Imperial Guard (Napoleon III)

The Imperial Guard of Napoleon III was a military corps in the French Army formed by Napoleon III as a re-establishment of his uncle Napoleon I's Imperial Guard, with an updated version of the original uniforms and almost the same privileges.

The Imperial Guard was formed by a decree of the emperor on 1 May 1854, and was made up of 17 regiments of cavalry, artillery and infantry, squadrons of train (supply and administration) and mounted gendarmes, and a division taken from the corps of military engineers. The emperor added a regiment of Zouaves to the Guard in 1855, selected from the three existing regiments of zouaves first raised in 1830.

In its original 1854 structure the Imperial Guard comprised a mixed division of two infantry brigades (Grenadiers and Voltigeurs) plus one cavalry brigade of Cuirassiers and Guides. Additional units included two battalions of foot gendarmes, one battalion of Chasseurs a' pied, five batteries of Horse Artillery and a company of Engineers.

During the 1860s the Imperial Guard was expanded to the size of a full army corps. This comprised the following divisions:

- 1st (Voltigeur) Division (four regiments of Voltigeurs plus one Chasseur battalion);

- 2nd (Grenadier) Division (three regiments of Grenadiers plus Guard Zouave Regiment);

- Cavalry Division (comprised light brigade of Guides and Chasseurs; medium brigade of Dragoons and Lancers; heavy brigade of Cuirassiers and Carabiniers; and two batteries of Guard Horse Artillery);

- plus Corps troops (four batteries of Horse Artillery, squadron of artillery train, squadron of regular train).

The decree of 1 May 1854 establishing the Imperial Guard required line regiments to nominate experienced soldiers of good character for the new units. This followed the pattern established by Napoleon I, of creating a corps of veterans which could be relied on to provide an elite force that would provide a dependable reserve in battle and be politically loyal in peace. As the Guard was expanded some recruits had to be directly drawn from each annual intake of conscripts, to make up the numbers required. Guardsmen received higher rates of pay and enjoyed better conditions of service than their counterparts in other regiments.

...
Wikipedia