1 he regiment de grenadiers à pied de la Garde impériale
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1 he regiment de grenadiers à pied de la Garde impériale |
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 Drawing by Hippolyte Bellangé , a soldier and an officer of the one he régiment de grenadiers à pied de la Garde impériale the Old Guard representing |
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| active | 1799 to 1815 |
| Country |
 France
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| Armed forces |
Grande Armée
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| Armed forces |
Infantry de la Garde impériale
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| Branch of service | infantry |
| Type | regiment |
| Insinuation | Guard impériale |
| commander | |
| Important commanders |
Higonet (1804) |
The one he régiment de grenadiers à pied de la Garde impériale (oF |. 1 Regiment Grenadiers walk of the Imperial Guard) was an elite regiment of the Grande Armée in the Napoleonic Wars . It belonged to the Garde impériale and was one of only four regiments that had been given the title Old Guard . (The others were the 1 er chasseurs à pied , the Chasseurs à cheval and the Grenadiers à cheval .) It was the oldest infantry regiment of the Grande Armée.
Lineup and significant changes
- 1799 : Listed as grenadiers à pied de la Garde des consuls
- 1804 : Renamed the Régiment de grenadiers à pied de la Garde consulaire
- 1805 : Renamed the Régiment de grenadiers à pied de la Garde impériale
- 1806 : Renamed one he régiment de grenadiers à pied de la Garde impériale
- 1814 : Dissolution and reorganization as Corps royal des grenadiers de France
- 1815 : During the reign of the Hundred Days, the name was changed to 1 er régiment de grenadiers à pied de la Garde impériale
Commanders
- 1804 : Joseph Higonet
- 1805 - 1807 : Jean-Marie-Pierre Dorsenne
- 1807 - 1813 : Claude-Étienne Michel
- 1813 - 1815 : Jean-Martin Petit
The regiment was next to the "1 er chasseurs" the most respected of the Napoleonic times. The men in this unit had long years of service behind them, participated in many campaigns, and were more or less immune to the horrors of war. The majority of soldiers already served in the First Coalition War .
From the Battle of Austerlitz to the Battle of Waterloo, the regiment's veterans never backed away from the enemy. The withdrawal at Waterloo was only due to an order from Napoléon . In this battle 40% of the grenadiers were awarded the Legion of Honor Cross. Almost all of them had served 14 or more years of service, and soldiers with the triple angle on the upper arm, awarded for more than seven years of service, were not uncommon.
Battle of Waterloo
At Rossome, the regiment formed two squares of infantry ; it was - as even the English admitted - the elite corps of the guard. The regiment took up positions on the left and right of the street in front of the Maison Decoster. The two battalions formed the head of the army.
All around them the ground was covered with corpses and British cavalrymen were making advances to dissolve the ranks. There were also French casualties who tried to take shelter within the squares but were struck down by their own fire. The stability of the squares could only be guaranteed at this price.
"We shot everything that came in our way, friends or enemies, for fear of letting the wrong go through, that was bad for the good",
later wrote Général Petit, commander of the regiment.
The squares were outflanked to the right and left, but repelled any direct attack. The emperor, who had found refuge in one of these squares, then ordered the retreat.
The grenadiers began to withdraw, covering the retreat of the entire army. Every 200 meters a stop was made and a new square was formed to fend off the advancing enemy, who felt less and less inclination to attack this living rampart. But it no longer mattered, the battle was lost. The fight was almost over and no one could be the last to die. The Emperor went to the 1st Battalion of the one he régiment de chasseurs that had just defeated a Prussian attack and tried, the pressure of the advancing Allies soften slightly. Later the grenadiers withdrew in columns without being attacked. Even when defeated, the Guard still impressed the enemy, but the episode of the Imperial Military was over.
Battles and campaigns with the participation of the regiment
- 1800: Campaign in Italy (1799-1800)
- 1805: Campaign in Austria
- Battle of Ulm
- Battle of Austerlitz
- 1806: Campaign in Prussia
- 1807: Campaign in Poland
- Madrid
- 1809: Campaign in Germany and Austria
- 1812: Russian campaign in 1812
- 1813: Campaign in Germany
- Battle of Großgörschen
- Battle of Reichenbach
- Battle of Dresden
- Battle of the Nations near Leipzig
- Battle of Hanau
- 1814: Campaign in France
- Battle of Montmirail
- Battle of Vauchamps
- Battle of Laon
- Battle of Soissons
- Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube
- Battle of Paris
- 1815: Campaign in Belgium
Inscriptions on the flag from model 1812
These are the battles in which the regiment gloriously participated, or the enemy capitals in which it marched.
- Marengo (1800)
- Ulm (1805)
- Austerlitz (1805)
- Iéna (1806)
- Eylau (1807)
- Friedland (1807)
- Eckmuhl (1809)
- Essling (1809)
- Wagram (1809)
- Smolensk (1812)
- La Moskowa (1812)
- Vienne (1809)
- Berlin (1806)
- Madrid (1808)
- Moscou (1812)
Model 1804 front
Model 1804 back
Model 1812 front side
Model 1812 back
Footnotes
- ^ Royal Grenadier Corps of France
literature
- Histoires et Batailles de Napoléon. Volume 1: La Vieille Garde .
- Denys Prache: Les soldats de Napoléon. Hatier, 1983, ISBN 2-218-06647-5 .
Web links
- La tenue de grenadier à pied de la Garde impériale. Army Museum website (PDF; 358 kB)
- Napoleon, His Army and Enemies. Chinese Napoleon Site
- Grenadier à pied de la Garde impériale, Premier Empire. Army Museum website