Grognard of the Old Guard in 1813

The Imperial Guard (French:Garde impériale) was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle. Image File history File links Grognard1813. ... Image File history File links Grognard1813. ... La Grande Armée (in English, the Big or Grand Army) is the French military term for the main force in a military campaign. ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ...

Officer belt buckle

French Imperial Guard shakos

The Guard had its origin in the Consular Guard (Garde des consuls), created November 28, 1799 by the union of the Guard of the Directory (Garde du Directoire exécutif) and the Grenadiers of the Legislature (Grenadiers près de la Représentation nationale). These formations had for principal purpose the security of the executive and legislative branches of the French Republic and gathered a small number of soldiers, about a thousand. One can question their utility, given their non-opposition to Napoleon's 18 Brumaire coup of 1799. The Consular Guard changed its name to the Imperial Guard on May 18, 1804. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 599 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1492 × 1493 pixel, file size: 450 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Belt buckle of an infantry officer of the Imperial Guard of the First Empire Boucle de ceinturon dofficier dinfanterie de la Guarde Imp... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 599 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1492 × 1493 pixel, file size: 450 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Belt buckle of an infantry officer of the Imperial Guard of the First Empire Boucle de ceinturon dofficier dinfanterie de la Guarde Imp... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A Shako of a French Navy uniform of the 19th century. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... is the 332nd day of the year (333rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Executive Directory (in French Directoire exécutif), commonly known as the Directory (or Directoire) held executive power in France from November 2, 1795 until November 10, 1799: following the Convention and preceding the Consulate. ... A Grenadier (French for Grenademan) was originally a specialized assault soldier for siege operations, first established as a distinct role in the mid to late 17th century. ... This article is about the legislative body and constitutional convention during the French Revolution. ... Napoléon Bonaparte in the coup détat of 18 brumaire. ... is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The Guard was composed of three echelons. The Old Guard comprised some of the finest soldiers in Europe, who had served Napoleon since his earliest campaigns. The Middle Guard was composed of his veterans from the 1805 to 1809 campaigns. The Young Guard consisted of the best of the annual intake of conscripts, and was never considered to be of quite the same calibre of the senior Guards, although its units were still superior to the normal line regiments. In 1804 the Guard numbered eight thousand men. By the time of Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, it had swelled to just under 100,000 men. The Guard had its own artillery, infantry and cavalry components just like a normal Army corps. 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1809 (MDCCCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow were built to commemorate the Russian victory against Napoleon. ... For the overture by Tchaikovsky, see 1812 Overture; For the wars, see War of 1812 (USA - United Kingdom) or Patriotic War of 1812 (France - Russia) For the Siberia Airlines plane crashed over the Black Sea on October 4, 2001, see Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 1812 was a leap year starting...

Napoleon took great care of his Guard, particularly the Old Guard, and the Old Guard Grenadiers were known to complain in the presence of the Emperor, giving them the nickname Les Grognards, the Grumblers. The Guard received better pay, rations, quarters, and equipment, and all guardsmen ranked one grade higher than all non-Imperial Guard soldiers. Other French soldiers even referred to Napoleon's Imperial Guard as "the Immortals."^[1] Immortality can refer to Article about Immortality Les Immortels, members of the Académie française. ...

The Guard played a major part in the climax of the Battle of Waterloo. It was thrown into the battle at the last minute to salvage a victory for Napoleon. Completely out-numbered, it faced terrible fire from the British lines, and began to retreat. It was the first time the Guard retreated without being ordered to do so. At the sight of this, Napoleon's army lost all hope of victory. Combatants First French Empire Seventh Coalition: United Kingdom Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of the United Netherlands Kingdom of Hanover Duchy of Nassau Duchy of Brunswick Commanders Napoleon Bonaparte, Michel Ney Duke of Wellington, Gebhard von Blücher Prince William of Orange Strength 73,000 67,000 Coalition 60,000 Prussian...

"La Garde meurt et ne se rend pas!" "The Guard dies, it does not surrender!" is attributed to General Cambronne. It has been suggested that this was in fact said by another General of the Imperial Guard, Claude-Etienne Michel, during their last stand at the Battle of Waterloo,^[2][3] — it has also been suggested that the quote was ‘invented’ by a French newspaper editor^[4] — but whatever the truth it makes a suitable epitaph. Pierre Cambronne. ... General Claude-Etienne Michel (3 October 1772_18 June 1815), an officer in Napoleons army, was second in command of the Chasseur Division of the Guard and commander of its Brigade of Middle Guard. ... An epitaph ( literally: on the gravestone in ancient Greek) is text honoring the deceased, most commonly inscribed on a tombstone or plaque. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ Georges Blond, La Grande Armée, trans. Marshall May (New York: Arms and Armor, 1997), 48, 103, 470
2. ^ The retort to a request to surrender may have been "La Garde meurt, elle ne se rend pas!" ("The Guard dies, it does not surrender!") or the response may have been the more earthy "Merde!". Letters published in The Times in June 1932 record that they may have been said by General Michel. The Guard dies, it does not surrender. Cambronne surrenders, he does not die
3. ^ D.H. Parry (c. 1900) Battle of the nineteenth century, Vol 1 Cassell and Company: London. Waterloo
4. ^ Elting, J.R. Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon’s Grande Armée. (Da Capo Press, press ed. 1997. pg.657)

The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom since 1788. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Voltigeurs, skirmishers members of the Imperial Guard (at times, the Guard had 12 regiments of Voltigeurs)

The Voltigeurs (Vaulters) were French military skirmish units created in 1804 by Napoleon. ...

External links

• Cavalry of the Imperial Guard
• Imperial Guard at Waterloo