulle, 61.
The Peninsula The Peninsular War erupted the following year, and the Grenadiers à Cheval, together with two newly created Young Guard infantry regiments and some Guard artillery, were a part of Bessières' 2nd Corps of the Army of Spain, and were present in Madrid during the May uprising, where their first surgeon, Gauthier, was wounded.Pigeard, La Garde Impériale, p. 143. They then campaigned in the north-west of the country. On July 14, at the Battle of Medina de Rioseco, Bessières, with around 14,000 men, faced two massed Spanish corps of about 22,000 men, not far from Valladolid. A few squadrons of the regiment saw brief but decisive action as they came up in support of general Merle's infantry attack, which repulsed the Spaniards onto Medina and beyond, winning the battle.Pigeard, Dictionnaire des batailles de Napoléon, pp. 534-535.
War of the Fifth Coalition