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Napoleon's Scouts of the Imperial Guard 1814: THE CAMPAIGN OF FRANCE 16 THE REGIMENTS 10 REORGANIZATION OF THE GUARD CAVALRY 6 3 CONTENTS • The Empirl...

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Napoleon's Scouts of the Imperial Guard

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION • The Empirl'-s last

3

resoul"ce~

REORGANIZATION OF THE GUARD CAVALRY

6

• Cre
_N.

PATRICI COURCELLE w•• born In northern France In 1850 'nd hll. been. prol lonal lIIu.tl1ltor lor 20,.. I!ntlrely ..If-taught, ~ dramatic and lucid .tyle 11M won Ittm wld..pre.d tldmlnlltlon In the 'ield of mllttMy llluet,..u.on.... . . - . . . . mUe. from the beltl8fWd of W,terloo

with IlIIe wife and son.

• SI
THE REGIMENTS

10

• I", Regimclll of Scout-. U:.rlaimm-Cmuulim) • 2nd Regiment of Scouts (f:Llairf'lI'fs-lJragvTls) • 3rd Regiment of Scouts U::rli,ilntrf-I.tlllrim)

1814: THE CAMPAIGN OF FRANCE

16

• Ill'ienlle - La Rothiere - C:halllpalllwrl - ~lonlJllirail Vauchamps - Montel'eau - Bcrl"}-all-I\ar - Cr,tonne - Laon Rhcim.. - Arcis-sul" - Allbe - Sailll Di,ier - Paris • The Firsl RcsLOration - dish'lndmclll oflhe ScOUI rehrirnents • Oniccr camallies

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

44

THE PLATES

45

INDEX

48

Men-at-Arms· 433

Napoleon's Scouts of the Imperial Guard

Ronald Pawly . Illustrated by Patrice Courcelle

Artist's Note

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NAPOLEON'S SCOUTS OF THE IMPERIAL GUARD

INTRODUCTION ~ NO\'B18E::R 1813, Napoleon's Grande Annce - once !.he terror oran entire continent. who had carried their \ictory-bedecked banners through the conquered streelS of most of the capiLals of Europe dragged themselves westwards thl'Ough Genllany to the Rhine. seeking safety behind the borders of France herself. For the second time in twO rears, Napoleon had started a campaign with more than 400,000 Il"OOPS, and had ended it with fewer Llmll 70,000 men. In the winter of 1812/13 it had taken an exuaordinary effon to rebuild Napoleon's army after the Russian disaster. Now, defeated at Leip7ig by the converging armies of Austria, Russia, Prussia and Sweden, he faced the same task all over again: reim'enting his ann)' with raw conscripts, around an ever weaker skeleton of \'eteran officers and NCOs, while short of many military necessities - and above all, of cavalry to screen the threatened borders and report enem\ movements. Despite the ease with "..hich the French had smashed through the Ba'"3rian Cen von Wrede's inept auempt to block their retreat al Hanau on 30 October, there \'I'aS little doubt that the da}'S when the French eagles had S\'I'ept forward in glory \'I'ere gone for ~"er. Now, for the first time since the 17905, French soldiers faced the prospect of having to fight on their 0\'111 soil; yet e,"en now Napoleon might ha,"e a,"oided this, and kept his throne, if he had seized an opportunity for peace which was open to him for JUSt twO weeks. \\11ile mOSI of Europe was ranged against him, only the Russians and the Prussians were eager to aCllIally invade France, LO avenge the ruin and humiliation they themselves had suffered at French hands. Britain, although Napoleon's most consistent enemy, was concemed - as always - with preserving a balance between the Continental powers, and had no wish 10 see France lInedy destroyed. The Ausmans' main war aim was tlle recapture of northern Italy, and after all, Napoleon's Empress Marie-Louise was the daughter of tlle Ausman emperor. Spain and Portugal ""ere exhausted b}' the long Peninsular War, and their annies were for all practical purposes dependent lIpon Brir.ain. In conference at Frankfurt on 16 No\ember 1813, the Allies agreed to offer terms to the French based on recognition of France's llaLUral geographic borders on the Rhine, the Alps and

I

Don

eo....ck and Crlme.n Tatar.

The Ru,,'a" army employed Co..acb In I• • numbe.... fighting •• vanguard, rNlllIu..rd -.Id rakllng tloops, they WeAl tN balM ot H.poIMn" annles. He Mel COft~'" raising Uml&8r unit. from t 80tII onward.. but It wa. only at the end 01 the '813 um~lg" ltMIt 1M put tws INn parUy Into prac:tke wttn

0'

tN erNtiorI the Scouts of tile Im~ O_rd. 10rig~' . .~ by L.uctMg Wotf; AnM I.K.Brown Llbl1lry, Prowfdence, AI, USAl

3

the Pyrenees. Napoleon, ever confident in his own genius, o\"crpla)'cd his hand. lie stallcd for timc; but by the end of November less generolls terms were all that was on ofTer, based on tile frontiers of 1792, with F'nlllce ceding imponant lCITitories in the Rhineland and the Low Countries. These conditions I\'ere probably ne\'er intended to be acceptable; and in December the three Allied armies of the Sixth Coalition be)'ond the Rhine prepared for renewed operations. 1

The Empire'. last resource. In the weeks foUO\"ing the bank of Banau, man} thousands of French stragglers had gr.ldually made their way east\'o'ards, until Napoleon had some 100.000 soldiers on the Rhine. Ho.....e...er. the mere numbers were decepthe: ncarl) half of them were wounded. sick from l}phoid. or otherwise unfit for active duty. Well over 100.000 others had been left behind. isolated in fortified cities across Gemlan) and the Low Countries. Most of these were well'lrnined troops, equipped \\;th some hundreds of guns, wagon tmills and ample arsenals of anllS and ammunition; but - \\;th the exception of Marshal Oa\"olll's corps, trapped around Ilamburg, and serving no dear purpose - most ofthcm ,,'ould soon be Corced to surrender. Other substantial forces were also unamilable to the Emperor, since the eastern fromiers were not the onh approach to France threatened by the Allies. In hal)', Napoleon's stepson and \icero) Eugene de Beauhal1lais. \\ith some 50.000 men, stood in the path of about the So.'lme number of Austrians under Cen Bellegarde; but the King of Naples. the faithless Marshal Murat. had long been negotiating secretl)' with the Allies in an attempt to save his mrone if he changed sides, and his defection in earl) January 1814 would tip the balance against Eugene. In the Pyrenees, Marshals Sault and Suchet, \\'ith 100,000 men, stood read) to try to stem the advance from Spain of the 125.()()().strong combined British. Spanish and POrtugucsc forces under \\'ellington. By earl)' January 1814. the whole of Cennany. Spain and the Illpian Isles were lost to the Emperor; IIoll3nd would soon follow, as would Italy. The Empire \\'3S cnllnbling, and as more and more of the Emperor's subjects and forced allies distanced themselves from his rebtime. so the Grande Armee was denied recmiting grounds where il had previollsly found cannon-fodder. Nevertheless, lhanks to his extraordinary qualities of Ol"branization and leadership, Napoleon would soon create a new army. His or'iginal target of9oo,000 men was wildly llnrealislic, however; the cOlHcription of 1813 had already taken almost all the available llnmarried young men. On 5 November his officials reported that an immediate le"y of 140,000 men was possible. but only by extending conscription to married men. Since many of these had married specifically to avoid the drafl, such a measure was liable to provoke widespread resistance and cvasion. Instead. the gmenuuent decided to conscript only the unmarricd, and to transfer 100,000 men (both single and married) from the National Guard to the regular ann). Retired E/npMlr, NIpoIeor'I '*l to tghl: ~ ~ c:o-'ilIDrw ~ Dy t. FoIovoVlg t. ......... on 1812. " - to"Id BrIIaon """'-l1l-.1YoldIuI becMlIII-. Sil
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OPPOSITE Sl.nd.rd·be.~r .nd offlur 01 tM PolI,h KntJru•• ThiS Co...ck·styl. light cav.lry ~l_nt aet'Yed .s scoutll .nd ntld In filp.pGrt of the Une

cav.l

E.ach 01 tM four the n.me of the eres wheN It w.s ...IHd .nd NpOrtedly wore uniforms In Ioc.l colours; theM IJlust...uons IhoW d.11l bt_ facld with crimson _ Including the ~uad~ carried

tr.dltlonll cartridge pock.ul

on 1M breast - lind ....!te' 'metat' and trim. ArnI
would _

cre.te tM Scouts

of the Gu.rd. ICollectlon P.ul Maganck, 8n1...1.. Belglurl'll

velerans were also recalled 10 the colours; and some experienced troops were also a\
• • •

Since the ......rs of the Re\'ohuion, the French had encolllllered the use of Coss.;lcks b) the Russian ann)'. They had prO\'ed 10 be the ideal light ca\
5

I

Napoleon signed a decree creating this light horse regiment, commanded by the Duke of Arenbcrg; its mounts were smaller than ~ usual and came from some ....'ild breeds Ihillg on the duke's German -/l. eSlatcs. Ilowever, the Emperor was a mall of habit, and the Chroal4-
.r

-.

0'

REORGANIZATION OF THE GUARD CAVALRY

•

Creation of the Scouts After the Russian campaign the Imperial Guard had been steadily increased in strength and import..'ulce, becoming in a sense an anny within an anny. since Napoleon's ex~ctalions of the mass of young and inexperienced conscripted recruits lO the Grande Armee were realistically modest. He would rebuild his army in 1814 as he had done in 1813, creating even more Guard units than before; he believed that the prestige of the corps, and the example of the strong armature of

\eleranS \\;thin its . . . . nks, \\'ould be of \~dlue in fiuing even new conscripts for active se....;ce more quickly. lllret' of the new Guard units would be Scouts, partial!\ amlc<1 \\;th lances. After Napoleon's retulll to Paris on 9 November 1813 this idea, \\;th .... hich the Emperor had to)·t.'d since the end of 1805. quickh matured. A lener 10 the Minister of\\'ar, signed on 3 December, asked for a l"epon on the fommtion of a Polish Coss."1ck corps, lie belie\'ed thai at lhat date some SC\'en Polish regiments were in garrison at Sedan (Ihe 2nd, 3rd, 4lh, 7lh OInd 8th uncers, as ,,'ell as the 1st ~Iounted Chasscurs and the Krakw, together with some 1,800 horses). From these he hoped to raise four standard lancer regiments of 500 horses each and, from lhe remaining Polish cavalry and infalltlj', to 101111 tWO or three regimcnLS of 'Cossacks'. On 4 December 1813, Napoleon decreed the reol'gani7..ation of the awalry of the Imperial Guard for the year 1814, based on the creation of the ScOUl regiments. Article I of !.he decree specified lhat within the awalrv of the Guard, three regiments of ick"m,rs tk kJ Gnrtkwere to be creall'd. TIle} were to be mounted on horses of 4 pkds 3 POilUS high (l.38m-1.4m, or bet\\'een 13.8 and 14 hands), and ofa minimum age of six years. Unifonned as hussars (Iile the Guards of Iionour). each regimenl was 10 be compost.'
1st Regiment - 4 sqns "" I ,000 men 2nd Regiment - itlem 3rd Regiment - idem Total: 48 sqns = 12,000 men. The remaining arlicles of the decree dealt with mailers such as recruiting, horses, uniforms, equipmclll and pay. Five days later, the E.ml>cror signed a second decree in which he specified in further detail ....,here lhe men \\'ere to be found. how they were to be dressed, and what position 1l1C')' should have \\;1l1in 1l1e traditional hierarch\ of the Imperial Guard. first of all, the cmcial question of ho\\ 10 fill !.he ranks of his Guard Cavalry regiments was addressed. The four regimellls of Guards of Iionolir were to pro\;de between them 200 troopers (0 complete the numbers - 30 troopers for the Mounted Grenadiers, 30 for the Dragoons. and 140 for the 2nd Light Horse L."1ncers, the selection being made according (0 the height of the men,

OfInenll Count L.febvreDflnoitt"11713-t8221, Coton.I 01 the Mounted Che....... of the I",pertel O\.-nt duttng the 1813 cempeIgn; In 1814 Ite ~Id comlYlMKt I Quard Ce¥etty dMUon including kout unlta. Wounded et B'*-, Ite let... raIIlltd to N.po,"" In 18HI and lol~ hi", to Wetertoo, .mer. Ite cO",lI'IIInded the Ugtlt Cn.loy 0' the I",perill Quard. Attar tlte SlH:ond R•• tonltlon h. lett 'or ••11. In the United Stlt.,; ha

w., latar pardoned, b1.It w., lo,t In a .nlpw..c:k wtllle returning

to Fnlnc•.

7

Front page 0' 1M E...-, on !he ~ t of fIN u.wrttt_ by Count COo'YWt K,.slnlokl, eoaon.t of the 18t lPol'-h} Ugnt HorN Lanc..-8 of tIM I~l o-rd. 11M P
Next, each regimclll of Guards of Honour also had to pro\ide another 250 men to fonn the lsi Regiment of Scouts. They were to be selll to I'alis, \\;thollll.heir horses and carrying only arms and unifornl. The 2nd Regimcm was to be organized by employing 1,000 'postilions of the Empire' (i.e. the mOllllled drivers who rode the teams of govcmmelll vchicles); and the 3rd Regiment would gel the surplus of dismollnted I'ales from the lsI Light Horse Lancers of the Gliard, pills some 800 Polish soldiers from the depots al Sedan - these men had to be 'tk bon~ vokmti: and of long experience in the French scnice. All these men \'o'crc to be directed to....'ards Givet, where they would r«ein' horses and unifonns; and Articles 6 and 7 deah with the mounts. TIle colonels of the Imperial Cuard C.walry regiments were ordered to buy 300 horses for the Moullled Grenadiers. 450 for the Dragoons. 700 for the ~Iounted Chasseurs. 200 for the 1st (Polish) Light Horse Lancers. and 1,000 for the 2nd (Dutch) ught Horse L"lncers. Aniele 7 was simph a repeal of the decree of 4 December regarding the size. age and numbers of horses. Uniforms

TIlt" next five articles of the decree of9 December 1813 cO\'Cred clothing and wages. 111t'»' stated that l.he 1st Regiment of ScOULS was to be dressed like the Guards of Honour. the 2nd Regimem of ScOUIS. lile Mounted ~ory of cMtalll.cl ~ Chasseurs of the une; and the 3rd Regiment of ScOULS. like Polish on this bnlneh of ttMo e.8v.lry, lancers of the une. In practice. of course. it "'as not al"'3\'S possible for K,.sinHl's _ _I ••• the the regiments to prO\ide the unifomls prescribed in lhe dc<:ree. sWndsrd ~ In tIM French Most. of the Grande Armee's resene stockpiles of made--up clothing • .my, -.'lCI w" .lao cOJHed and materials had been left behind in the Gennan cities that "ere under siege in 1813 and 1814. With tens ofthollsands of conscripts and veterans ani\ing in the different ganisons all mer France, unifomu and equipmem were soon found lacking; not enough materials were available. and there "'ere neither sufficiem workshops nor the skilled manpower 10 make SUR LE MANIEMENT them. More than once. all regiments were ordered DE to hand in any sll'l>IIlS of unifonns or eqllipmem that tlley held to be dislribuled 1.0 Olher units. LA LANCE Given that the ref,rimCllts OfScOlltS only existed for a few months. it is nOt. surprising lhat contemporary PA. LI COMTI CORVIN KRASINSKI, iconObrrapby is vcry rare; to confiml or contradict the C _ I ...........""".., " I~ 11"1-..' ,. CW',",u·lipn broad dt."SCliptions in the dccn.'C, we have only the .(40......... • '" Goo... ''''J>Irl'''' t.'\idence of
.........

ESSAI

8

he W'dS organiLing at Givet, was withollt farriers, lTUmpcters. pay - or sometimes, bread. Colonel Hoffma}er of tile 2nd Rebrlment ....'aS obliged to appeal to the departments (local go\crnments) to unifonn his troOps, and to the Lancers of Berg for their horses. Onc thing upon ·hich most existing reconslTUctions seem to agree is that all troopers - ithom exception of rcgiment, Old or Young Guard - Gtrried lances \\;th pennons. HO\\e\'er, in fdCt onl) half of each Scom regiment was supposed to CdIT)' the lance, and none of them had pennons. Again, s<...ddlcs .....ere also different from those of most other French cavalry units. Only officers, and the 3rd Regiment, had shabraques; thc others had some kind of\'cry simplified leather-covered saddles with equally simplified harness. Status The question of seniorit}' within the Imperial Guard hierarchy - which generatl}' depended upon length of sen;ce - .....as complex, Within the 1st Regiment, troopers of the 1st, 2nd & 4th Companies - termed 'first SCouts' - .....ere considered to be members of the Old Guard; those of the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th Companies - 'second scouts' - .....ere ranked as Young Guard. Officers, NCOs. trumpeters and tnlmpeterapprentices of the 1st Regiment also ranled as Old Guard; these, and the 'first scouts', ....·ere paid thc same rates as the Mounted Chasseur-s of the Old Guard. Regimental staff officers of the 2nd and 3rd Regiments \,'ere also considered Old Guard. The other officers and the NCOs and lroopers of the 2nd and 3rd Regiments ranked as in the Line, but reccived the pay of the Mounled Chassellrs of the Young Guard (also known as the 2nd Moumed Chassellrs of the Imperial Guard), Officers, NCOs and troopers .....ho came from existing Old Guard units kept their rank and senioriry. Deployment On 14 December 1813. 'apoleon organized the Guard Cavalry into t.....o di,;sions: lst Division (Cen Lefebvre-Desnoeues) lSI (Polish) Light Horse Lancers 2nd (Dutch) Light HOI"SC Lancers Mounted ChasscLll'S of the Young Guard (Iasl 10 sqns of the regiment of ~'Iollntcd Chasscul"S of the Imperial GlIal'd). This division was intended to se....'c in Belgium with the Army of the North, as Napoleon expected the Allied invasion from that direction. 2nd Division (Cen GuyOt) ~tOUl1(ed Chasseurs of the Old Gual'd (first 10 sqns of the regiment) Dragoons, Young and Old Guard ~loumed Grenadiers. Young and Old Guard. One mounted artillerl hauerywas added to the ISl Di,;sion, and t\\'O batteries to the 2nd Division. This org-.mization of the C.... \'alry of the Guard was to be maintained until the Scout regiments .....ere ready to join the other units.

Officer of the Sc:out·Grenadlen of the Im,",""l Gu.rd - the fer Ed.lreun - In • contemPGfWY drewlng by _ of Itt. troopers. lIlu.~ 01 the 'd: ReeI....,t 01 Sc0ut8 "'9t"t that tM ol'l'lcen of the CMd GUM'd IInlU _ _ tM peIiue . J l C ~ H.

tIQtlt·mting

~

trou.-s

're lire)' wtth • scattet. .t.... on t"- outer HlIInS. Not. tnat t"- .hebreque Ie pUll", 1ac:1t,"" either t"- eagle or crowned cyp"-' 'N' - the an.lta pl.te I. the Bourbon lIt1, d.tlng this stud1 to Immedlllt,,1111ft.' the First R..tOJ'lltlon. (Former Bl'\lnon Collection, ChAt••u de l'Emperf)

•

On 26 Occcmbc.' 1813, Napoleon ordered that the Cavalry of the Guard was to h,nc three Old Guard regiments; their (olonelgenerals were ordered to

find horses for all lhe dismounted troopers so iliat the

ca\"ah~

would

5.000 horses,

One of tIM f_ contefnpoBry drrNl~ 0' ScCKIUI of the GuMO, 8ftoWIng ..,." from the tat Re9l.-t thortIy ,ft... N . ~.. lI,.t abdatlon .-In, nota tn.t the bl.ell al'loakn ~r, whit. cocklKlto 8nd • whit. !levr. ~. Inltead of ttMl trlco4our cocb
and exten.wa black l••ther relnfon:.menl. (Formei' Bnmo" Collection, Chit.au de l'Empjrll

Count

Grodarm.~s

d'ilit~ included. Also. onc squadron from each of the three regiments of Scours had to be read, for senice before 10 January 1814. forming with the other Guard Ca\-aln' units a corps of 5,700 men. The IWO Polish lancer regimenrs of Ihe Line Ihen slationed al Sedan were also 10 join this corps. bringing it an additional 1.500 men. General NanSOUl) was appointed to command of this corps. effeclh'e as from IOJanuarv 1814.

THE REGIMENTS 1st REGIMENT OF SCOUTS

This unit preferred the name of EeJa;rr!IIrS-g""adlm (Scout-Grenadiers) to irs official title of Jf:r Rigimml d'&Jalmm d~ 10 Conk lmpmah. Officers

["en though it took irs orders from Cen GU}'OI, the Colonel of the Mounted Grenadiers, irs organi/.alion ....'as elHrusted to Col Claude Testol-Ferry, a former ADC to Marshal Mannolll who now tran.sferred from the Dragoons of the Imperial Guard. Squadron leaders in the regiment were: Pierre, a veteran of the 10th MoutHed Chassellrs since 1792, now transferred from the j\'lollllled Chasseurs of the Guard; Delavitlane; Lcpot, a fanner Mounted Grenadier of the Guard; and Kister (soon 10 be replaced by Capt de Waldncr·Frelindstein). Most of the officer corps came from the Imperial Guard, mainly from the Mounled Grenadiers. Dragoons. 2nd Light Ilorse L'ulCers and MOllmed Chasseurs; they were described by their coloncl as being brave and experienced officers. Some other oOicers came from the 4th and 13th Mounted Chassellrs and the 3rd Hussars, while three sublieutenants came from the Light Horse Regiment ofthc King of Naples. Rankers

10

A.<; decreed. the four regiments of Guards of Honour ....·ere supposed to provide 250 men each to the 1st Regimelll of ScOULS. Howc"cr, the 2nd Regiment of Guards of Honour. serving in the besieged ciry of Mainz, sent no tr(X)ps at all, while the other three could anI) provide a third of the number required. As these men served 'with' the Imperial Guard instead of actllall) being members of it. and had special

privileges as being the volunteer sons of the middle class and nobility, they "'ere permitted to keep some of these (e.g. pennission to have a servant for each 1"'0 troopers). To fill the rd.nks, an appeal for volunteers was made to all the cavalry regiments of the Line, and the response allo"'ed completion of the establishment of 53 officers and 1.005 other ranks, with 1.005 troop horses. B)' the end of the campaign, some thrce-quancfs of the rd.nkers had aCllla]])' come from newl)' mUStered conscripts. Iktwecn the foundation of me regiment on 27 December 1813 and the beginning of March 1814, two separate muster rolls \\'ere used, one for the Old and the other for me Young Cuard. TIle firsl mUSter roll contains 506 numbers for 501 soldiers who served as Old Guard (of whom 320 were 'first scouts'); of these, 337 came from the 1st, 3rd & 4th Regiments ofCuards of Honour (one trooper was already wC"d.ring the cross of me Legion of Honour); 42 came from the Mounted Grenadiers (including four members of the Legion of Honour); three wcre fonner Mounted I ChasseuTS; one came from the Foot Grenadiers, and one from the 5th Regiment of Voltigeurs; seven Line troopers came from the 2nd. 3rd & 11th Cuirassicrs; 25 from the 6th, 8th, 11th, 15th, 20th. 21st, 22nd. 25th & 30m Dragoons; seven from the 3rd & 4th Lancers; four from me 2nd & 14th Mounted Chasse-urs; onc from the 6th Moumed Artillery'; 35 from the Light Horse Regiment of the fanner King of Spain (of whom t"'O were alread)' members of the Legion of HonoUl'): and finally, 25 trumpeters or u·umpeter·apprentices came from the Pupllks. The second muster roll contains 608 numbers for those who sen'ed in lhe Young Guard. Three troopers came from the MOllnted Grenadiers of the Young Guard; 37 men from the 5th Dragoons (of which one had already sen'ed since 1793); there was onc veteran of the Russian and 1813 campaigns, six wcre former gunners of the Coast Guard Anille!1'. and so forth. When we look at the age of lhe Young Guard personnel, we see that 185 were 18 years old. 67 were 29, eight "'ere between 34 and 37, and one of the 608 was only 17 rears old. The regiment "'as organized fairly quickly, and mOSt of the troopers arri\'ed berween earl) Janu3!1' and the end of February 1814. I-Iowen~r, the regiment would never serve at full strength, but in detachments of unequal size. Overall. the selection of men for this SeOUl regiment must have given mem a markedly ...aried appearance. The troopers coming from the Mounted Grenadiers of me Guard were al least 1. 78m tall (5ft lOin), those from other units shorter, down to a minimum of 1,597m (less man Sft 3in) for fonner Mounted Chasseurs of the Line. As for their horses, these measured between 13.5 hands and 13,8 hands to the Ivithers (shoulder).

.. cont.....porwy drawtng 01 , Scout of _ of the five Young Q_rd comparlln of the ht Regiment. In ee-nl It II con.... nclrtg. 'INIn Inlm .howIrtg the Nd tull-d"" pluml with c,mpIIgn d _•• nd • 1'1lI1

.heep.kln uddle cover - the uddlery ,nd h,me.. we,. .Impllfted for the Scoutl. The unllonn _ket II the d.rk grMn 'Klnllll' or n,,/)It-....,ue wtth

It,.,

crimson teelngs; the

~

II 8hown . . .mid Nd, ,Ithough by r-eulltlon It w .. ....-n wtth rwcl "'"", An

,"t_tine

deUilll " the

top

bind 01 the 8hIIlo, .n,. Inter\Klrtg rwcl ttnp. HII cam~"n 0YII'a11. I,. Ihown In eget 0e1l11. (former BnInOfl Collection. Chlte,u de l'Em~

11

Uniforms and equipment

Contemporllry drllwtng of en

officer of t"-

1,t

RCl8lment,

In,tructlng with t"- "nee, He _ ~ e (Ireen pell. . . with blKk fur trim and tllv... lace and cordS; a blKk pouch belt - note t"- 8t1M:hed pl'ttot, vltlble: and ~, tight (I~ ~n'-Ioon, wtth • tingle red .trlpe, HI, st\ako "" ,It¥et' fumltulW, bu1 does not .now • plume Of' pompon.. Note how the c:hlnehalnt .,.. "lied to the upper rear hook, mounted on

tu',

•

,t.w-~

p6ate, (Former

8nJnon CO'IIec:Uon, ChIt_ de l'EmpNf)

12

The first one-and-a-half squadrons, fonned from Guards of Honour and soldiers coming from the other Imperial Guard units and con.sidered as Old Guard, were dressed in huss..1.r~t)le uniforms based on those of the Guards of Honour: a dark btTeen dolman and pelisse with while lace and cords, The other rwo-and-a-half squadrons, manned by con.scripts, were Young Guard, and wore unifonns in the 5..1.me style as the Mounted Chasseurs of the Line: the short dark grecn habit-wst," or 'Kinski', One trooper from the 1st Guards of Iionour, dc Maudit, testified that whilc being incoqx>r.ued into Lhe 1st Regimcnt of Scouts he had to lea"e his dolman. belts, and sabretachc al thc regimental depot. and left for the amlY ",ith only a coat and pelisse; his red shako was exchanged for a plain black one. (The qualily of the Scouts' shakos was among the highesl in the amlY. Liemenant Zickel of the Mounted Cha.sseurs of the Young Guard. commissioned into the lSI Regiment of Scouts, received an advance of2,500 francs to pay for his new unifonn - for comparison, his lllonthly pay was 255 francs.) Suoiving documents in the archives al Vincennes tell us Lhat the 1st Regiment recei"ed 272 pelisses. of which 46 were for NCOs; 19 were sky·blue for tnllnpelers, two of dIem ",iLh silverand-green braid for coqx>ral-tnlmpeters; and 205 were for 'first scouts'. Considering that one-and-a-half squadrons should ha\'e totalled 375 soldiers, this shows thai the fonner Guards of Honour in the ranks musl ha\e continued to wear their fanner pelisses, Of 229 dolmans made and deli\"ered, 213 were for trpers, and 12 for NCOs with mixed-<:olour braid, These were still at Lhe depot afler the end of the war; only four dolmans were issued, 10 NCOs seoing at the depot. Of the Ilungarian-slyle breeches, only 15 pairs for NClli and six for troopers were made and delh'ered, but neither distributed nor ",'orn. For the Young Guard squadrons, 536 habitvesta were made and issucd. All the other items made for the In Regimclll's four squadrons were distributed alllong them: 1,033 pairs of grey trousers, 1,044 scarlet waistcoal.s, 1,016 undress caps, 1,010 green portmanteaux (saddle valises), etc. Of 475 sabreiliches that were delivered. 392 were lIsed, and 82 were left in store at the depot as of30 March 1814, TIle regiment's armament consisted of 980 sabres, 448 lances, 448 piSLOls and 50--1 carbines; some of the manufaClllrers made low-quality items, 01' raised their prices at the last moment when the rcgimelll could not refuse them. Since the 1813 reorg-.I.Oi7.
and a sabre only. This was to prevelll accidental injury to the first rank b) men in I.he second rank - the I.raining in the tricky art. of using lances ""'35 time-consllming. The lances llsed in the french ann) in 1814 were of the 1812 model.

• • •

The regiment was organized at the Mililal1 School in llaris, ",,'here the officers and N'COS worked 10 teach the newly arrived conscripts the basic skills of soldiering and horsemanship: more than once the stables \\cre IiI. by candles so that I.hey could even exercise at night.. The first dctachmenl.. commanded by Capt Delaunay. left. 1.0 join up with the llrmyon 19JalHlal1' 1814. after being preserllcd to I.he Emperor during one of Ihe many parades in fronl of thc Tuileries p
TIl is unil. lIsed thc more popular name of &la;r~llrs-(lmgons (ScOUlDrAgoons) in prefcrence 10 the official I.itle of 2e Rigime1l1 d'E
Imperia"',

Officers At first the regiment was commanded by ColMaj Leclerc. but a few days lal.er he was promoted to general of brigade. On 17 December 1813 the Emperor replaced him by appointing the commander of the 2nd Dragoons oft.he Line, Col Hoffma)'er. Of the four squadron leaders in the regiment, Parizot and lebrassellr }xuh came from the ~Ioumed Chasseurs of the Imperial Guard; Toussailll transferred from the 13th Mounted Chassellrs of the Une, and Bourbon-Bussel arri\'ed from the 27th Moulllcd Chasseurs, The squadron leaders and some other officers of thc regiment were all ranked as Old Guard, the rest of the officcr corps Young Guard. Two sui).lieUlenants came from the Guards of Iionollr, and eigl\! from the cavalry school at Saint-Germain.

~~~\ ~ 1"'fH""'JOn of • ""-Ilo of tIM 2nd Scouta, Mowing ~ tIM IeattIet' rHlforcement "-fI lit ttM back, eM _ I e lop

"net 0' Inlerloc:klng rings. eM tricolour toe. . . . .net • po!IIpon. Thla ahap" 01 ah.ko la .Imoat th m••a ttNIt wom by t"Ch urw d·...frlqu. In Alg.rta In the 1840a. (Pierre Loula Fe'lller; lonner Brunon CoUKtlon. Ch"teau eM l'Empfif)

R8nkers

TI,e 2nd Regiment of Scouts had more NCOs tllan the 1st RCbrimelll, and more tl1an one oftl1csc had already had a fine career in tlle Grandc AImee. The organization of the regimelll was identical 1.0 tlle In, wilh four squadrons each of250 men inlwo companies, not counting the officers. Napoleon's decree had stipulated that the men v,ere 1.0 be found from among the pmtilJons dL l'Empirp. This was a good idea, since such men \\cre already experienced horsemen. and \'o;th the no",,' sharpl} reduced borders of the empire most of tllCSC drivers ",,'ere \'o;thout emplo}·ment. In the event, howe\'er, fonner postilions and couriers madc up only a minority of the r.mks, and most recmiting was from morc or less the same sources as for thc 1st Regiment.. except tl1at the 2nd did nOl receive members of the Guards of Honour.

13

Again, the mustcr rolls sumve in two volumes. The first starl! all 15 December 1813 and ends on 23 January 1814, containing 1,200 numbers. Most of those mCIHioned in it came from the Dragoons of the Imperial Guard and the Light Horse Regiment of the fonner Spanish Royal Guard. Othen; came from the ~'IOLIIHed Chasseun; of the Old and Young Guard; from the 2nd, 5th & 20th Dragoons of the Line, the 3rd & 7th Lancen;, and the Gnldanms d'Es~ - a lance-anned French gendannerie lhat had been organized to fight the guerrillas along the lines of communicouion in Spain. ~lost of the lnnupeten; came from the Dragoolls of the Guard,like Brigadin../n)ll1pduJean Buhl, and "''ere all Old Guard. The regimental depot was at Meu, and later 011 at Courbe\'Oie. TIle second \'Olume of the muster roll contains the numben; from 1201 to 1311. All those mentioned came from the depot at Lille and man) from the 5th Dragoons. One of them was a retired \"eteran who had sened since 1793; now he replaced a conscript, and sen"ed as a Young Guard Seout. TIle prescribed uniform for the regiment was of Line Mounted Chasseurs st)'le: a dark green hahil~veslt! with crimson coUar. cufTs and tumb..cks. and pointed green shoulder Straps piped with crimson; white metal buttons. and silver or white lace. TIle shakos of the ranken; were of a new, slightly tapered-in shape. and co\ered ",itll crimson cloth.

• • •

On 19Jalluar), the 2nd Regiment mustered 28 officen; and 829 men with 498 horses, against an establishment of 53 officers, 1,005 men and 1,005 troop horses. Five da)'! later, on 24 January, a fin;t detachment len for Ch:i.lons 10 join the anny, Ilumbering 313 men with 3M horses. Eight ofl-ken; with 200 scouts left on
This unit used the more poplllar llame of Edaireurs-lancil:T'S (ScOul-L.'lllcers) rmher than its official litle, Je Regimenl d'Ecltlireurs lit! /a Ctll'd~ Imperiall'. Officers

14

The unit \\-'as
Rec:on.tf\ICtlon of a lanear of th. 2nd Reol~nt, hi. w•• pon m."d~ him out ••• front-rank m.n. HI. tall, rath.r talNr.ct .nako I. HCUI'KI by m. .n. of. paIr of c.p II,... paning around h. tora.o; anet It I. ttttoMl wtttl 1M tall full·d .... p1UnM. ~p. for • sp«lal Ir'lspKtlon or pa..... Thl. 0..-1"" ~ the modlftoMl Ndd.. wfth blanket,

~

.t tn. cwot" and roIloMl cloak· coat at the pomm.l HI. trouMn ahow • 6oub..

m.~

corNet sing" ~

tn"

of the

.t"';

s.nitftl d..-w .tudy Mfono 1M contamporary pictvNs on ~ to and 12 came to llgtrt. ~

s.n"nl; tor- anCoI'-dJon, Cftflt~ 0. l'Etnpo6ri)

Guard; ten sub·lieutenants wcrc former mflrichaux des logis, and six former brigadi,.,-s (sergeants and corporals respectively) from the 1st (Polish) Light lIorse Lancers. The regiment thus had a strong Polish character; howt::vcr, there \\'ere seven French officers and t,,'o French surgeolNnajors. All the others were Polish by birth, marc than one of them with blue blood running through his Icins. Rankers

When the decree of9 December 1813 was signed, the 1st (Polish) Light Ilorse Lancers consisted of 14 companies di\"ided belween two regiments: the first was Old Guard (lst-6th Cos); the second, ~Iiddle (7th-12th Cos) and Young Guard (13th & 14th Companies)_ At the time of the battlc of Leipzig in OClober 1813 these latter mustered 273 troopers, including some 40 Lithuanian Tatars. Napoleon decreed the reduction of the number of companies in the 1st (Polish) Light Horse Lancers from 14 10 eight, fomling four squadrons. TIle excess were rransferred to the 3rd Regiment of Scouts, together ....ith some remaining Polish troopers of Line regiments sta.t..ioned at Sedan; bill the numbers still fell short of the establishmem, and had to be made up with newl} drafted conscripts_ (There is one curious detail: near!) all the regimental farriers \\-ere Gennan b) birth.) TIle 1st (Polish) Light Ilorse lancers of tlle Guard .....ere original1} posted to sen"c in Belgium, and only arrived with Napoleon's ann)' in easlern France on 25 January 1814. The rolls tell LIS that the regiment then coumed 28 officers and 595 men, plus 34 officers ....ith 482 men still at Ihe depol at Chantilly; the 3rd RegimelH of Scouts had 12 officers with 24 men at Challlilly, and at thc depot at Givet another 40 officers and 600 men, later to be transferred to Pans_ Between 1 January and 21 {I.'larch 1814, the muster roll of the 3rd Regimenl of ScOllts lisl'l 937 numbers; from number 598 onwards, one finds only Frenchmen \\'ho came from the depot of the Guard at Courbevoie, and from number 850 on\\'ards, nothing but volunteers. The 14 trumpeters were
"'* _

8I'I'IOIIlI ~ PoIiIh I.inoI -.c. . . . - • s-. lrom wI'Iocn _ wom ~ ~ 6fI-._"*,, 2nd ~ _ , aJIls IIIJ*l - . ......... 1IpMll1llJ*l.,...,..., ~ ~ 3td _ , cuI'Is 1IIJ*l-.. ......... __ 1IIJ*l-' .,...,... .....' 7lI'l ~ _ , cUll PII*l.-d. 1IpMll1llJ*l.-d. .-.d lllIl ~ _ & ppng. a6 PII*I NICI, dIr1< .... _ _ PII*l.-d. .-:l ~

3 For _

•• wonh,

_

...,.

__ _ *' ChIled ... b.<''''' oflIc:-'I'

'*""

'*""

'*"" ---=

Joseph bluakl ~ . .-one! lIM1t_t 1ft the PoIWl Ught HorN ..,I~ of tn. Im~1 QUllrd on II June 1801; .... w •• promoted tlret lleut_t on 4 Oc:toa- 1808 .nd ~pl* on 11 FebfUllry 1811. As. chef d'.~, .... w•• commlSlIone
.

,

1814: THE CAMPAIGN OF FRANCE

1.t Reglm.nt of Seout. - Old QUllrd NCO with tn.lmpet.r. On e.mp"lgn both m.n hsv. black w.t.rproof .h.ko eov.re. .nd red pompon. replacing the t.1I plumes. llte tNmpet.._ _ hIs sky.b1.... ... _ ~I

•

scutet w.lsleNt In,tNd of the dolman. wittl the _ I gNY. red-.trlped 0y~1,*. llte NCO '* .hown, pem.ps unre.I'*lleeUy, In red full·dre.. breech••; 1M brllid on the. . end on hit pen... I' • mixture of dllr!< green with .Ilver. (Pl...... Benlgnl; former 8Nnon Collection, Chlte.u de l'Emp'rl) ~bfN.ted

\\11ile he plared the diplomatic game in No\ember 1813, Napoleon hoped and belie\'ed that the Allies would not be ready to cross into French territory unlil the spring. He calculated that he needed four months to rebuild his army, concenU
• • •

1.

The day before his dcpal'l.ure from Paris lO join his arm)', the Emperor organized the defence of the capitaL He named his brother Joseph as his 'Iiemenam-generdl' 01' pro",")' at the head of the gO\·enllnelll, and appoimed Cell Omano, Colonel of the Dragoons of the Imperial Guard, as commander of the entire Imperial Guard in Paris. This force would soon include 2,250 Scouts: 750 from the ISl Regiment. 500 from lhe 2nd, and 1,000 of the 3rd. General Omano also had to organize another 200 Moullled Grenadiers, 200 Dragoons, 300 Mounlcd ChasscLll'S and 300 Red Lancers, lotalling anolher 1,000 lllen and blinging the Guard ea"ahl' in Paris 10 a strength of approximatel) 3,200.

hen \dth con.,cripts ovcrcrowdilll{ the difTerenl regimcmal dcpots. the Emperor at this ~tagc could on I} muster some 63,000 II1CII. including about Ij.ooO cavall"l' 10 co\'er the eastern border;. Thinking thai the Allies \,'ould penClnHC into France from the nonh bv followinl{ the axis Am~lCrdal1l-,\lll\'Crp-Brussels-Paris, he had concentrated large numbers of the Impclial Guard around I\nlsse1s. Amweq) and Breda. The Allic~' crossings of the Rhine in Gennall\' and SwitLerland revealed the main threal to be from the east. and Napoleon SOOll recalled pari of thc'iC elite troops to join his principal anm. :-':apoleon IcC! I)aris e;:II"1\ on the morning of25 Januan 1811, anidng that e\ening ,u Ch:llolls. The Hrst Scout units emered Ch.ilons ;:around the same ume as the Empeml', riding agaimt a ~trea.m of refugees fleeing towards Paris. from somc of whom IhC\ learned of :"\..poleon's presence in the town - \\hich still had an enormous effect on morale. DUling the c
Brigadier (corpor.tj 01 the Otd Qu.reI squ.dron. 01 the ht

Reglm.nt In full d _ - though .tt.r I.....l"il p.m to join tNo .rmy .1 the lront In JenWiry 181", t~ .... ould h f_ opportunltlfll to , It. The ,.eembl.nce In uniform .tyI
l_tGries ~ t thet

bf'eec:hes .....,. _ , kauect to

tNo 1.1 SCouts, but the troopen drened If\ from the Q_nn of Honour reported to tNo depot In ~, old reglmentelL Hr. ...nlt I~I••,. the two \IIthit. chew""" .oov. the cufb of bolt\ t"- skH>O
~1sH

'ftd

ItIs dol"""', whlch Is er-n with KIIr1e1 c",," and ccw.... 'ecings.

His Hunprian ""'..r-s~ ~hes .,.

red. 'ftd Ill. boots trim;

~ hY_.~ taueIted

• ubt'eteehe comp..... ItIs light UIV.lry outfit. The st\eIto Is fitted 0\It with 1M fvlkl,... ~ , Mel not. the . ~ pAlt. lor tNo hook .1 the . . . lofJ. to secu,. hi. chInc~'" when not In we. ~ Benignl; fonnet' Brunon Collection, Chit.... de l'Emp6ri)

17

General Lefeb\Te-Desnoeues had left for Belgium on 13 December to take command of the Young' Guard Ca\".llrv dh-isioll there. Recalled 10 Paris, he "as ordered LO leave for Chiilons on 17 Jallllilli'. taking with him Cell Dall1..ancoufl, 600 1l1l'1l of the 1st (Polish) Liglu I IOniC L1.llcers, 300 Mounted ChasseUN,

TI'ooger, 2nd Regiment, in eemp8lgn d .... wtth carbine. Benign''' recon,truc:Uon c ......... shows the b ..........ka worn by th'- ntgiment, HaIred wttn lIWOn-coloured _p lines. lind ..-in ","th • red pompon poIllnog through In. blaek ollsaln cover. A slmpllfled aaddle wa.

introduced to reduce the wel;hl 01 the equlpmtlflt - note the ImIIII ,ize of ttl.. Scovt's holM but • fMC! bag ,tiN ~. to "' carried on caft'lp8Ign. (Plerno 8Ml1gnI; former &ninon Collection, Chlt. .u de l'Emp6rl1

18

250 Dragoons. 200 ~Iollnted Grenadiers. 300 men of !.he 3rd Regiment of Scouts. plus Cen Rouembourg's infant.... dhision. On 19 januao', Cell Deriol 'ielll after him another delachmelll of220 Polish lancer; of the Line. 250 DlIl.ch (Red) LanCCN of the Guard, and 100 men from t.he 1st Regimclll of SeOUL'i, followed l.he neXI day by 300 horses. Arriving with the arm), Lefeb\Te-Desnoclles was ordered to march to Viln, and at once organized his di\ision illlo twO brigades. General Dau(ancourt's brigade recchcd the \'cternn squadrons and pans of the new Scouts detachments for his composite brigade; plus, under Gen Krasinski, l.he lSI (Polish) Light Horse Lancer.. which Lefeh\Te-Desnoeues had brought from Belgium, and the rest of the Scouts. General Colbert's brigade rcceived lhe 220 Polish and 250 Red Lancers and lhe 100 men from the ISl Regimelll. of $cauLS sent b). Deriot from Pari.., and 300 Seouts from the other two regiments. On 28 January the $couL.. encountered their first Cossacks, at some distance in fronl of the village of Monticrendcr, \\'here the Russians were scouting ahead of the vanguard of the Army ofSilesia; ule $couts charged Ule enem, \\ith \igour, putting them to f1ighL Brlenne, 29 January Napok'On decidcd to fight thc Pmssians (in;l. Marching towards Tro)cs, he allacked BILlcher's dispersed anny at Uricnne on Saturday 29January. (This lown held a personal interest for Napolcon; he had been 10 school there, receiving his vcry first instmet.ion in the military arts and sciences.) Bringing some 30,000 - mainh conscript- troops into action against possibly 25,000 I'mssians, he pinncd the enemy \\ith Grouch\"s cavalry and hor'ie artillery in the late morning. Then he sent Marshal Ney's two di\isiolls and p<,n of Victor's corps against the to\\l1, as the rest of his II Corps movcd to outnank the Pmssian right wing. The fighting was Ulleven and dra!:,'ged on until lOpm; the French cventually g:.lined possession of lite town, and of the ch,ileau from which BILlcher had to dep.u1 in some haste - the old marshal and his chief-of-stafT Gen Gnelscnau are s.,id to have jumped Ollt of a window and ridden off to safety. Com'ersely, Napoleon was almost captured himself by Cossacks. The French suffered some 3,000 casualties and inflicted about 4.000. The Prussians withdrew to Arcis-sur-Aubc and B.ar-sur-Aube, looking for

-...

eX, '-10 Mar

" N s.._

'"'" oX> ,""""""

....... ""' •

BLOCHER

Arm

or Silesia

Pnl~~ian\ &-

8aMt-Ovc

Puis

Russians 100,000

..............

........

d',20-11,...

Mwy.-.S-

'

~ d',~~.........

the suppOrt of the Alll>trians, III a ]eller of 31 Jannary ~linisler of War, the Emperor wrOle:

Auslrimu, 1)n1sslans &- Russians 200,000

10 Cell

Clarke,

'] had a r::lthc..:r hal an"air lllm' afJairr fori r!Jwuil'] on the 29Lh at l\rienne. I altacked the emirc anllY of Marshal Blllchcr and Ccn Sacken, with ~O,OOO infantry and a lot of cavalry" I attacked them with 10,000 mcn shortly after a lunK, hard march, I had the luck to be abk' to mke the C'L.. t1e that dominates cvc'1,thing" Ikcausc the altad., anI) smrted ill II prn, we had to fiKhtthe whole night. Blllclu:r \\·'IS beaten, and wc took 500 to 600 prisoners and killed or wounded 3,000 to 4,000, BltlCher wal> forced to recall all his troops marching to\\".lrds Paris to retrcat to l~u"Slir-Allbe, Yesterday I pursued him in the s.'IllC direction for some 2 miles. bombarding him willl about 40 guns, Our losses arc estimated to be 2.000 mcn. Generals Forcstiel" and 11.'lSte of the Young Cuard arc killed. Gencr.t.1 Lcfemn--Oesnoeues. who cOlllmanded the caval" of the Guard. ha.s been ,,'ounded ;1 1>.,\'Onel thrust \\hile charging \,;th his usual fcarlessness. General OeeQns of the Young Guard is \\·ounded.·

The major action. in e••tem Frarte:e, 181 ••

rn

1.

An omcer 01 the 2nd SCOuts, In th.- prk 9'""" ~imental IOn~ and tro\I..... As .... officer he

"" - . ~te cap linea ending In 'flounders' caught up under _ epavlette. Unlike his men he.tso ~s • dark If..... ~braque, edged wttn silYer b...1d .rod red piping and embroidered with motlB of tn. Imperi.l crown .nd crowned eagle In the comers. Just visible he~ I. the edge of. small . .ddle cover of .polted Imlt.tlon p.nthe... kln pl.ced over the se.t of the ..ddle - .ee Pl.le E3. (PIe,,. Benlgnl; former BNnon CollKtlon, Chllte.u de l'Emp6ri)

20

111:n Saturday the $collIS of the Guard had rccei\ed their true haptism of fire near the \'ill:lge of Penhes, close to Brienne. Fighting at odds of olle against three. but bllO\'Cd up b) ule Emperor's presence. tht'\ took onl~ a fe~' casual tiL'S: in the 1st Scouts one of them ~dS Capt Drion. who was \\ounded. On 30 Janua~, Cen Cu\'ot took O\-er the command of Ule di\ision from the wounded Lefeh\Tc--Desnoettes.

La Rothiere, 1 February Bricnne ~'ollid be the stan of it C'dmpaign that more than onc miliran historian has judged to he among the most impressi\'c e\'er fought b\ :-\apokon. With a relati\'e handful of troops and little mau~riel, he faced the Allies in temble wimer conditions. Ammunition \\llS 10\\, and there were shortages of e\'el1' killd of equipment: nmm soldiers were scarcely clothed, and certainly not according to the regulations. But inexpclienced as most of them ,,'ere, they did wonders, at the cost of severe casualties. (II i~ remarkable to note that on the day of Brienne, 29 January, Allied diplomats in conference al Chfltillon-sur-Scine sent Napoleon yet anolher ofTer oftenns which would have pcnuitled him to keep his throne - Ihey were ~till nervous of confronting him.) The French pursued lilllcher south to La Rothiere, soon to be the ~ene of a second and more serious battle. AI Ipm on I Febmary, 1\lucher tumed on the French and launched a counter-auack with 52.000 troops. secure in the knowledge that there were anouler 63,000 AI1it.'S in the general \icinil\. and that Gen Wrede was coming up behind the French left nank ~ith 20.000 of these. Napoleon. ~ith 54.000 men. planned to ~ithdraw and amid action. blll the Pnl~ian general forced a b... nle which raged for se\'eral hours. In this biuer engagemem the lack of trdining of many conscriplS told against the French. bUl uley held mosl of their ground until 5pm, when !ising winds and snow flurries brought Ihe fighting to an end and savcd them from a worse defeat. Nexl day the French army retreated towards Brienne and Tro)'cs; they had left 4.000 dead and wounded on the freezing batllefield, pIllS 2.000 prisoners and 60 gUllS. Al I..... Rothiere thc Scouts Brigade, commanded by Cen Dautancourt. was ordered by Cen Nansouty to charge the enemy. The young klaimm rode ofT with ShOlllS of -''jut' l'tm~,.!', one part againsl some cnem) cavall) and the oUlers - ule lst Regiment dcrachment ""ith their coloncl at uleir head - charging Russian inf.mtry ""ho were advancing (0 support their cavalry. Charging in a snows(onn, tllC inexperienced troopers - holding their lances ~ith both hands, since the,' had nO( ye( learned how to control them properly ~ith one hand - ~'erc unable (0

dlivc thc Russians bad., but their elan was such that they slOppcd the a(h-ance. R.allying Ollt of range of the enemy's l1re, the ScOllts soon charged a second time but, outnumbered, they suffered hea\"} casualties. One of these \\'
Mter their\icton at L1. Rothiere, man} in the two Allied annies considered the campaign as good as o\er, and judged that they had only to march 1000,mls Paris in order to dictate peace. Napoleon thought differentl..~ for him the camp.'lign had onl\ just staned, and a sUCCe50Sion of small checks slowed Schwarlenbcrg's a(h-ance dow11 the Seine 10 a C'"C tow'ards Tro\es, the Guard Ca\'aln mel up \'lith their commdcs from the Old Guard \Iho had been .sening with ~larshal Mortier on the ~Icuse froill. With the exception of the Young Guard s Bligade \'om dissol\'t:d. and each detachment returned to the Old Gtlard regiment to which it was affiliatt--d.. TIle 3rd ScOUlS no\\' recei\"ed a reinforcement of twO squadrons commanded rn Squadron Leader Sk:.IITnlski. The next dOl\', tile rest of ~lal1ihal ~Iortier's corps joined ;'I:apoloon's main alllW. "nmt dal Napoleon \1,1.'. comidering tile latest Allied peace tenns, and weighing his options. O:roper.ltion between ti,e two Allied armies was neady non-cxistenl. The e\-cr-headstrong Marshal Uliicher still had his eyes fixcd on Paris, where there was II'id<"spread panic, Marching westwards towards the weakly dcfended capital along Illuddy roads to the smull of the Ri\'er Marne, in melting slu~h ;ll1d hea\'y rain that bogged down the artillery and wagons and hampered comlllunications, 1~lllchcr's army had become comidet
Offlcef, tNm~t.r and men 01 the 3rd SCovts In telMIe de um~; ... h _ the crimson pl.stroflS 01 their /rurtt. jac:kets buttoned across 10 .t1ow the blue ald. only, The otflcft ___ • rwd luther w.t~1 c _ .roIHtd his rkhly de<:onoled poueh belt. Hfs blue tnKIHf's . , . ~ wide, with. crimson stripe ~ In silver, and end In ftqd " .... boots' 01 black reinlordng luthet- - _ Pt.1to FIG. The ,.., conMfS 01 hols ~.,. hooked up to protect them fTom mI>d and _ r , His c z " lin a light bf'own watafJl"l'Ol ~. thoH 01 his t ~ black; ell _ whlte ~ tI was

theM !.roolMI wno lormed the majortty of the ten smalt .etuadrons of the Ololanl c.walry that Mrved In !he . , _ 01 PaM In Aprtl 1814, ~ Benlgnl; 1 _ ~ CoItM:tion, Chltuu • l'Emp6nl

[_--=~~~::~_:..~:::.=~~::::.~:;:~~_~

2'

The Russian LIGen Count Ol&auflev (1715-1817), commander of the 6,000-$11'0119 IX Corps of Blucher's Armw of Silesla. On 10 Febrvary 1914 his corps was destroVed at the battle of Champaubert. Captured with the rest of his officers and staff, Oluutlev was brought before Napoleon, who Invited his prisoner to dine with him.

superiorii)' of force - 'L~ much six to one. Ily lOam the next moming Cell OISSllnev's pickets were being driven in, but their commander rashly decided to fight it out in the belief thaI UlllCher might come to his aid. This pron.'d a vain hope, and b) 3pm on lhe aftcl1loon of 10 February the Russians had been pressed back through Champauben, Olssutlev lried to retreat LOward ELOges. but found himself enveloped by French ca\';\h)' on both flanks. His force lost some 2.400 killed and wounded, lhe French onl)' some 200 men: OISSllfie\' himself, two mher generals, 47 other oflicers ami more than 1,800 men were~ takel1 prisoner, and some 20 guns \\'ere lost. In his daily leuer LO his brother Joseph in Paris, Napoleon wrote: 'Dear Brother, today J have auacked the enemy at Champauben... Ceneral-in-ehiefOlsoufief [sic] is taken prisoner with all his generals. all the colonels, oflicers, guns, wagons and baggage .. .' At Champauben, the ollicer who had recentl)' arri\ed with reinforcements, Squadron Leader Ska(7)nski, led the sole SCOUl squadron with the..: army thal da) in a charge against the corps of Cen Olssufie\', ;L'\sisting in its destruction and the capture of the Russian commander and his stall', Montmlrail. 11 February

Rear-rank trooper of the 3rt! Scouts In campaign dress, armed with. carbine. His campaign overalls lack the usual scarlet stripe. 8Mlgol draws him with frlntleleu conlre-epsuletfes, and

the same dark blue·and·while striped lancer girdle as Line units 01 Polish lane".... (Pierre Benlgnl; former Brunon

Collection, ChAteau de l'Emp6nl

22

Champauben was onl)' a minor \'ictory, bLlt aile \\'ith serious consequences for the Allies, since the Emperor had now cut lhe Army of Silesia in two. This success proved to be the prelude for tWO more French victories over the next few dars, at t.'lolllmirail and Vauchamps. Without taking any time 10 rest his men, Napoleon marched west from Champauben along the nonh bank of Le Petit ~lOlin at the head of his small but dete11l1ined army. to confront the dispersed corps of Cen &Icken, \\~th 19,000 Russians, and Cen Yorek. \\ith 12.000 Prussians. On 11 Febnl;lI)', after a night of sno\\fall mixed \\ith rain which reduced the fields to a sea of mud, the 14.500 French u'oops marched through t.lonunirail. Napoleon's force consisted basically of the Old Cuard and a fi.:w conscripts - the ·~'latie·Louiscs· - under Cen Ricard. together with 30 LO 36 guns. Finding the enemy. the Emperor sent in the laner against &Icken's corps, which was tlying to fight its wa)' eastwards to ~tolllmir
square consisting of eight baualions. In his leuer LO Joseph thaI night the Emperor claimcd to ha\c \,'on a decisil'e ballle, and that the Army of Silesia had cea1>ed to exist; he had taken all the enemy's artillery, I,"'gons and baggage together with thousall{L.. of prisoners, and all thi~ ",hile commiuing only half of his Old Guard - 'M)' Foot Guard. Ill)' Dragoons, my Mountcd Grenadiers ha\'e done miracles', While this ,,'as o\'erstating the case, Sad:.en's Russians had indeed been badh beaten. while Yord,'s Prussians I,ere held offl>}' Marshal ~Iortier. At the end of the bolttle the cnem) left six regimelllal bomners, 13 guns and thousall{Ls of CQ1l realiLcd that Blucher had 10 be shon of Iroops under his immediau: command. and accordingh marched easlw:trds, lea,ing Marshal Monier 10 ptlt"Sue the beaLen enemy awa} 10 tllC north.

AlolH Gadon bKame • HCond lleuteNlrt Oft tt April 1813, lind WH commluMlned wtttt tNs ,..,. Into the 3nl Atlglment of seouu Oft 22~,., 1at4. 'ThIs Hndyh.h rounI 0l'f\cM _ , . . the Potlah lUI..... blue ' uniform, with ome.r.' dgz.-g ~ IK:e .nwnct the crion_ col.... lind ~ .. '"'- broad w.l.t belt shows • pI8t8 with . . .".. 1mpeti8! '"lie. Not. the ImPltrl81 O.,.rd MguiMett. . 8nd, Oft I'I.Is brNst, the Inslgn" 01 • Knloght of the ImpeNI Orctet" 01 the A_Ion, 01 whlel'l. N8fMMeon dlstrltMlted ",.ny In the 1.1e .hIgH 01 the EmpiN.

Yauchamps, 14 February

The Emperor marched mClllighl aL the head of the Guard and Grouch,'.. ca"ah)', cmering about 16 miles 10 join Marshal ~lanllotll's c0'1)s and bring Ihe French strength in the area of Vauchamps to 25.000. Early that day, Bilicher was ad"ancing ~ollth·WCSlw:lrd.. in Ihe direction of ,\olontmirail when he encollnlcred strong French outposts near Vallcharnps. With on I)' 20,000 men LO hand. cornrnandt'd b)' CelIS Kleisl. Karle\'II,eh and Zicthen, lhc aged field marshal soon found his eavalr)' dril'('1l from the field, and then disco"ered from a pri~oner that Napoleon was approaching in person. The lIlention of this name was enough to persuade him to order a retreat; the Prussian... and Russians "ithdrew in good order. harassed by Ihe French cavall)', which petiodical1)' gOl ahcad of the Allied columns. Fortunately for Bilicher, lhe wet grollnd hindered lhe deploymclll of the French guns and Infalllry, and he slipped :m-d}' lhrough Etoges. Napoleon hailed the pursuit beyond thaI town. and granted his exh,lLIsted men a shon rest. The eng-dgclIlelll had COSI the French some

23

'. OJ

3rt! Scouts trooper getting directions from II pessant - the 1814 campaign saw many forced marches along minor roads and lanes aero•• the featurele••

plains 0' eastern France. This drawing shows the pistol c:llpped lind strapped to the carbine allng, part of the doubled belt

thai also supported the cartridge pouch. (PlelTll 8enlgnl; fonner Bnanon Collection,

Ch3teau de l'Emperll

24

600 casualties; Bll"lChcr's losses were 7,000 men, 16 gUlls. and a large amount of transport. The Emperor had no\\' spread desperate confusion in the ranks of the Ann} ofSilesia, which was forced to flee - back clown the road up \\bich the\ had marched a day earlier. confidelllly asking the peasants the way to Paris. However, although so close to achieving the destl"llclion of the combined Prussian-Russian arm} under 1~lllCher, the Emperor was now forced LO tllrn his auenlion towards the Austrian Gen Schwarl.enberg and his Army of Bohemia to the sOUlh. When they crossed the French borders the Allied commanders had expecled to meet Iiule resistance from a weak, defeated and dejected French army. But Napoleon - the Emperor who had directed campaigns b} armies of O'er half-amillion soldiers, on battlefields stretching deep into Russia or from the Austrian border to Hamburg - now had only tens of thOUS<1.nd~ of lIlel] at his command, and this seems to hal'e made him feel like a young general again. The last time he had showed a similar energy, inspiration and grasp of tactics may have been as long ago as his early Italian caillpaigns. In those days he I\'as the' irwentor' of fast-marching armies, taking his dispersed enemies by surprise with lethal effect, and now he was doing it again. Using secondal"}' roads, he avoided the main highways which the Allies were clogging by their sheer nlllnbers. Guided by local peasants, he even moved his forces through marshland in order to surprise the Allies, who bad not yet learned their lessons. Fighting for four conseclltl\e days against more powerful, well-equipped armies, the French had still succeeded in bealing them into retreat and inflicting some 20,000 casualties. 1\lost of the credit should go 1.0 the Caval!)' of the Cuard led by Gens LelOrt and I.aferriere-Leveque. (Among the casualties suffcred by the Scouts were Squadron Leader Sk,wF.}'nski and C.,apt Ziclonga of the 3rd Regiment, both of whom were wounded.) Despite these successes, however, the shortage of manpO\,'er in the Guard Ca\'ah}! W,IS steadily gelling worse. On 15 February - the date by which all three Scout regime11ls were supposed to be fully equipped and manned - Cen Colbert's 1st Guard C.·wah}' Division (for example) mustered onlr: Polish lancers of the Line: 6 officers, 1'19 men 2nd Regiment of Scouts: 12 officcrs, 241 men 2nd (Dmch) Lightllorse Lanccl's: 15 officers, 247 mcn MOUlllCd ChasscuI~ & ~hmelukcs: 25 officers, 297 men The tot.al for the whole division was thus just 58 officcrs and 93·' men - the cst.ablishmcnt of a single regimcnt. As the campaign went on, cotl~cripLS still flooded into the depots, where veterans coming from other fronlS tried to teach these raw bors the trade of a soldier in a lew hurried weeks. During thc opcrMions against Sch\\'arzenberg the Cmlh}' of the Guard was strcngthelled by the arrival of experienced. combat-hardcned D'
/HII?

JJ)

1sl REGIMENT (SCOUT-GRENADIERS) 1: Col T. .lol-Feny. campalgn~.. 2: OffICer, undre.. IMll10rm 3: OffICer In pell...

,

•

, A

151 REGIMENT (SCOUT-GRENADIERS) 1, Troopel'", Old Guard company, lull dress 2: Troopel'", Old Guard company, campaign dress 3: NCO, Old Guard company, campaign dress

B

1st REGIMENT (SCOUT·GRENADIERS) 1: Trooper, Young Guard company, caml)fllgn ctrass 2; Trooper, Young Guard company, MI d..... 3: TrumpelM, calTlfHllgn tlrHs 2

3

I. L":!!.i' c

2nd REGIMENT (SCOUT-DRAGOONS) 1 ... 2: TrooPWa, campaign dress 3; Tt\lmpete,

3

I I

D

2nd REGIMENT (SCOUT-DRAGOONS) 1: Trumpet-major 2: Trumpeter 3: Officer, full dress

2

3

E

ltd REGIMENT ISCOUT-LANCERS IN ACTION EASTERN FRANCE FEBAUARY-MARCH 1814

G

3n:l REGIMENT (SCOUT-lANCERS) 1:

2:

omc.r, full chl.. rul dress

T~,

3; T~*, full dress

3

H

so high that the numbers in the ranks nc"er really rose; for instance, the Red Lancers had already los' 139 mcn and 174 horses killed or wounded.

• • •

Soon after his successes against the Army of Silesia at Champauben, Montmirdil and Vauchamps, Napoleon hastened back to the River Seine to confrolll.. Schwarl.cnberg·s Aml} of Bohemia. which was moving westwards towards I)aris along the River VeITe. Some French units marched 60 miles in under two d
AnotMr uMtuI a.NgnI sWcty of ttM_¥Mwol.~ ~ -.td "'- horN. tnIa tim. of ttM 2nd Aee'''tMlt; note tn. , .... poelteta In the )Kbt -'
Monter.au, 18 February The Prince of Wflrtlcmberg was lefl to cO\'cr me withdrawal al Montereau, at I..h~ confluence of the rivers Seine and Yonne. where he took lip positions frOIll which he could either rerreat in good order or of It'- udd.. blthlnd hill . . . sl.and a French au.."lck. 11l(~ French massed gUlls silenced the Auslrian ~ . l ~ 8eftlgnl; ' baLleries, and a devastating au.lCk was I.hrown at me (0\\'1 in order 10 Brunon eou.etlon, C ~ de caplUre boLh key bridges. Ag;:lin the Emperor's main shock force was his "EmP'rl) Guard Cavalry; aided by Cell rajol's r<.-gimcnLS of !.he Line, the) chased lhe cncm)' o\'er lhc bridges into the to..... n. AI the same lime the inhabitants came to their Cene in his memoirs: 'As we r(Xle over the bridge, a large gap in it ....~dS no obstllcle to liS. on account of the speed with which we came. Qllr horses flew!. .. At the end of the blidge, which is long, there is a street to Ihe left. 111is faubourg being blocked up witll the wagons belonging to the [enemy] rei.1rbJ1.lard, we had 10 fight Ollr \\'ay through with our sabres. We swept everything before us. 111Ost: who t..'SCaped our fury did so by dragging lhemselves under the wagons. Qur marshal [Lefebvre] fought so hard thal he foamed althe mouth.' The Alliell lost 3,000 killed and wounded, as man)' again taken prisoner, and 15 guns; the French lost some 2,500 men. Napoleon was dis.appointed with the SGlle of the succellS. but the Anny of Bohemia had been repulsed, and was heading back towards Tro~es in some disarrd.}'The day after the battle of MOlllereau it was time to reward the soldiers, and Napoleon wrote to Marshal --!.''!!~,:l!l!-. - ., Kellennann thal he would gram 500 crosses 0 f the Legion of g .... Honour to the three ca\••lI} di\1.sions of the Guard. 50 to the <:.'" k. .'

...A

.-

33

Guard artillc'1'. 300 to Cen Friant's division, and 200 crosses lO the Old Guard division serving with Marshal ~"orlicr. With each [elter 10 his brol..hcr Jose:=ph or to the Minister of War the Emperor asked for more troops. These men were theoreLicall~ a\
• • •

111e deslmction of many bridges "''as now a f:.lctor in limiting Napoleon's manoemTes. pre'\'eming him from leading his 74,()()().slrOng anm in pursuit of Schwarzenberg 10 bring on a decisi\'e engagement near Trmes. The Allied councils of war - whose IXllitical wTangling, panicularh between Russia and AUSlria, "''as a consc.tnl hindrance 10 their field commanders - decided mal the Ann, of Bohemia should fall back for several da~'S while lhe emphasis was placed on Bh-lcher's oper.llions funher nonh. The Pmssian ma~hal was conccmrating his forces around "len~ sllr-Seine. and on 24 FebmalY he renewed his adv'lIlce towards Paris. while Napoleon "''as still fmstraled bv his lack of an adequale bridging train. BlUcher's aim "''as 10 cross the Aisne ncar Soissons, and 10 link his forces ",ith those of Bulow and Winzingcrode from the Low CollllU;es.. On 25 Febmar)' the French finalh reached Trores I" a roundabout march. blll. SchwarLCnburg had fallen back towards Uar-5ur-Aube. \\11ile a Cc>ordinated ad\.ll1ce on Paris was lhe ol)\;ous str-ncgy for the Allies, and was eagerlv afb'lIL"C1 by BlUcher. neither the Russians nor Ihe Ausuians were anxious to take rcslXlnsibililv for confronting i'iapoleon. Their many past defeats al his hands were still \;\;d memories, and neilher \\;shed 10 become a SClpego:.ll for an) Allied failure. Napoleon "''as still pursuing diplomatic manoemTcs in an allempl to weaken the solidarity of the Coalition. lIe wrote to his father-in-law, me Emperor Francis or Austria, and olTered 10 conclude a peace treat) \\;Ih Ausuia on

Ii aplrlted drawlni 01 • vedette

0' the h' Scout. cha.lng , .. enemy patrol. In the 1814 winter campaign the troopen 01 the Old Ouard c:ompanl•• would

hava been g,atelul lor their hu..I1.....tyl. uniform, and woyld normally have wom

their pell

like Jacket,.

light u lry WI' any general" IndllpenHbla ay•• and ••,.., and hi, dire ,ttortJlge of that arm A""lea bedevtlled

0'

Napoleon throullh
34

Collection, Chit. ." cIe l'Emp6ril

the basis of the original propos-lis lllat I he should retreat behind France's natunll borders, but with the exception that he should keep Belgium and the port of Antwerp, Meanwhile he pursued his military strategy in 1><'1I'3I1el, still belie\ing tJlat by gaining further \ictOlies he would be able to dictate his own tenus. llis sclf<..st triumphs over the other Continelllal powers. remained extrnordinan'. At the beginning of March, i':apoleon, "ith "17,000 mostly conscript troops. marched nonhwards after BlUcher, '\ ho became trnpped between the french al111\. the french-held city of Soissons and the Rhcr Aisne. Howe\-er. the military commander of Soissom surrendered to the Pmssians and opened the gates to them, allO\\ing Blucher to cross tile Aisne. lie was now able to linl.. up ";th Bulow's and \\ln7Jngerode's forces. concentrnting a lotal of about 100,000 men around Laon: meanwhile, funher SOUtll, Schwart.enberg was on the move again - on 27 Febma.} he had beaten Marshal Macdonald at Bar-sur-Aube. The character of the ClIlll><'lign was becoming clear. Napoleon's greatl) outnumbered arm) held a central position between the t"·o prongs of the Allied ad\'ance wt.'Sth'ards 100\'ards the capital. Each time the Emperor gained a success and pushed b.'lck one of the Allied armies, the other took the opportunity to march closer to Paris. 111e northern thmst by Bilicher's Ann) of Silcsia, dO\\ll the ''alley of the Maille. had been deflected nortlm'ards O\-er the Aisne; but now Napoleon had 10 s";tch his altention south\\~lrds ag;.lin, to counter Schwarlenberg's Russo-Austrian Army of Bohemia pushing \\est\\'ards down the Aube and Seine. During these m'llloeuvres actions were fought al places such as Le Chemin des Dames, Corbelly. la vallce foulon, "auderc, Heurtebise and I'Ailelle - some of which names would become all too bloodil) familiar once again a hundred years later. The Scouts took an active part in these w('eks orpllrsllil, march and counter-march; they saw action al Couneranges, Callibordes, Canroy, Rebais. and in particular at Rocollrt and COllrcelle. Most orten they found themselves fighting against the Cossacks who fonned the rearguard of the Army of Silcsia. Although they ne\'er achieved their true regimental strengths, their casualties were made up periodically by IJl(~ arrival of reinforcements. Al the end of Febmary, eighl new squadrons of Imperial Guard Cavalry caught up with the army. These consisted of the 4th Sqn of the 1St Scouts, some 220 men; 100 from the 2nd Scouts; 200 from the 3rd Scouts; 100 from the 1st (Polish) Light Horse Lancers; 106 from the 2nd (Dutch) Light Horse L'lncers; 150 from Ihe MOlitUed Chasscurs; 100 from the ~loulHed Grenadiers: and 50 Gnldarmi!S d'ilifL.

I m ~ of a-.r. of tM Young Guwd ~ of tM 1.t kouts In • wint...........

'T'hen .. _ _ tnan _ description

0' l\utlly-trsined

conscripts lfrieldlng their 6ances

In both Mnds WlI. ~ l~ts. (P*N Louis F.......

'-lkunon

_ _ l'Emp4ri)

C o I ~ C~t

Thill ~ painting of. 2nd Scouts front-nr* _ .. lncomlct In _ _ ~ HrIy artists slmpIy IadISld • good NIer;tIon of c o n ~ prints

to ~ ~ tM.non..-..nc. of theM f_ Nglmenta. The Scouts _ d~ pennMIS on th8lr Iancea; th8 2nd kouts

"!Wen

- . . hsd butt_ camP81gn owralls; .nd _llblt8d men onty uNCI ~ In the 3n::l RqlmenL (An~ S.K.BI'OWYI Llbrsryl

35

Berry-au-Bac, 8 March On the morning of 5 ~larch at Fismes, aftcr gcuing news of the disastrous capilulation of Soissons, Napoleon ordered Cen Nansollty to send his cavally \·..ith all haste towards Berry'-auB.'1C in order to capture the bridge there; this was the nexi major crossing ul>-river from that al Soissons, and il was \cl) important 10 capture it int.'1ct. (In the meantime. Cen Corbineau, \\ith the support of Cen L.'1ferriere-Le\·eque's Scouts, took Rhcims; among some thousand prisoners of war t.'1ken from Winzingerode's corps was Ihe Russian Prince Cagarin.) At Berry'·au-B.'1c, Cen NansouI}, reinforced b... Cen Pac's Polish lancers of lhe Line, arri\ed to find the bridge defended by a brigade of Cossacls. A furious charge bundled the enemy" back before they could mount an efTeeth'e defence, and lhe bridge was taken. The Polish Ch~J d 'eMadron SkarL\'nsli of the 3rd Scouts perfonned prodigi(:s of valour on this occasion; snatching a lance from a CoKd.. he ae..*-'dallClllX) space around himself. He was soon imitat(:d. ll\ his fellO\\ officers, and the enemy "ere put to flight, holl}' pursued. b\ i'\anSOUl\'s c.t\Cllry for more than IWO miles. The pursuers noticed. thai none of the CoSS::lcks looked b.....c1:\\Clrds as they rode; this was a sign that c.l\Cllrymen could read all tOO \\ell - it meant that the fugiti\'es had nothing 011 their minds but escape from certain death or capmre. The Emperor observed this action in person, and in recognition of his br.n·el'\' and leadership he cre
36

Craonne, 7 March Napolt::on now adv'1I1ced towards L.'1on, and on 6 March he scttled down for the night iU the HOlel de ['Ecll de Fmnce in C...orbcny. The postmaster of I3cn)··ilU-l3ac inforlllcd t,he Emperor that al nearby l3eaurietlx there lived an old artillery officcr who knew the rebtioll well. vVhen the Emperor SUlllllloned this VCI,enm, named de Buss>" he was surprised to rccognile him - he was an old schoolfellow from Bricllne, who had also sened in the same regimclll with Napoleon at La Fi:re. Following lht: a(h'ice of his old commde. the Emperor changed his instructions for the route of march: he made dc Bussy an ADC, and entrusted him with guiding the advance force. If the French were to reach L.'1on, where Bliicher was conccntlClting his forces, they fil'SL had to take the heights ofCrdonne, defended b}the rearguard of lhe Army of Silesia, the Russian corps of Gens Sack-en and WoronzofT. From that posilion, Bilicher had planned to launch an enveloping att... c\... \'o'ith Winzingerode's corps and 11,000 camlry; but before these plans could malllre, Napoleon pounced on Craollne. marching with JUSt 37,000 men from the direction of Berry. lie tried to fix the Allies' attention bv a frOlllal attack while Ney outflanked them

A m ~ Sbrzynskl of tM 3rd Scouts commanded tM Emperon ctuty ~ron when they c ~ tM ~ ,I Bem-""-a.c. d~ng • Russlan cav.t.... force 2,000 .bong .net CSf)turing Prince o.garln Mel two guns. tl w •• during thfa light tn.I Sb~Ud look a COINCk" IInce _ay 'rom him .nd uNd it to "gill hi. w'W' through tM .nemW' 'onnatlon.

OPPOSITE AI Craonne, Col Te.tot-FelTY 01 the hi ScOIlU ch'IlIed .t tM M.d of hi. squadront thfOUQh the enemW''' Inlenlry- squ..... tow.rdt their .rtlt'-....; when • cenflOnb.ll kltled hi. no,.... M look thai 0' .n officer killed next to him end continued 10 Ielld the chaov-, ~Ing thlt lMCond horae while O'IIfT\Innlng the Ruulan guns. (PierTto a.nlgm; former Bnlnon CoI,-<:IIon, Chit. .u de l'Emp6rf)

a.tttto of Beny-au-a.c. March t8t4: Gen N.nsoutr' C.....lry of the Imperilll Guard and the Pollah '-cen of Gen Pile; take the vital bftdge, (Aftei" f'h.IlIppotHUll; IIUthor;

col*tlonl

from the north with slrong cavalry forces, blll thc timing went awry. Supported b) the cavalr}" of Cen Nansout\', ~ey sent his infanu)' illlO the attack 100 earlv, and ....<\$ badly mauled by thc Allied anillcr)': so Nansout\ launched his troopers to L."lke the guns. Colonel Testot-Fern.- led his squadrons of the lsi Regiment of Scouts through the Allied infant'" squares towards the artillcn. A cannonball hit his horse, killing it instantly. and pas.'iCd on to hit OJrf d't:scatlron Kister nexi 10 him, .....ho fell dead from his saddle. The colonel jumped on Kister's horse and continued to lead the charge. O\"Cmmning an enemy batten': but the enenl\ mOllllled a COlllllercharge. which drove back the Guard C"l\'";II.., and stmd. imo N"C\'s infanlry columns. Helped b} Cen Grouch\'s cavaln and the fire of the Guard artillery'. the Guard Cavaln \\ere able to regroup. Crnonne was laken. bUI the price ....<\$ high. TIle Guard Caval!) suffered se\'ere losses. and the Allies were still able 10 retreat in good order .... ithout lea\ing any prisoners or guns. During the charge Cen Lafeniel"e-U\'eque, commander of the Scouts Brigade, losl a leg, and Col Testot·Ferry - \\ho lost his second horse when his men ovcrran the Russian artille~ - took o\'er command of the brigade. The Emperor decorated several $couts on the baulefield of Crdonne; he made the wounded Col TcsIOlFer!) - whose uniform .....as tom to pieces. and who had lost his colpack - a b.1.ron of the Empire and commander in Ihe Legion of Honour. Laon, 9-10 March

Although he had only some 30.000 men at his immediate disposal. Napoleon continued to advallce on Blllcher's army of abollt 85.000 Russians and Prussians at L"lon. He had sent orders to Marshal MamlOllt to march nOrlh to join him from Meaux with the 0.500 men of his VI Corps, intending lhat Ihey should Illrn the Allies' eastern flank: but while Marmollt lingered. Blllcher decided to force a Ill,yor bailie. On 9 March. Cen \'on Wartenburg surprised MamlOnl near Festicux sollth-casl of Laon, and roUled his force. \\'hich \\<\$ sa\cd from t01a1 collapse only by a staunch fighl put lip by (WO slllall panies of the Imperial Guard. On Ihe neXl da) Napoleon's arm) \\<\$ holding positions immediately below L"lon on its sleep hill. He ad\-anced; blll although an alL."ld: b>. the Guard

37

G.1.valry, including some Scout uniLS, pushed Allied troops back LO\'o-ards the city walls, one of the French corps was driven back in headlong reu·cat, and the Emperor was obliged to withdraw in the lone aftemoon. The Allied supremacy in numbers was so great that \iC10I)' I\'a.'l be}ond his grdSp, and he marched south-west towards Soissons, lea\;ng Bliicher

Count Vinc«lt S:u,ptk:kl

• "rat lieutenant In the

~

Pol~

Ught HorN of t"- ""peNl Guard on 12 Man:h 1808; urvlng In SpMI, 1M Mel two heN-. ahot IInder him .. Mecilna del Rio Seeo, lind d'-tinguIt,hecl him....... a.I~. A captain from 19 J . - 18011, he w_ commiuklned with ttM rank Into the 3nl Scouta on 1 JanuafY 1814. At tM un.. of RIMIIM on 13 March he c:harvMt .t the n.ad of his ~llIldfOl'l. e.phning an .,.U... PnINI_ Infantry battalion 01 Qen S11lnl-PMst'a eommand.

inactive for the moment. French losses are gencrall} put at around 6,000 men killed and v:ounded, to the Allies' 4,000 casualties. Napoleon Stayed for [\':0 da}'S in Soissons. soning Ollt Slate affairs and reorganizing the ann)'. The last few days had COSt t.he Imperial Guard some 3,000 men, mainl} from the C.'wah) and Young Guard Napoleon "TOle mat these corps were melting awa) lile snO\\. .\Iam of his generals were "'Ollllded: Nansout~, wounded and sick, had to lea\'c his command aftcr the baule of Craonne. and was replaced b} Cen SCbastiani. Ceneral Colbert still commanded Ille lst Di\ision of me Guard Ca\-aII)', but since Ii februaf) Cen Exelnmns had replaced Gen GuYOt at me head of me 2nd Di\ision, General LetOrt had replaced me wounded Cen Laferriere-LevCque, now commanding the 3rd Di\ision consisting of 1,800 men from the Moumed Chas.seuo, .\Ioumed Grcnadicn; and Scouts. Rhelms. 13 March

On 12 .\Iarch, news arrived Illat Rheims has been talen ll't me Russian corps of Cen Saint-Priest. re-establishing communications between me armies of Schwarzenberg and BIl"lchcr. Without losing a minme, Napolcon ordered a hazardous march acrOSS the frolll of the Ann~ of Silcsia towards Rheims. Auacking unexpectedh on me moming of 13 ~tarch, he cdught. Ille A1liL'd corps towl1y b)' surprise. and smashed it. The Scouts of Ille Guard made detours along minor roads and lanes, and entered Rheims unnOliced. The Guards of Honour, commanded by Gen de SCgur, competed in bravery with their brothers-in-amls in the 1st Rebrlmem of Scouts. General Saim-Priest was mortally \\'ounded; his corps suffered alxmt 6,000 casualties to 700 French. and the Russians and Pmssians Oed in disarray to L'lon, Rethc1 and Chillons, The anions at. Cr,tonne and Laon had cost Napoleon's anny some 12,000 men; and on 16 March, still at Rheims, the Emperor gave orders for t,he reorg-alli7..at.ion of the Camh)' of the Guard. as follows: I,ll Division (Gen Colbert) 600 men of t.he Polish lancers of the Line (Gell Pac) [80 men of the 2nd (Dutch) Light Ilorse Lancers of the Guard 6 guns of lhe Polish Light Artillery This IOtal of 780 men were to be augmented with another 200 men from the Red Lancers: and by ,mother 1,200 of Cen Pac's j)olish lancers - these Janer were already on the march to join the anny - to give an intended total of nearly 2,200 men.

38

2"d Divisio" (Gen E.xelmans) 600 men of the 1st (Polish) Light Horse L'lncers of the Guard 500 men of the Dragoons of the Guard 200 men of the 2nd Regiment of Scouts of the Guard 200 men of the 3rd Regiment of Scouts of the Guard, for a total of 1,500 men.

3rd DivisiOlI (Gen LeLOn) 800 men of the Mounted Chasscurs of the Guard 800 men of the Mounted Grenadiers of the Guard 200 men of the 1st Regimcnt of ScOUIS of the Guard, totalling 1,800 men. On 15 March the Guard C1.vall1' mustered 4,280 men, and another 1.500 ..•..ere to leavc their depots the next day. blinging the numbers to 5,780. The addition of Cen l)ac's detachment of 1.200 Line lancers to the 1st Division would raise this strength to more than 6,000 mcn. Bm these \~ere theoretical figures: when Napoleon Icft Rheims on 17 March and concentrated his force around Epema)', his Guard c.walt} actuall, present and fit for senice numbered no more than 3.000. and his whole ann}' no more than 23,000 men. Napoleon had held Bhkhcr north-easl of Paris; bm further south, Schwarlcnberg was now drhing back the three French corps left in his path_ As the Allies cOlwerged on Paris. Napoleon boldly stmd. out somh-east for Saint Dizier on the upper Marne, hoping th:u the threat to both Biltcher's and Schwarzenberg's lines of communication would distract their allention from the capital, and that he might open links ,~ilh Frcnch forces still holding the fortress cities of Men and Verdun.

Arcls.sur-Aube, 20-21 March

Lea\ing the corps of ~Ionicr and Mannont in front of Bh-Icher, Napoleon directed his handful of troops towards the Allied rear hnL'S in Champagne. Duling this advancc the C1.\'aII1' of the Guard saw action. on 18 and 19 March. at Sommesolls, Fere-Champenoise, Alibaudicres. Planer and ~1l:;11" The sp<.-ed with ,...hich the Emperor mO\-ed his trOOpS from left 10 light was dazzling, and in lhc past it had ah\'a}"S rendered his opponents indccisive. When Schw;:wlcnberg an-hed at the River Aube on 19 March, Cell LetOrt and thc 1st Regiment of Scouts allacked his rearguard. c;:lptuling a train of pOrHoons and its full equipment. For once, howe,'cr, such surprises did not have thc desircd eITecl: when he arrived before ArciS-Sllr-Allbe to lhrcatcn Cell Wrede's garrison, the Emperor found the Army of Bohcmia in front of him, ready at last 1.0 fight a m.~or hallie, and olluHlInbcring him livc to one. This would be his last mitior action against the armics of the Sixth Coalition. B)' llam on 20 March, lhe first day of the bailie of Arcis-sur·Aubc, Ney and SCbastiani had driven Ccn Wrede Ollt of the town, and at Ipill Napoleon arrived on the nonh bank of the Aube and cros.~d the bridge. A fierce cavalry action occupicd the late afternoon and part of the night. the French gaining thc advantage and holding their ground. 1-I00\'c\,cr, O\ernighl Schwar/cnberg reinforced his army to some 80,000 mcn. facing just 28,000 available Frcnch troops_ Ever cautious ",'hen facing the greatest soldier of his age, Schwa.rLenberg still suspected a tr"dP, and did not press his advantage in numbers until 3plll on the afternoon of 21 March. B) this timc most of the French had crossed back over the Aube to SafCI}_ ~larshal Oudinot, commanding the rearguard, held off the Ausuians and their allies until 6plll in biller

u.utenant-o.nw.t Count de SaInt-Print TN. formet' a

c~

of _

(t17~1.1.).

iMo"

commanded

15,000

meA,

mainly troops coming tnNn tha slegea 01 TOfP'l and Wlttenbetv, wMn he tooll tha French city of A"-'ma and ,..torMf commun~tlonabIo~

thIo

Amlin of a.em.mla and SIIHIa. ",. MJlt day, 13 March 181., Napoleon ltocI an audacloua att.ck on the city In penon. SIolnt-Prleat tlad falltocl to taka the nac....ry daf...slv. pracautlona; hla command waa

aoYndly bloat..., and IMl hlmHlf waa woundlld at an .arty ataga 0' the flghllng. Tlk.n to Laon, h. diad two wHlta lat.r, aft.r baIng awardad the Ord.r of 5t George

b~

the T..,.

3.

o.n..w Count PM: (t178-t835). Poll-" by blrth, he _,...ed In the ann)' of tIM Grand ~h)' of W.ruw 8nd bee8nMl • ~I of dlYl.1on on t J8f'IU'ry tet •• Hi, eomn\8llod during the

C.mINign of franc., from • J.nwIry tSt., consl.ted of two PoII.h LlIMl I.ncer NglnMlnts lth.n numberwd & 2n<1), ..,...Ine with the Gu.rd .nd tIM

"t

Scout NgI_ts. WIth t ...... troop' .... h.lpeeI t8k8 11M brlde.t &erry-8u-BltC on II M.rch; 1M would be wounded .t Are"sul"Aub. on 20 March.

40

fighLing, before making good his retreat and destroring the bridgcs behind him, On one occasion the 1,600 men of the ~'IOllntcd Grenadicrs, l\lounted Chasseurs and 1st Rcgimcnt of ScOllts were auacked by enemy cl\' were barel) able to !ota) in the saddle. The bailie had cost the French 3,000 casu'llties and the Allies about 4,000; bUI it gained Napoleon little.

• • •

To the north, only the reduced corps of Marshals ~farmont and Marlier stood in the path of an Allied advance on Paris, wilh a combined strength of just 15,000 men. They might have been .saved if the Allies had remained mesmerized - as usual - by the threat that they al\'t'a)'li associated with Napoleon himself: on 23 March the Allied leadership had indeed decided 10 march towards him in force. The following day, however, letters selll from Paris to the Emperor fell inlo their hands, and they learned of his inteillions in striking into their rear. (Some sources even claim that the fonner foreign minister Talleyrand - as always, looking ahead in his own best interests - wrote to the Tsar of Russia in eXlraordinary terms: 'YOll have the pO\\'cr to do everything, and yet yOll dare nothing - so mke a risk, for once!') This changed the Allied Stl
together. Arriving before the capital on 29 March, the remnants of Marmont's and Mortier's command were deployed on tile high ground nonh of Paris; and soon. from the hean of the city, Parisians could see the campfires of the enemy armies on the surrounding hills. For the first time since the Norsemen surrounded the city in AD 885, Paris was besieged by foreign troops. Saint Olzl.r, 26 March

l\leanwhile, 120 miles to the east, Napoleon halted at Saint Dil.ier to concenlrate his forces. He pushed his light caval'1' on north-easlwards towards Bar-Ie-Duc in order to caplure the bridges intact; and he had leuen sent to the differelH garrisons in fortresses and besieged towns, ordering Ihcm to break OUI and come 10 his aid - he hoped for an extra 50,000 troops from such sources. On 26 March, tile b.1.ttle of $.1.int Dizier took place. Seeing enemy 0\'011'1' coming up, the Emperor belie\"ed thai he had successfulh drawn Sch\\~drJ:enbcrg's aml) towards himself; in fact, il was onh Winzingerode's detached corps. TIle French beat them, and in ulis lasl fight of the campaign e\en the Emperor drew his sword, leading his Guard Cavalry fOI'\\'ard. TIle Scouts fought one of the finest actions of their brief C"drcer, chasing Russian ca\'all')' from the field. Saini Dizier proved thai even \\'ith a handful of hungry and exhausted troops. Napoleon could still be dangerolls. Bm the following day, ule French captured an Allied bullctin which re-.-ealed the Coalition's intended march on Paris. Under pressure from his entourage, Napoleon dropped his immediate idea of continuing the fight deep behind the Allied line ofad\'ance (even though this might have had a chance ofslIcceeding); he wmed back to\\'ards Paris, racing ahead of his anny. Paris, 30-31 March

On 29 March, the united C1.valry of the Guard marched from l\'!omierender to Vandoeuvres, follo\\'ing the Emperor. At the bridge of Doulancourt, Napoleon received messages from Paris while the cavalry COlVS of Cen SCbastiani was tiding past him. He called for his senior orderly officer, Gourgaud. and ordered him to L'lke the head of the cavalry colulllns, with the three lelLSl tired Polish lancer squadrons, and to dash for the bridges :Il Troyes in order to capture them before the Allies could desu'oy them. Despitc ule exhaustion of men and horses, Gourgaud reached his objeClive thaI night. soon followed by the Emperor. At daybreak 011 30 March the Emperor continued his march to Villeneuve-I·Archevcquc. esconed by the dmy squadrons of the Old Guard commanded by Gen Guyot. At ViIleneuve-I'Archcvcque he commandeered three coaches and. accompanied only by his immediate entourage, cOlllinued his journey to FonL1.inebleau, where they arrived at Spm th;:lt afternoon. At II pm in the evening the Emperor was at Fontaines-de-Juvis}'. waiting by the roadside while the horses were changed, when some cavalry rode up from Paris. They brought him the new'S of the c:.lpiwlation of the city to the Allies.

• • •

In Paris, Cell Omano had still commanded the combined elements of the Imperial Guard which were stationed at the various regimenL'l1 depots. The an-d]ry consisu::d of ten reduced squadrons of Mounted Grenadiers,

.,

Lancer of the Old Oword cOtnpwliell of the 1,t Sc:outa;

to "-tId"- n. conffdenc:e, tt.

whiM 1M ~. -.pori wtth

INtnet" strap ahoYld rMlty 1M around h.. rtght tOf'Nfm. ""'conn 8nd ....... ftylng fnHn h. ned! .,.. thoM "Mel to sling tIM pell. . . from the ahoukter wn.n It w . . not wom ••• jKk.t. (~

Benign'; tonner BRIfIO!'

ColloKtlon, Chlt_ " ' l'Emp4rl)

42

Cha.....~L1rs, Light Horse L'lllcers, Dmgoons. Mamclukes and Scouts. the m~ority of the lauer from the 3rd Regiment; these SOO-odd SeOIlLS were placed by Cen Omana under the command of Cell Daulancourt who, after the baltle of Rheims. had relllmed lO the cariml on sick lea\'e. On 29 ~'larch a del.achment of the 3rd ScOlIts. serving with the Polish Kraklls, charged at Claye, while another delachmcnt lert Paris to escon the Empress to R..u nbollillet. With such a dispt'T5<1.1 of his force, Cen OautanCQurt could soon rei} all ani) some 330 Scouts. On the evening of the 29th the Parisian Guard C.'wall) Brigade had an encounter wil.h C.ossacks ncar Le Bourget. then bhouad.ed bet\\een \'ilene and Chapclle, ready lO mount their horses at da\-break. At 5am the next moming Pans, defended 1)) approximateh· 30,000 men, was attacked b) about 110.000 of the 150,000 Allied troops presenL (Even now the Allied commanders ....·ere neryous of the possibility of a sudden attack b\ the force that Napoleon was leading back to the capitaL) In len hours of fighting the French managed to inflict hea\1· casualties, killing or wounding something between 8,000 and 12,000 of the attackers; but the French defenders, much fe.....e r in number, also suffered some 4,000 casualties, and were handicapped m' shonages of weapons and ammunition. On 30 March, Maj Kozietulski of the 3rd Regiment of Scouts mounted a series ofattacks on Allied troops, falling back under control after inflicting casualties and then regrouping to fight as skimlishers. Soon, how~'er, Cen Dautancoun·s Scouts \'I'ere ordered to retreat, under a punishing enem) anillel) fire, to\'l'ards the road between Balignolles and Saim Ouen in order to cO\-er the heights of~lontmanre. Positioned near the \in~'ards that gre....•around ....·hat was then still a COllllll) \illage. the Scouts suffered casualties including Sub-adjutant-m.yor Pelissier, who was seriousl)' wounded while standing close to Cen DalltanCOUf(. Beu"3)ed by turncoal politicians like Talleyrand and the police chief Fouche, and shan of numbers, \\'eapons and equipment, the troops lost their hope and fighting spirit; Cell DalltanCOUf( ....'fOte in his memoirs that the only thing that cOlild have steadied them was the presence of Napoleon in person. The relreat on l\'lolllmanre had brollghl Allied cannon wiLhin range of the city. The Russian infantry captured a redoubt in Pere Lachaise cemetery after hard fighting; it was impossible to hold back the waves of Allied troops. and DaUlanCOllf('s men withdrew into the city itself. mllying on the llollle\'ard des "alicns. There the officers and their mcn wcrc told b) cilizens that a comention had been signed between the Allied commanders and the French politicians. Marshal ~lamlOlll (to his lasting disgrace) agreed to an armistice. handing Pari~ o\cr to the Allies with effect

Lane... of the 1,t ScouU we.li", the m.nt_u, the volumln_ c.",alry cloak-eoat with 81....... and • detachab'c.pe. HI' •• te~f ~ko cO'tet' h. . the b-.c:k bp Io_~

to pn:Ite<:t hi' neck. HI' lanee I' pl-.c:.cI In _ of the black leather cup, u..t ... ,tnopped ovtalcH each ,tlrnlp. At the point of "-Ianu a w.... t ,tnop of white '-athe.- . . . attM:hed, and worn MOWMl the bf,Itt

upper arm

when ridl,.. lPierTe

BenigN; former Bnlnon CoHectlon, Chlteau de l'EmpMt)

from the next day, 31 ~larch. Disappointcd, the Scouts received an order to march LO Villejllif on thc road towards Fontainebleau, where the Emperor had halted with the rest of his army. Some last actions still took place. On the mOnling of 31 March, Capt 1-I0racLko of the 3rd Regiment of Scouts was sem with his troop LO Viu"}' and Choisy-le-Roi. where he was to blow lip the bridges in order LO secure the French aml)'s positions. It would be the last aclion in the brief history of the three regiments of Scouts of the Imperial Guard. With all fighting practicall}' at an end, Cen Daut..mcourL led his brigade to Fontainebleau. There, 011 II April 1814, the Emperor finally agreed to the Allied tenus and signed his abdication, taking lea\e of his beloved Imperial Guard.

• • •

Nter N"apoleon's first abdication, the 1st Regiment of ScOUlS was disb."lnded b)'an ordinance of the restored King Louis },.'"\'III, and the men wcre tr:3.llsferred to different Line cavalry regiments in the 1"0\'3..1 am1\': 8 officers and 105 men (the 1st Sqn) wem to the 4th Moumed Chasseurs, 8 officers and 34 men (2nd Sqn) to the 6th Itussars, 6 officers and 43 men (3m Sqn) 10 the 8th ~tOlillted Chasscurs, and 12 officers and 53 men (4th Sqn) to the 12th Moumed Ql
"

-

Casualties after Maninien's Tabl~liliX par Corps ~I par Balai/In lies Offidm t/lis 1'1 bkssn jJt1idOl1l ks GunTn tk "£mpirr (1805-/8/5):

/sf Regimnd ojScOllts ltJosselin, wounded at Tounloue, 7January 1814 It Orion, woundcd near Brienne, 24 Januan'

43

c.... pLS Quentin &

Richard, LLS Renaux,joubert, Samy and Spigre,wollnded at Craonnc, 7 ~larch Lt Nepoly, \\'ounded at L:l.On. 10 ~larch Lt Zickel, \·:ounded ,ll Arcis-sur·Aubc. 20 March SILL Lenglier, ....·ounded :H Paris. 30 March 2nd RLgi1llmt oj Stolds Ll Allard, wounded in fOI'ward OlilpOSLS, 24 Febnlal1' SILt Luzerna, wounded during reconnaissance, 3 ~Iarch CaplS Deleau & G.1ieue wounded. Lt Adj~laj ~lonn killed at Craonne, 7 March; Capt Gaieue died of .... Ollnds. 26 March Lt Bollrdillon, .....ounded at won, 9 March Capt Bombrain & Lt Bourdilloll, wounded at Rheims, 12 March Gtplain Moll, !JUed in forward outposts, 15 Marc:h Capt Rouxelin de FOI1nign}. Ltsjonglas, Rey & "BeIlC}', SILts Cenorio, Sevin, Degallx & Darchambaux, wounded at ArciHur·AlIbe. 20 ~larch SILt Luzernia, .....ounded at Pans, 30 March JrrllVglmmt ojScouts Sqn LdI1i S7eptid.i & laluski. c."lpt AdjMaj Kozycki. CaPIS Toed.....cn & zablocki, Lt Adj~laj Rou.sselet. LtsJordal1. ~Iankowski, \'isniewsk.i & Paskie\\;c7., SILts SU7.elecki & Kosicki wounded at Arcis-sur.Aube, 20 ~larch Capt Rosziewio. Ltsjordan. Gadon & Echandi. wounded at Paris. 30 March However, this list is incomplete. It docs not mention Col Te~itor·Ferry (1st Regt). wounded at Craonne; or Sqn Ldr Starzrnski & Capt Zielonga (3rd Regt). wounded in Febl"uary - indeed, the list fOI" lhe 3nl Seouts only starts at Arcis-sur·Aubc on 20 ~larch. As already mentioned, the 3rd fought together with the 1st (Polish) Light Horse Lancers of the Guard, and many of their casualties are probably listed on lhe muster rolls of that regiment.. Brllnon, in his book on the SeOUL.. of the Guard, Slates that the 1st Regiment stdrered abollt 13 officer and 50 enlisted casualties; the 2nd, 17 officers and abollt 100 enlist.ed men. The casualt.ies of lhe 3rd ScOllLS were probably close to those of the 2nd Regiment.

".

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

44

Jean el Raoul Bl'ullon. La ida;mJ.fS de la Gard~ 'mpiriak1813-1814 (Marseille) j.V.Qlelminski & A.Malibl1ln, /"'amw du durN de \imovit (Leroy el Cie, 1913) Il.IlousS
3rd A. .lment of 5couQ,; nol. In. atriped lane... gird", c-u.. ",. young trumJMll et rlghl Nt•• !guillett. .; t nd the c.p cord. worn by him end the NCO .t lett ... In mla-.cl .IIWN' .nd crimllOft. Mia..:! Itky·bh.. • nd crimllOft cord..... elso mentlon-.cl e. belnt worn by trumJMllers. (PlefN Benlgnl; torm... BrulHlfl Collection. Chlt•• u d. l'Emp6ri}

THE PLATES A: 1st REGIMENT ISCOUT-GRENADIERSI A 1: Colonel Claude Testot-Ferry in campaign

dress, 181. The 151 Regunent - tcJak8urs-Grenadiets de ,. Garde - W9r8 created by drafts upon the Guards of HonolM', and the three Old Guard COl1lpanteS were urvfarmed like them in hussar style, WIth daI'k green peIisses and do6mans trimmed WIth silver Of wtvte lace and cording, and grey pantaloons. Co6onel Testot-Ferry hmseIf came from the Dragoons of the Guard, but WeatS his new regunenlals; IJom a descnptJOr'l of the damage to his IXllform sustained In the ttwck of the fighting at Cfaonne we know that he WOf8 a hussar coIpack rather than a shako - this was a manBf of pet'SOnal choice lor offlC8I'S. (In thiS reconstruction the tan white plume of a regimental staff offlCfJI'" has been omitted.) HIs dolman survives in the former Bn.Inoo Collection (see right), and we lake from that the rank lace on his slee...es - five Silver piques, within a broad frame of foliate lace. A2: Officer In undress uniform After a contemporary portrait, this figure shows a slightly bell-lopped shako, a shape fashionable at the end of the Empire. The daM!: green habit with red facings and piping is in the style of the Mounted Chasseurs of the Guard. worn 01/91' a scarlet waistcoat laced wIth silver, and Hungarian~ style I)(eeches and boots. Note also the sliver aiguillettes of lhe Guatd offlCef"s undress uruform - not slrictly regulation lor the parent Guards of Honour or the SCouts, but certainly tolefated. Given that the regiment's officers came from seveBI different units of the Guard and lsle light cavaky, such details as the belt and the pattern of sabre earned would have II8ried on 80 If'Idividual basis. A3: OHlcer In pellaae Thls lieutenant - his rank identified by the two pfques on his sleeIIes - is taken from a contemporary picture, induding the unusually bright shade of green. Interesllng poKIlS include the pickers for his pIStols, on a cham fastened 10 a top button: the grenade badge on his pouch belt, the scarlet stripes on his pantaloons, and the manteau rolled at the pommel of hIS saddle. The red ribbon of the leglOl1 of Hooour is just visible on his left breast. B: 1st REGIMENT (SCOUT-GRENADIERS) 81: Trooper, Old Guard company, full dress This soldier of an Old Guard company - the 1st and 2nd of the 151 Squadron, and tho 4th (bul not tho 3rd) of the 2nd Squadroo - has arrived at his new regimenl from the 151 Regiment of Guards of Honour. He retains its uniform, complete with red shako: only the shako ornaments have been changed. Tho surviving Inventories show unsurprisingly - lhat only about half lhe men of these companlOS were Issued new pellsses, and lIlrtually none rocerved new Hungalian breeches. However, the saddlery and harness 01 his horse have been sunplifled, and IrtX:lpOrS of the 1st and 2nd RegIments did not use the shabraque. HIS sItM'lg caIbIne idenlJfies him as a member 01 the second rank, not issued with a lance. 82: Trooper, Old Guard company, campaign dress Much of the SCouts' eampaJgr'ling in early 1814 was earned out in purllstung WInter weather, so the pellSSe must very

Dolman 0' Col Teatol-Fel"ll' of the lat Regiment 01 Seoute. It Ie 01 rich dirk emereld green, with acarlet 'alling. el collar.nd cuff, "ve rowe of ellver buttone, end '-",Ieh .1..... r braid end corel decoreUon. Above the "",e pique. of hie rank an extra boreler embrolde
0'

often have been worn as a jDCket when in the field. A contemporary picture shows ths almost C)1inOrical shako, with a tall red plume and a top band of interlaced red mgs. As a fronI-f1Irlk man he camas a lance; the 1812 model was 226m (7ft 5ln)1ong OYllfllII, WIth a bIack-pau1tod t\ardwood shaft and a 21cm (8.lW'll head. Unlike other lancer regments. the Scouts did not use a lance-pennon.

83: Non-commissIoned officer, Old Guard

company, campaign dr••• A contemporary engraving shows these trousers with a red stnpe, very ell:lensive black leather reinlon:emenl and white metal buttons al the bottom only: and also the portmanteau (vatise), with white lace and red piping around the ends. This veteran 01 the Guards of Honour has that branch's NCOs' dlsllr1C11OI'l of milled sdver·andill'98O lace and cords on the pelisse. However, the inventories show that only a handful of dolmans with this distinction were supplied, and of those the only ones 10 be Issued were worn by NCOs working at the depot where they were in store. Nole that he has clipped his pistol to his cart>ine belt. by its trigger guard.

c:

1st REGIMENT (SCOUT-QRENADIERS)

C1: Trooper, Young Guard company. campaign

dr.s. This conscript, reconstructed aher a contemporary manuscnpt, wears the regulation dress lor the Young Guard elements - the 3n:I and 4th Squadrons, and the 3td Company in the 2nd Squadron - including the short habit-lI8Ste or 'Kinski' In the style 01 the Chass8urs" chfNa/ of the l.Jne tegunents. in darX ~ with c:nmson facings. The shoulder straps, pomted at the ouler ends, are In green with cnmson piping. The ioYentooes show that these)ackets were supplied and issued. Although not ISSUed WIth a carbine, this front-rank lancer retaInS the double siing bett,

using its pouch for his pistol ammunition - only lance-armed men received a pistol. The newly drafted troopers were givefl only brieltraining at the depot and on their way to the front. and are described as holding the lance in both hands when they went into combat - the propel' management 01 the lance and retn! required a much longer period 01 instruction than the A1118d offensive 01 late December 1813 allowed. Once again. note the Simple saddlery and harness used by the $couts. C2: Trooper, Young Guard company, full dress Again reconstructed after a contemporary manuscnpt, thts soldier is a rear-rank man armed WIth a carbne and sabre only. The inv9ntones show that despite the haste with whlct1 the new Imperial Guard cavalry units were rmsed in WJ1ter 1813114, the bulk of the ptMaibed dothing and eqUIpment was iodeed supplied and issued, including the grey lrOuSerS, scar1et waistcoats, and green saddle portmanteaux. However, about 20 per cent of the sabretaches supplied were not issued and J8lTlalned in store. C3: Trumpeter, campaign dre•• Reconstructed after a contemporary manuscnpt. The records conflml that 19 peIisses in the Guard Gavaky trumpetefS' usual sky-blue were Indeed supplied and ISSUed to the 1st Regment, inCluding two with SIIver-and-green distmctlOl'lS IOf brIgadier·tI'Om{JfJtte5 - uumpet-eorporals.

0: 2nd REGIMENT (SCOUT-DRAGOOHS) 01 & 2: Trooper., campaign dre.s These 8daJreurs-eJragons - both front-rank men, with lances, sabres, and SIngle pistols - are reconstructed from contemporary manuscnpts, and from the drawmgs of Pierre louiS Fergl8l" and PI8ml Bemgm in the former Brunon CollectIon at ChAteau de l'Emper;. We have much less Inventory evidence from the 2nd Regiment than surville5 from the records of the 1st, so they are shown in the regiment'S regulation uniform, in the style of Mounted Chasseurs 01 the Une regJments. The dark green haM-veste and trousers are faced, piped and striped in cnmson, WIth white 'metal'. The rankers' crimson shakos are of an unusual shape for the period. but it is worth remembenng that the Scouts were a new kind 01 troops and were 'experimental' in a number of ways. Nole the surore-coloured cockade loop and cap lines: the lalter, to prevent the loss of the shako in action, Is separated to pass around the torso under the right arm. 03: Trumpeter This variation on the unif()(m shown as C3 is taken from the famous 'Petits SoIdats d'AJssce' cards. It shows a sky-blue shako, dolman and pellssa, a more scarlet shade of faCings and trim, and the use of a shabraque - normally believed to have been used only by the 3rd Regiment. The 2nd ReglfT18f1t was assembled In haste from men coming from at least ten different UOltS of the Old and Young Guard, the Une dragoons and lancers, the lormer Royal Guard 01 the King of (Lett) Tl'oopen ub,. of Iltht c.v.lry Model An XI; ..b,. belt with black pl.ln . .b,.lKhe .net white mebl crowned

"81e, •• _rrled by troopen 0' the Old Guard comlNlnift: of the 1st Regiment. (Right) MountlKl Che-....lyIe omc.r; ..bAI, . . _rrled by the l.t .net 2nd Regiment&. (FOrmef" Brvnon Collectlon,

48

Ch.ltuu de l'Emp6ri)

Spain, and the Gendarmes d'Espagne; there would certainly have beeo variations In dress betwaeo the trumpeters of one company and another.

E: 2nd REGIMENT ISCOUT.DRAGOONSI E1: Trumpet-major E2: Trumpeter Both these images are taken from drawings published in the joumaJ Le Passepoil, whICh appeared between the 19205 and 19405. The 8V1dence upon which they are based is 1Jl'Iknown; but thIS respected journal published the work of the leading mihtaria researchers and collectors of Its day, ncluding several who are now househokI names, and its generally high standards of care may give us some confidence in the Int9l"PfEltatlOfls that it accepted for publicatlOl'l. The powIts to note include: EI: The sky-b1ue)ackel has a crirt'Ison--faced plastron, in the style of a Polish IaJltka; its goId'metal' includes lace around the cutis and plastron, double lace llI'OI.I1d the collar. and double lace sIe8ve chevmns. The shako has gih h.mrture, and mIXed gokhnd+(;l"llTlllO(' lines. pasSIng llI'OI.I1d the neck only and termNttng in double 'flounders'. here worn at the leh shoukIer. The tn.mpeI COfd is also lTIIXed goId-andcnmson. The trumpet-mllfOl" uses a shabraque and portmaIlt8IIU WJth bofders laced In gold and piped in crimson. the former beanng a gold Impenal eagle In the comers. HIS bndle IS ornamented WIth 8 brass crescent on a

tIYoat lash. E2.: The 1J\ImpeIer's shako has an 8UftI(8 cockade loop and cap lines. His uniform is SlITliiar to that of EI, but hIS habitveste is the usual plain, SIngle-breasted Kinski WlIhout plastf"OllS. Uke the trumpet-majOl"S, his poWlted shouIderstraps 8re of sky·b1ue piped in crimson; but hIS crimsorI collar and cuffs are trimmed wrth aurora braid, as is hiS portmanteau. He has the conventional simple saddle and

bridle, Without a shabraque, and with a sky-blue manteau rolled at the pommel. E3: Officer, full dress This figure is reconstructed after contemporary pictures, and work by Pierre Benlgni. His shako lurniture IS all gold. as is the 'metal' on hiS uniform. His sWOfd and pouch belts are of black leather with heavy gold decorallOfl, and the pouch is gilded. He has a small saddle covet" of false pantherslon over a gokHaced shabraque, whICh bears the imperial crown in the front COfl'18r.I and certalrVy the eegle In the rear corners. HIS bridle and harness have gih fittIngs and are IaviStVy decorated. Most of the offICerS 01 this regment came from the Old and Young GuM:I. and two 01 the squadron Ieadefs from the Chassetns 8 cheval de ,. Garde. where such displays of wealth and sty1e were normal

F .. G: THE 3rd REGIMENT (SCOUTLANCERSI IN ACTIONj EASTERN FRANCE, FEBRUARY-MARCH 1814 Thrs impresslOfl shows a typlC8I clash between Poish 8cJaJt&urs-18ncIets and Russian Cossacks of the rearguan:l of the Ivmy of SiIesla, during one the many marches and counter-marches through the flat counltySlde of Champagne. The Scouts are shown in campatgn dress as reconstructed by Plemt 8enlgni; the foreground figl.nt, centre left, IS an otrlC8l'". H: 3rd REGIMENT (SCOUT-LANCERS) H1: Officer, full dress ThIs reconstrucllOl'l after a contemporary portrait shows unsurpnsmgiy - the uniform of the 1 Sl (PoItsh) LJght Horse L...ancers of the Guard. from which the 3rd Scouts were targeIy raised and to which they were allached, servWlg essentially as a SIngle unrt. The Turkish-blue kur1ka and IIghl pantaloons are faced and striped crimson, WIth officers' silver embroidery and distlnctlOl'ls; thiS olflC8l'" has a SIngle fnnged epaulelle on his left shoulder and a trefoil and Guan:l aiguilletles on the right. Note the vetY wide belt - see portrait on page 23. The silver-laced belts have gill and sllv9red ornaments. as does his czapka lancer cap. H2: Trooper, full dress This flQure is after a reconstruction by BenlgnL The main differences from the uniform 01 the 1st (Polish) Ught Horse Lancers are the white contre-epaulelles in place of fringed epaulelles, the striped while-and·dar!l.-blue girdle as worn by the Polish lancers of Une regiments. and the plain grey overalls. While the 3rd SCouts were officially issued with shabraques. there is no reason to suppose that they were always used on campaign. H3: Trumpeter, lull dress Another reconstruction after Benign!. Note the while crown 01 the czapka. and the mixed-colour trumpet cord. cap lines. right shoulder &paulette and left shoulder aiguilielles. An onlc.'" .tNIko of th. MIt••mpl.... 18t3-18, .., of the roul.au type .pparentty worn by offlc.,. of tIM 2nd Reglm.nt 01 Scoub. '"'"'- w.... tel_ then the nonnal aNIkoa .uch •• thoH wom by the 1st Regl_t. Nots tIM t. .ther flep et the ...... the top band ollnteneclng rings (in the Scouts. altolet' lor onlcerl end Mrllot' NCo., end seertet for troope...); tIM pompon, loop and cockade_ I F _ BrunMi Colt.ctlon, Chit. .u . . l'Emp6rl)

47

INDEX

III Rqpmmt (Polo.n) I~I U~ Unan

7,8.9. 14. U. 18.15. SII. 42 1$1 Ilqpnw:n, Srou•..c.rc-n¥l..... 7.8. 9. lO-*"

18. 22. "5, :n. SS. Y.J. <40

anm:and '"'JUIpn>('fl1 12_1' asualUft 1',45-1 omc~n

ImIP/'1COUrt,Ccn 17, 1~!O,"2, ..' ~ .. \lanhaI........., 4 Dd..."cc. Gt,n 23

Dria.,IbM. SqnLdr 10 Den«. Gcn 18 d'lb..h.,lhe.-.I... 21 Dr.Io800ns oflhc Guard 7, II. 9. 18.38.42

ranks 10-11

b"'1 "" 1M ..........1 of"'" /(I ..." (K,,"tnsti) 8

u"ifonm 12-1'." of Col Claud.. T~OI'.·C'rl'} Al (2!J). 4.'>. 45

"nollcil I. t.ml"eror of '\"'1';'" 34

Corporal 17 l..ancrn 42,4S

Cado".

16.83(26),46 OffICe., 9. At(!'s). AS(25), 4"'. 45 ~co.

Troopcn 81(26),82(2'6), CI(27). a(27), 45, "6 Trnonp"lrr 16. ecn),
trwl (OuKhllighl HlHW I..vM"Il'n 7.8.9. IS. ~.S8.42 1~14.

bola 13-14.14 unIform> 14 0lfKn"S 13. to. ES(29). 47

.halo ,n Troopm 18. 1>J(211}, 02(28). :n,16 Tnon'p",·Major EI (29), 47 Tnon'p"lcr'J 1)'(28), U(29) ••1&-7...7 'rd ItcKi"":nl Sco
Officers 1......15 !bola 15 unuorrru 1.5,21. n. n. F-C(»-3I), "'4, 47 Olfw::tn IIlcnl.•17 Trump"ltr 'QuRIl e:u...rd

dri"cncc or 16, 34,~' p_ \Iwt.>n School "

P",nrot. SqnLdr I~ ...._ 9 Pierre. SqnLdr 10 Pol....

10.12

tftd Rqpmr:n. Sroul-l>ntl:(l(lftj 7.8,9, ~ SS. .40.42 0l0W.ItJ0 14••"

Px. CoC'n Coun. J6,:'19. oft hno "

"'enl.47

...... I!i

~Mube.bg,Il~of»-41 :omlkn' 8. 9, S8 A...uun fon::-.s ,. 16. 19.24.", "4,;\5.58. '"

I\;u-~

\ubeaeuon 17.~ C...n r.ull""(' t!(' 4 Btl~",rdt. Gt,n 4 BtrT)""""Bac. balt!(' of 36,'7 1IIo',d,('r, C~l Gt,bba,d """ 16,18.19.20.21. 22.23.24, 34.~. 36. 37,~, Y.I, 40 llohcmi.l, Anr,) of _A~lllri~n fOrcC5 Ilonal'anc.J""'l'h 16 Ilourbon-8~""'I, Sqntdr I' llri('nnc action 1l~...2O Boush forces ' .... 16 Bulow. Cen Count Ikn.-,u VOI1 16.34. '" 1\.1...,. l«w» ~ Ro.;a"hoo

Dnurguc toone:. 5 e-mpilgn ofFnncc 13. 16-24, 19, »-t4 C;n;alryO(!he C
Ll A10~

!,

G"e;..."",,,. Gt,n A"gusl 18 Crnharn. Sir Tho...... 16 Grcnad~n _ \l"olll...1 C~n",d ...rs Guard C.:;n..... ry 24.:53,40 ~ defence cO!';lru. 16.:l!i, "" 41."2 rcorpna:al>O'O(, ('~n 10.20."1 lla,g", baltic 0( '.4 llofflN\..... Col 9. I' hoo"W'S ,.. pplr of 1.8. 10. 11 from C';:"nt:lfK1K' 5

fOfeel

IN
RIoc,"", baltic of S8-9 RoIt<'mbou'1.Grn 18 RuMan forTa " 18. 21, ft.!1. 2t."'. Yo, "-38

........

Silclfft, tAn 19,22. n lollddln\ 9, 9. II. !II s""",llmn, ba..rtlc of 17,41 ~,nl-~. LIGen Counl dI.' Sfl," Sch"'VKnbc'1' GF\I Pnncc ....rt 16, !I. ~n ."."..~, 38,:19.40.41 SCOlll·l)ngoo"' .... 2nd R.rgotlM'n1 0( ~oul·lk,ogoons

SCOl".(~"""....be.......

""lIenna"". Gt,n F..~ntoi, S3 Killer. Sql... lr 10. ~1 I(.ot;clul,ki. CoI.'-laJJe~1l 11.11.42 K,,,~,,, (l'oIish) .5.6.7. 12 "',,"tmlt. Gt,n Co",,, \"oncen! 14. 18

1.-.

F~M::hlImp,,,,,o ..e:oo:UOrl 10 U 1toIh",..... bionle 0( 20-1 l..aferri:~.,;.q...., Grn n 36, ", 38 Loon. baltic 0( 37-8 Lc~W". SqLdr

Lcdcre.Col.\I~

I'I'

Jt:III. . 9

Lri<'l:"'n·Dnnoet...... Grn Count Fra....oos 7,17, III, 19.,",40 I~ olll...-.r »-t. Sf LcI"'C, Sql..dr 10 Lclon. Gcn 2~. 38.:'19 l..nhu.m,an Ta...... 6.6, 15 MarmOn!. Marsh.:>l Auguste 10, 21, 40, -II, -Ii! Monlcrcau. baule of ~!l-4 Monu"ir"il, b'>lll.. of 22-' Morm:m. (\''''jo...>u) ;>chou

hI ~glln('lll 0( Scoul.crcnad,,,n ScOltl·unccrs". ~rd R(g""(tt~ of ScOUI-UnCC" Scouu of lh(' GIIMd IN
2~. ~7,

~~

\Ion,cr. Manh'" [dou.>rd Ill, 22, 2'. 40, 41 \lollm...IOt::IsRurs !i. 1. 8. 9,12. I'. 18.:l!i. "'l. 40. 42 \loumedGrcn:ad1e'R 7.1I.9,18,~,:'I9. 10.41 \1"..... \I;onh;;dJ<-:hlm. Kanll of 4,:;

'"'*'''

'::IJt>OUr.. Gt,n 20. n.:I6. Sf. 38 "apoIc'on 8on
St'b:aswn" tAn Counl r ~ !19, ~I ~r.Gom J8 SlIfsQ, ,\run or _ P'n..un fooTe<; Ito-.. r~"

SU.....nw.SqnLdrAmI....." .. 14.22,:56 Soul•• \bnohal 'KoW: .. Sp;lm ~ SlKhel, Marshal ...... ,1$ 4 &ocl'l... ~i, Sqnl..d.. COllnl \"ltcent 1·1. J8 l'~la ... '.6,6, 15 TelWI·t·crry, Col o..u
"",fonm w .lOdtr hI. IltJpmcnl SeOUl. ercnadocn; 2nd Rqtimcnt Scou.~ :!kd RcgIrnall Sco.n-Loon«n; e.u..nt C;n;o!n'

C,.

WMdncr-frcundSlC'ln. de 10 \\_10. !lqllldr 14 Wellmfl1Ol', he Out., of 4 Wmtenyrodc, Ccn s:., 36. <10, 41

W..cdc, ( ....., K.>rI ""'" '.20. "" Wumcmbc'1. Pnnce of '"

Corbonnu. ("""n ~

"nt" (I'oll,h) 5,7 (RUMian) ',fl. 18. ~!i. 36. 40. 42 Craonnc, ooulc of 36-7 '(:'--~',.,Ic

.s

CoOIoQ<'\;..o

Owufi.... IJC,elt 21, n. n 0"''''''0. Cen 16.41. ·12 O"
\ook,

(~n

Ibm.'On \\",ncnburg 22,2!l

I.-.hllki, S
The uniforms, equipment. history and organizatIon of the world's mIlitary forces. past and present

Napoleon's Scouts of the Imperial Guard Driven out of Germany after his defeat at Leipzjg in 1813, Napoleon seemed to face

di~ster.

Some 34S,OOO Allied troops were converging on France from the east; and Napoleon had only about SO.OOO men. Most of his veterans had been killed in Russia and Germany. and he was short of cavalry to counter the swarms of Cossacks. For his last and posSibly most brilliant campaign, Napoleon raised three regiments of mounted Scout.s for his Imperial Guard. Through the story of these units the reader can follow Napoleon's da1.2ling man()('uvres in the campaign of 1814; and their Widely varied uniforms are reconstructed In meticulously

Early drawings

UnnvaJled detaIl

researched colour plates.

ISBN 1-114176-956-11

OSPREY PUBLISHING

www.ospreYlJublishing.com

91l~ IIUi~.

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