Chasseurs à Cheval de la Garde Impériale
| Chasseurs à Cheval | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Active | 1800–15 |
| Country |
 France
|
| Allegiance |
First French Empire
|
| Branch | Imperial Guard |
| Type | Light cavalry |
| Role | Napoleon's escort |
| Size | one regiment (2,000 men at full strength), with a second one created briefly from the Régiment d'Éclaireurs Lanciers in 1815 |
| Garrison/HQ |
École militaire in Paris Saumur (during Restoration) |
| Nickname(s) |
The Invincibles The Pet Children |
| Engagements | Marengo, Ulm, Austerlitz, Eylau, Friedland, Eckmühl, Wagram, Smolensk, Borodino, Maloyaroslavets, Dresden, Leipzig, Hanau, Château-Thierry, Craonne, Waterloo |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Eugène de Beauharnais Nicolas Dahlmann (second-in-command) Claude Étienne Guyot (second-in-command) Charles, comte Lefebvre-Desnouettes Charles Lallemand (second-in-command) |
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.
When at the end of August 1799 Bonaparte left Egypt 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.
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Wikipedia