8 ^e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers

8 e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers
Riders of the regiment in winter
active	July 18, 1811 to 1815
Country	France
Armed forces	Grande Armée
Armed forces	army
Branch of service	Light cavalry
Strength	1043
Location	Sedan

The 8 ^e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers , or just: 8 ^e régiment de chevau-légers or 8 ^e régiment de lanciers (German: 8th Light Lancer Regiment ), was set up as a regiment of light cavalry in the First 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 initially one cavalry regiment - the Régiment lanciers de la Vistule , which was not set up until May 4, 1808.

On May 27, 1811, a second lancers regiment was set up. However, in June the two regiments were transformed into the 7 ^e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers and the "8 ^e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers" and incorporated into the French cavalry. It consisted of a regimental staff, four escadrons of two companies each, and a depot company. Colonel Andrzej Tomasz Łubieński became the first and only regimental commander. 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 , the remains of the "8 ^e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers" , which had been almost completely destroyed here , were incorporated into the "7 ^e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers" on January 19, 1814 .
• 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 differentiate between the individual regiments. The 7th Regiment had golden yellow as their badge color.

Instead of the helmet "à la Minerve", the regiment wore a so-called Tschapka as a national Polish peculiarity in France , on the front of which there was a copper shield with an embossed "N" with a crown. The Tschapka was completely black. 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 could be 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 was equipped with a plastron in the color of the badge, the cuffs on the sleeves, the edge of the epaulettes and the pocket flaps were also in this color. The lap covers also showed the color of the weapon, 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 corresponded to the hussar boots. 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 natural-colored leather.

A white leather bandolier with a white 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 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.

Officer of the regiment. The coat bag still has the number 2 listed in the "Legion de la Vistule".

Officers

Officer's uniforms stood out because of their rich braid ornamentation. The bandolier, harness, 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

Nothing is known about the trumpeter's uniform.

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 1814: Andrzej Tomasz Łubieński

Officer losses from 1811 to 1815

• Liked: 2
• Died from her wounds: 2
• Wounded: 33

Mission history

The 8 ^e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers took part in the Russian campaign in 1812 , where it belonged to the Observation Corps on the Elbe and the 2nd Reserve Cavalry Corps. It fought in the First Battle of Polotsk , the Second Battle of Polotsk, and the Battle of the Berezina .

During the campaign in Germany the regiment was subordinate to the 2nd Cavalry Corps and fought with the 1st Cavalry Division in the Battle of Lützen , the Battle of Bautzen , the Battle of Dresden and the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig , in which it was destroyed. It was then set up again in Sedan with the remains of other units and in January 1814 incorporated into the "7 ^e régiment de chevau-légers lanciers".

Standards

It is not known whether the regiment was equipped with a standard.

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 ^he 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.

Web links

• Tony Broughton: French Lancers and the Colonels Who Led Them 1811-1815. In: The Napoleon Series

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. ↑ in countries other than Rogatwka or rogatywka referred
6. ↑ contemporary images, however, also show them with a yellow top
7. ↑ Liliane and Fred Funcken, pp. 210–212