1 ^he regiment de chevau-légers lanciers

1 he regiment de chevau-légers lanciers
Chevau-léger lancier of the regiment in field uniform
active	July 18, 1811 to 1815
Country	France
Armed forces	Grande Armée
Armed forces	cavalry
Branch of service	Light cavalry
Strength	4 escadrons

The 1 ^er régiment de chevau-légers lanciers - briefly just 1 ^er régiment de chevau-légers or 1 ^er régiment de lanciers (German: 1st Light Lancer Regiment ) - was set up as a regiment of light cavalry in the First Empire in 1811 . It was dissolved after the rule of the Hundred Days .

• July 18, 1811 : By imperial decree, nine Chevau-léger regiments were set up on this date . For the first six dragoon regiments were converted, the 7th and 8th emerged from the two lancers regiments of the Légion de la Vistule , and the 9th was formed from the 30 ^e régiment de chasseurs à cheval (30th regiment of hunters on horseback). The "1 ^he régiment de chevau-légers lanciers" arose from the one ^he régiment de dragons .
• May 12, 1814 : With the first abdication of Napoleon and the return of the king, the unit received the name Régiment de lanciers du Roi (n ° 1) . Parts of the 9 ^e régiment de chevau-légers were incorporated.
• March 1, 1815 : During the reign of the Hundred Days , it was renamed to 1 ^er régiment de chevau-légers lanciers .
• July 16, 1815 : After the end of the German Empire, the regiment was disbanded.

uniform

Different badge colors were used to differentiate between the individual regiments. The 1st regiment had scarlet red as its badge color.

The Chevau-légers wore the helmet of the Dragoons "à la Minerve ", but instead of the black horse tail with a black (trumpeter white) wool caterpillar on the crest. The helmet bowl and crest were made of copper, the peak of black leather and edged with a copper rail. It was equipped with a copper scale chain. A brown ribbon (leopard skin for officers) was placed around the helmet bell. On the left side of the helmet, officers carried a feather trumpet, white above and red below.

A dark green vest skirt with pocket flaps "à la Soubise" was worn. The skirt was equipped with a plastron in the same color as the badge, the cuffs on the sleeves and the edge of the epaulettes and pocket flaps were also in this color. The lap covers also showed the color of the weapon, on top of which was a green Napoleonic eagle. The elite companies wore red epaulettes .

As trousers for normal duty and for the parade, green boot trousers were worn in a Hungarian cut, which were decorated with gold-colored lampasses over the side seams . For the field uniform, a pair of side-buttoned overpants with leather trim was put on, which reached over the boots to the foot. The buttonhole row was on a lampasse in the badge color. On the front of the thighs was a gold-colored decoration that vaguely resembled a Vitéz Kötés of the hussars .

The shape and cut of the black leather boots matched those of the hussars. They were decorated with a border around the upper edge and a tassel (both ceased to exist in 1812). The waist belt was made of white leather with a brass belt buckle with a copper eagle.

A white leather bandolier with a black cartridge was carried over the left shoulder . Above it was a leather strap, also white, with a hook on which the carabiner was hung. 18 cartridges could be stored in the cartridge. On the lid of the cartridge there was a crowned "N" made of brass, the elite company carried a grenade instead.

A white sheepskin (black for trumpeters) was placed over the saddle and was lined with a zigzag border in the color of the badge. The coat bag behind the saddle was decorated with a border, the color of this border being indicated differently depending on the source - white or in the color of the badge, with and without regimental number. Instead of sheepskin, officers used a green woolen blanket with a silver border. The ceiling was edged with a gold-colored advance.

The buttons were embossed with the regimental number.

Officers

Officer's uniforms stood out with their rich braid ornamentation, the bandolier, waist belt, saddlecloth and coat sack were decorated with gold braid. The ornamentation of the trousers was also significantly richer.

For the little service there was

• City uniform (tenue de ville) with

the regular skirt with a plastron, white knee breeches , white or black stockings, black buckled shoes and a black bicorn .

• Society uniform (tenue de société) with

the regular skirt without a plastron, white knee breeches, white stockings, black buckled shoes and a black bicorn .

trumpeter

The trumpeters of the regiment wore a dark blue skirt, plastron and collar in the color of the badge were edged with a white border. The crest of the helmet carried a caterpillar made of white wool, and a white feather cap was attached to the left side of the helmet bell.

Armament

The Chevau-légers were armed with a 2.76 meter long and 1.96 kilogram lance, the light cavalry saber, a carbine and a pistol. (So ​​overloaded with a bulky load, it was important to the riders to "lose" the lance or carbine as soon as possible in order to create more freedom of movement.)

Regimental commanders

• 1811 to 1813: Colonel Paul Ferdinand Stanislas Dermoncourt
• 1813 to 1815: Colonel Jean-Baptiste Jacquinot

Officer losses from 1811 to 1815

fallen: 8

died of her wounds: 2

wounded: 56

Mission history

The one ^he régiment de chevau-légers lanciers moved in 1812 with the invasion of Russia , where it was part of the Observation Corps on the Elbe and the 1st Reserve Cavalry Corps. Here it was used as a reconnaissance regiment of the 1st cuirassier division of Général Saint-Germain. The 1st Escadron fought in the Battle of Smolensk and the Battle of Borodino , in which the chief d'escadrons Dumanoir led the attack, as the regimental commander, Colonel Dermoncourt, did not arrive at the regiment in Moscow until a few days later. Filled up with conscripts and the personnel remaining in the depot, the regiment was used with the 1st Cavalry Corps in the campaign in Germany. It fought in the Battle of Dresden , the Battle of Leipzig and the Battle of Hanau .

In the campaign in France, the regiment distinguished itself with the 1st Cavalry Corps in the battle of Vauchamps , in the battle of Reims and in the battle of Paris .

After his return from the island of Elba on March 1, 1815, Napoleon's army was reorganized. By decree of April 20, 1815, the former cavalry regiments were given back their numbering, which they had lost during the first restoration . The unit was therefore again called 1 ^er régiment de chevau-légers lanciers and was involved in the campaign in Belgium during the rule of the Hundred Days , in which it took part in the Battle of Ligny and the Battle of Waterloo .

On July 18, 1815, the entire Napoleonic army was released as part of the final abdication of Napoleon and the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. The regiment was then not set up again and the remaining staff was incorporated into the "1 ^er régiment de chasseurs à cheval de l'Allier".

Standards

The regiment was equipped with three different standards: the model from 1804, from 1812 and from 1815. The unit carried on the Aigle de drapeau des "1 ^er régiment des dragons", as were the honorable mentions that the previous regiment had earned, listed as inscriptions on the back of the standard (model from 1812 and from 1815).

• 

  1804

• 

  1804

• 

  1812

• 

  1812

• 

  1815

• 

  1815

literature

• Adrien Pascal: Histoire de l'armée et de tous les regiments depuis les premiers temps de la monarchie française jusqu'à nos jours. 4th volume. A. Barbier, Paris 1850 ( full text in the Google book search; new edition Dutertre, Paris 1864, digitized on Gallica ).
• François-Joseph-Michel Noël , LJM Carpentier: Nouveau dictionnaire des origines, inventions et découvertes. 4th volume. Paris 1827 ( full text in google book search).
• Jean-Baptiste Duvergier: Collection des lois, décrets, ordonnances, règlemens et avis du conseil-d'État. Volume 19. A. Guyot et Scribe / Charles-Béchet, Paris 1827 ( full text in the Google book search).
• Pierre-François Tissot: Les fastes de la gloire, ou Les braves recommandés à la postérité. Volume 1. Raymond / Ladvocat, Paris 1818 ( full text in the Google book search).
• Liliane and Fred Funcken: L'Uniforme et les Armes des soldats de la guerre en dentelle. Casterman, Tournai 1989, ISBN 3-572-07442-8 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Pascal, 1850
2. ↑ Funcken, 1989, pp. 210-212
3. ↑ Olivier Lapray: Les chevau-légers français en Russie. In: Traditions. No. 3, August 2015, pp. 52–70