Polish 1st Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard
| 1st Polish Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard |
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|---|---|
Battle of Somosierra, painting by January Suchodolski
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| Active | April 1807 - May 1814 |
| Country | France |
| Branch | Imperial Guard |
| Type | Light cavalry |
| Role | Reconnaissance, escort |
| Size | 60 officers, 1000 men |
| Garrison/HQ | Chantilly, France |
| Engagements |
Somosierra, Wagram Beresina, Hanau |
The 1st Polish Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard (Polish: 1 Pułk Lekkokonny [Polski] Gwardii Cesarskiej; French: 1er Régiment des chevaux-légers [polonais] de la Garde Impériale) was a formation of Polish light cavalry that served Emperor Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars.
There was an Old Guard Régiment de Chasseurs à Cheval from 1804; the Company (later Squadron) of Mamelukes first raised in Egypt in 1799, also attached to the Old Guard, similar to the First (1807) and Second (1810) Régiments de Chevaux-lanciers, known respectively as the Polish Blue and Dutch Red Lancers of the Guard; and three regiments of Eclaireurs raised in 1814, four more Gardes d'Honneur (from 1813) and the Légion de Gendarmerie d'Elite, going back to 1804.
The Regiment, as part of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, fought in many battles, distinguishing itself at Wagram, Beresina, Hanau and especially Somosierra. On at least three occasions, light-horsemen of the Regiment saved Napoleon's life.
The Polish 1st Light Cavalry Regiment of the Imperial Guard, under the command of Wincenty Krasiński, was created by a decree of Napoleon's, and signed on 9 April 1807 in Finckenstein (now Kamieniec Suski in northeast Poland):
From our field quarters in Finkenstein on the 6th day of April 1807.
We, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and King of Italy, have determined as follow:
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