7 ^e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers

7 e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers
Horsemen of the 7th regiment in Spain (painting by Jan Chełmiński )
active	July 18, 1811 to 1815
Country	France
Armed forces	Grande Armée
Armed forces	army
Branch of service	Light cavalry
Strength	1171
Location	Sedan
Nickname	Lanciers de l'enfer

The 7 ^e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers , or just: 7 ^e régiment de chevau-légers or 7 ^e régiment de lanciers (German: 7th Light Lancer Regiment ), was set up as a regiment of light cavalry in the First German Empire in 1811 . It was released after the first restoration and the team was sent home.

On April 5, 1807, on the orders of Napoleon I, a "Légion polonaise" (Polish Legion) was set up from smaller Polish troops in Italy. This unit was renamed “Légion polacco-Italienne” (Polish-Italian Legion) at the beginning of 1808. At the end of March 1808 she was taken over as Légion de la Vistule (Weichsellegion) in the French army.

The troops consisted of three infantry and one cavalry regiment - the Régiment lanciers de la Vistule , which was not set up until May 4, 1808. It consisted of a regimental staff, four escadrons of two companies each, and a depot company. Colonel Stanislas Klicki became the first regimental commander, followed by Colonel Rozniecki. The pay was the same as that of the chasseurs à cheval , the uniform worn in the former "Légion polacco-Italienne" was retained.

• 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 Uhlan regiments of the Légion de la Vistule, and the 9th was formed from the 30 ^e chasseurs à cheval (30th regiment of hunters on horseback). Thus the regiment was renamed again after only two months.
• 1813 : After the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig on January 19, 1814, the remains of the 8 ^e régiment de lanciers , which had been destroyed here, were incorporated.
• May 12, 1814 : With the first abdication of Napoleon and the return of the king, the unit, like all foreign regiments, was finally dismissed. During the reign of the Hundred Days, there was no further formation, as the Polish team had meanwhile returned to their homeland.

uniform

Different badge colors were used to distinguish between the individual regiments. The 7th regiment used lemon yellow as the badge color.

Officer of the regiment (right)

Instead of the helmet "à la Minerve", the regiment wore a so-called Tschapka in France (referred to in other countries as Rogatwka or Konfederatka ) as a national Polish peculiarity, on the front of which there was a copper shield with an embossed "N" with a crown. The Tschapka was completely black. Catch cords were no longer available. Gold-colored scale chains served as a stop. On the left side at the upper edge was a silver Maltese cross in a ring-shaped border as a badge. The chapka was equipped with a red pompom at the top and was covered with a black oilcloth cover on the march.

The kurtka was dark blue with white buttons, pocket flaps “à la Soubise” and yellow discounts. The stand-up collar was also yellow. In addition, white epaulettes with white fringes were worn. The shoulder cords (aiguillettes) and the epaulettes were white. The ranks were indicated by silver angles. The skirt had a plastron in the same color as the badge. The cuffs on the cuffs, the edge of the epaulettes and the pocket flaps were also in this color. The lap covers also showed the weapon color. A green Napoleonic eagle was placed on them. The elite companies wore red epaulettes .

As trousers for normal duty and for the parade, dark blue boot trousers in a Hungarian cut were worn, 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.

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 covered with a waist band. The saber hanger was made of red leather.

A white leather bandolier with a white cartridge was carried over the left shoulder . Both were bordered in red on the edges. Above it was a leather belt, also white, edged in red, with a hook on which the carabiner was hung. 18 cartridges could be stored in the cartridge. There was a crowned "N" made of brass on the lid of the cartridge. 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 in a ring with a white border and marked with the regimental number. The officers' saddlecloth was edged with a silver border and lined with a gold-colored protrusion.

Officers

The officers' uniforms stood out for their rich braid ornamentation. The bandolier, belt, saddlecloth and coat bag were decorated with gold braid. The officer's tunic also appeared without a plastron. On the left side of the Tschapka, officers carried a white or red and white stutz made of heron feathers.

For the small 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 wore a red kurtka. The Tschapka was white, adorned with a neck of red heron feathers.

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

• 1807 to 1811: Colonel Jan Konopka
• 1811 to 1812: Colonel Stanislas Klicki
• 1812 to 1813: Colonel Ferdynand Stokowski
• 1813 to 1814: Colonel Casimir Tanski
• 1814 to 1814: Colonel Andrzej Tomasz Łubieński

Mission history

The regiment fought in the campaign in Italy as well as in Germany. After that it was moved to Spain. Here it was used in the Spanish War of Independence .

When the Maréchal de Soult received the order from Napoleon to gather the troops for the Russian campaign , the commander-in-chief of the Andalusian army was able to ensure that the regiment, which he considered to be his best rider, was not included.

They fought with distinction in the Battle of Los Yébenes and in the Battle of Ciudad Real, in which they earned their nickname "Lanciers de l'enfer" (Hell's Owls). In the battle of La Albuera they fought at the head of the 2nd ^e régiment de hussards , in a single attack the British brigade of Colborne was destroyed and five flags were captured.

During the campaign in Germany, the regiment was subordinate to the 6th and 14th Corps and fought in the battle near Möckern , in the battle of Dresden and in the battle of Hanau .

In the campaign in France that followed in 1814, it was used with the 1st Cavalry Corps in the Battle of Montereau and the Battle of Vauchamps .

Standards

Nothing is known about a regimental standard, but the escadron pennant (guidon) of the 1st Escadron exists, which is located in the Musée de l'Armée in Paris.

• 

  Guidon the 1st Escadron

literature

• Alain Pigeard: Napoléon et les troupes polonaises 1797-1815. De l'Armée d'Italie à la Grande Armée. In: Tradition Magazine. No. 8, 1999.
• Adrien Pascal: Histoire de l'armée et de tous les régiments. 4th volume.
• François Joseph Michel Noël , LJ M Carpentier: Nouveau dictionnaire des origines, inventions et découvertes. 4th volume.
• Liliane and Fred Funcken: L'Uniforme et les Armes des soldats de la guerre en dentelle. Casterman, Tournai 1989, ISBN 3-572-07442-8 .
• Oleg Sokolov: Le combat de deux empires. La Russie d'Alexandre I ^er contre la France de Napoléon - 1805-1812. Fayard, 2012, ISBN 978-2-213-67278-6 .
• Otto von Pivka, Michael Roffe: Napoleon's Polish Troops (= Men-at-Arms ). Osprey Publishing.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Pigeard 1999, p. 37
2. ↑ Pigeard 1999, p. 38
3. ↑ by Pivka / Roffe 1974, p. 13
4. ↑ Pigeard 1999, p. 38
5. ↑ Liliane and Fred Funcken, pp. 210–212
6. ↑ Sokolov 2012, pp. 427 and 428
7. ↑ Sokolov 2012, p. 428