Regiment de carabiniers de la Garde impériale

Régiment Carabiniers cavalerie Régiment de carabiniers de la Garde impériale
Officer of the 1st Carabiniers Regiment 1809–1815 (From the series La Grande Armée de 1812 by Carle Vernet )
active	November 1, 1693 to February 4, 1871
Country	France
Armed forces	French army
Armed forces	Armée française de terre
Branch of service	Heavy cavalry
Type	Battle cavalry / carbineers
Location	Versailles
commander
Important commanders	Louis Bonaparte Jean-Marie Defrance

The Régiment de carabiniers de la Garde impériale was a heavy cavalry unit of the French army.

Regimental flag model 1812 to 1814 (front side)

Regimental flag model 1812 to 1814 (back side)

It originally emerged from riflemen of the line cavalry armed with a rifled carbine , which in 1693 were combined as Carabiniers à cheval to form an elite regiment . In 1805 the regiment was divided, but in 1815 both regiments were reunited. In 1809 they were equipped in the style of cuirassiers . Although they are not the Imperial Guard of Napoleon I belonged, they were, however, always, what 1865 as Elite for inclusion in the Imperial Guard led. In 1870/71 they went under with the Second Empire .

history

Ancien Régime

With the appointment of December 26, 1679, each cavalry company was assigned two riflemen armed with rifled carbines, who were referred to as carabiniers and received a higher pay than the other riders (13 instead of 12 livres ). On October 29, 1690, by order of King Louis XIV, these Carabiniers were raised to a higher crew level and combined into companies. Each cavalry regiment now received a carabinier company.

After the battle of Neer winds , in which the carabiniers had shown their worth, they were brought together by order of the king to form a regiment called the "Régiment Royal des carabiniers". It was under the command of Mestre de camp du Royal-Roussillon, the Marquis de Beaufort, and entered service on November 1, 1693. The regiment now consisted of five brigades of four companies of two escadrons each. The regiment owner was Louis Auguste I de Bourbon, duc du Maine, the illegitimate son of Madame de Montespan and Louis XIV. The regiment took 18th place behind the La Reine Cavalerie and the regiments of the Princes of the Blood. During this time the Carabiniers fought like the Dragoons , on horseback or dismounted. Since then, all other cavalry units, including the Gensdarmes, have been referred to as "Cavalerie légère" (light cavalry).

In 1741 the regiment was transferred to the Comte de Provence as owner, although it was only three years at that time. It was now the 20th in the ranking and was given the title “Royal”.

At the beginning of the Austrian War of Succession , the Carabiniers were the only regiment of the French cavalry that consisted of five brigades of two escadrons each. Everyone else only had three or four brigades. The Carabiniers-Escadron had four companies of 25 riders each, which made a staff of 1000 riders.

The brigades of the “Corps des Carabiniers” were not deployed in a closed unit, but distributed across the entire armed forces. At the beginning of the Seven Years' War the regiment was reinforced by 10 escadrons and with its 25 companies now represented the same combat value as five normal cavalry regiments. The regiment's depot was in Strasbourg, where it remained for over a century. On May 13th 1758 the regiment was renamed: " Carabiniers royaux de Monsieur le comte de Provence" (Royal Carabiniers of the Count of Provence.).

The regimental commander, the Comte de Gisors, Louis-Marie Fouquet de Belle-Isle, died in the battle of Krefeld .

1760: Used in battle near Korbach

On July 7, 1758, Charles Léonard de Baylenx, Marquis de Poyanne, was appointed Lieutenant-Inspector of the "Regiment de Royal Carabiniers de Monsieur le Comte de Provence". In 1759 he commanded the regiment in the Battle of Minden , in which the Carabiniers had 700 casualties, 69 of them officers. The Marquis de Poyanne was wounded by a bullet and a bayonet stab. In 1760 the regiment fought in Korbach and in the Battle of Warburg and in 1761 in the Battle of Vellinghausen .

By order of 1762, which was implemented in 1763, the Carabiniers now had to consist of five brigades of two escadrons of three companies each. On December 31, the brigades lost the names of their chiefs and were numbered. In 1776 the regiment consisted of eight escadrons with 150 riders each, in 1779 it was reorganized and now again had two brigades with five escadrons each with a total of 1620 riders. They were stationed in Saumur , Angers , La Flèche and Chinon.

In 1764, Étienne-François de Choiseul decided to build a riding school in Saumur and transferred the supervision to the Marquis de Poyanne, the Inspecteur des Carabiniers. On September 25, 1766, the Duc de Choiseul came to Saumur to inspect the Régiment de Carabiniers and to find out about the progress of work on the buildings.

In 1774 the troop was renamed Carabiniers de Monsieur because the next younger brother of the king ( Louis XVI. ) The Comte de Provence was the owner of the troop and the troop was named "Monsieur". As of February 13, 1776, the Corps des Carabiniers consisted of two brigades with four escadrons each, each of which had only one company of 132 horsemen. On April 5, 1779, each brigade was reinforced to five escadrons.

By order of March 17, 1788 it was decreed that the cavalry brigades were to be divided into two regiments each. From May 1, 1788, the brigades were therefore called "Regiment" and were given a colonel as their commanding officer. However, the two carabiniers regiments continued to form an association called "la brigade des carabiniers de Monsieur ". In 1791 both regiments were given rank over the rest of the heavy cavalry and each had its own staff and administration.

In 1792 the regimental staff consisted of a colonel , two lieutenant colonels , two adjudants , a quartier-máitre tresorier (paymaster), a trompette-brigadier ( baton trumpeter ), a maître aumônier chaplain , a “maître sellier” (regiment saddler), a “maître maréchal "(Stable master), a" maître ferrant "(fittings smith), a maître tailleur (regimental tailor ), a maître guêtrier (gaiter administrator) and a maître bottier (regimental cobbler ). With the exception of the regimental chaplain , these were summarized under the term Máitres ouvriers (regimental workers ). Each regiment counted four divisions to two companies , each with two squadrons or one Rittmeister , one first lieutenant , two lieutenants , one maréchal de logis chef , two marechéaux des logis , one brigadier-fourrier , four brigadiers , one trumpeter and 54 horsemen (four unridden). There were considerable fluctuations in the actual strengths of the companies.

The tasks and general development were similar to those of the heavy cavalry, whose elite were the carbines; however, they were always armed with a rifled carbine .

First empire

In 1804 Napoleon appointed his brother Louis Colonel-général des carabiniers . The 1st regiment consisted of 441 men in 1804, the 2nd regiment of 407 men.

In 1805 the Carabiniers took part in the campaigns in Austria against the Russians and the Austrians. Between October 6th and December 2nd there were some loss-making clashes between the enemy armies. The Carabiniers successfully attacked the Austrian infantry near Wertingen . In the Battle of Austerlitz they attacked on December 2, 1805 with Général Nansouty in the lead, the villages of Jirshikowitz and Blaswitz, where they dispersed the Austrian infantry and captured the artillery .

In August 1807 the two regiments numbered 820 riders.

In 1809, during the campaign to Austria, the Carabiniers attacked the Austrian cavalry together with the cuirassiers of Generals Saint-Sulpice and Nansouty in the Battle of Eckmühl . They were used at the Battle of Regensburg , as well as at Wagram . The heavy losses in the battle of Eckmühl , caused by the lances of the Austrian Uhlans , persuaded the Colonel-General of the 1st Regiment, Louis Napoleon, to induce his brother to reunify with tanks and helmets (instead of the fur hat ).

Russian campaign

Portrait of a Carabinier by Théodore Géricault (after 1812, Museum in the Louvre)

The two Carabiniers regiments took part in the campaign to Russia , where they were assigned to the "4 ^e division de cuirassiers" (4th cuirassier division), which in turn belonged to the reserve cavalry under the command of Maréchal Murat . They took an important part in the Battle of Moscow where they fought under the command of Général Jean-Marie Defrance together with a cuirassier company of the Général Armand de Caulaincourt against the Russian Chevaliergarde . The son of Général Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière , Lieutenant in the 1st Regiment, died in this battle.

The Carabiniers again distinguished themselves in the Battle of Tarutino, when they, led by Maréchal Murat, raided the corps of the Russian General Baggovut . The commander of the 2nd regiment, Colonel Blancard, was wounded by a shot.

During the disastrous withdrawal from Russia, the two regiments were dramatically reduced. Less than 300 riders returned.

Campaigns in Germany and France

Attack on the British infantry cart, in the center a fallen carabinier (Thomas Jones Barker, painting of the 19th century)

During the campaign in Saxony, the corps took part in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig with six escadrons and 300 horsemen. It belonged to the "1 ^re brigade lourde" ( 1st heavy brigade ) of the Général d'Haugéranville, which in turn was part of the "2 ^e division de cavalerie lourde" ( 2nd heavy cavalry division ) under Général Saint-Germain in the "2 ^e corps de cavalerie ”( 2nd Cavalry Corps ) of Général Sébastiani . In the course of this battle, the carabiniers were attacked by Hungarian hussars , causing panic and total chaos among the former. Fortunately, the 1 ^er régiment de cuirassiers and the 5 ^e régiment de cuirassiers were able to intervene and push back the hussars.

During the campaign in France, the Coprps fought at Brienne , Vauchamps , Laon , Arcis-sur-Aube and Fère-Champenoise . As part of the Compans division, the Carabiniers distinguished themselves in the battles at Claye and Villeparisis.

After Napoleon's first abdication, the two regiments were merged into one.

Waterloo

The remaining Carabinier regiment was one of the troops with which Maréchal Ney should take Napoléon prisoner after his return from Elba and went with this to the emperor. As part of the preparation for the campaign in Belgium, the latter set up the 2nd regiment. Both regiments took part in the battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815 and formed the reserve , while the cuirassiers and the guard cavalry rode several attacks against the infantry carts of the English on the plateau of Mont Saint Jean. After several hours of fighting these formations were severely depleted and exhausted. Ney then decided to use his last reserves. It was the 800 riders of the 2nd Carabiniers Regiment under Général Blancard who were sent against the English lines. However, they too could no longer achieve anything and had to withdraw with heavy losses.

Overview of the individual battles

• 1805 Battle of Austerlitz
• 1806 Battle of Pretzlow
• 1806 Battle of Lübeck
• 1807 Battle of Ostrołęka
• 1807 Battle of Guttstadt
• 1807 Battle of Friedland
• 1809 Battle of Eckmühl
• 1809 Battle of Aspern
• 1809 Battle of Wagram
• 1812 Battle of Borodino
• 1812 Battle of Tarutino
• 1813 Battle of Vyazma
• 1813 Battle of Dresden
• 1813 Battle of the Nations near Leipzig
• 1813 Battle of Hanau
• 1814 Battle of Montmirail
• 1814 Battle of Troyes
• 1814 Battle of Craonne
• 1814 Battle of Laon
• 1814 Battle of Reims
• 1815 Battle of Quatre-Bras
• 1815 Battle of Waterloo

Commanders and officer losses

1st regiment

• 1805 François / Francesco Borghèse (1776–1839)
• 1807 Colonel Laroche
• 1808 François Borghèse (June 25, 1808 Colonel, January 2, 1812 Général de brigade);
• 1813 Colonel de Bailliencourt
• 1815 Colonel Roge

2nd regiment

• 1807 Colonel Blancard
• 1813 Colonel de Seve
• 1815 Colonel Beugnat

Officers killed or wounded between 1805 and 1815: 43

Officers wounded between 1805 and 1815: 146

restoration

Charles-Philippe de France , comte d'Artois , in the uniform of the Colonel général des carabiniers by François Gérard (after 1815, collection of paintings in the Palace of Versailles)

After Napoleon's final abdication, the Carabiniers were dismissed. In 1824 a new formation of two regiments followed, in almost unchanged uniforms.

Second republic

When the Republic was proclaimed in 1848, the Carabiniers were in Paris, where they were entrusted with police duties.

Second empire

From 1852 the two regiments were part of the army of the Second Empire but were not used in the Crimean War. On November 15, 1865, both regiments were combined and accepted into the Imperial Guard , after the Carabiniers had moved to the Versailles garrison of the Imperial Guard a few years earlier. In the Franco-German War they suffered heavy losses, and the French army after the debacle at Sedan were in the February 4, 1871 the reorganization 11 ^e régiment de cuirassiers incorporated (11th Cuirassiers).

Tradition after 1871

The “11 ^ème régiment de cuirassiers” was then merged on June 1, 1999 with the “1 ^er régiment de cuirassiers” to form the double regiment “1 ^er -11 ^e régiment de cuirassiers”. In 2009 this practice was given up again. The “11 ^e groupe de cuirassiers” as part of the former “ 11 ^e régiment de cuirasiers ” was withdrawn and dissolved. The now “1er régiment de cuirassiers” was simultaneously renamed 4 ^e régiment de dragons . From this the tradition of the "Carabiniers à cheval" is continued.

Appearance

uniform

For a long time the uniform followed that of the rest of the heavy cavalry in France. The blue, long skirt had borders , laps, lapels and epaulettes, as well as collars and pockets in red. The 1st regiment had red sleeve flaps with a blue advance, the 2nd regiment was the other way around. Instead of the hat, a low black fur cap (called “Bonnet d'oursin”, German “sea urchin cap”) with a red feather head, black leather visor and white cords was worn. The white half saddle pad was bordered in white. When working on foot, the cuirasses were taken off and gaiters were worn in place of the riding boots . In addition a bandolier made of yellow leather with a protruding white edge.

At the beginning of the German Empire, the cap was significantly larger and no longer had a peak.

In December 1809, Napoleon introduced a white vest and a caterpillar helmet based on the Greek model (so-called casque à visière à la Minerve). The bell and crest of the helmet were made of yellow copper. The eye and neck shield were riveted on. The caterpillar and feather neck were scarlet. There was also a steel cuirass with a coating of brass or copper for the officers. The light blue cuirass cuffs were pushed forward in white. Collar and lap were light blue. The regiments differed in their sleeve cuffs and flaps: the 1st regiment had red cuffs with a white push and white cuffs with a red push, the 2nd regiment light blue cuffs and flaps with a white push each. The armament consisted of a carbine, a pair of pistols and the cavalry saber model 1803.

Carabiniers

• 

  1757-1762
• 

  regiment des carabiniers du Comte de Provence 1762–1767
• 

  regiment des carabiniers du Comte de Provence 1767–1776
• 

  1776-1779
• 

  1779-1786
• 

  1786-1791

Carabiniers

• 

  Carabinier à cheval des l'Ancien Régime (Paul Philippoteaux, before 1850).

• 

  Carabinier à cheval (1804–1810), (Hippolyte Bellangé, 1843)

• 

  Carabinier à cheval (1810–1815), (Hippoyte Bellangé, 1843)

• 

  Général Lariboisière and his son, lieutenant in the 1 ^er régiment de carabiniers - killed in the battle of Borodino.

• 

  A cannonball struck the cuirass of Carabinier Antoine Fauveau during the Battle of Waterloo

• 

  Cuirass and helmet of a royal carabinier à cheval during the Second Restoration (1816–1824)

Standards

Standard of the regiment "Carabiniers cavalerie"

The regiment's last standard (model 1812) had the names of the most important battles in which it fought with honor in gold letters on the reverse:

• Austerlitz
• Iéna
• Eylau
• Friedland
• Eckmühl
• Wagram

Remarks

1. ↑ a normal cavalry regiment, on the other hand, had only 12 companies
2. ↑ the Gens d'armes or Gensdarmes or Gendarmes were the successors of the armored knights and thus the heavy cavalry up to this point
3. ^ Carlson Édouard, Maureen Reinertsen: L'Armée française: An Illustrated History of the French Army, 1790–1885. Howell Press, 1992, ISBN 0-9632558-0-0 .
4. ↑ today's armored forces school
5. ↑ The Sous-lieutenant Rilliet the first cuirassiers witness was the scene: "When the enemy was still 100 steps away, the Carabiniers of the 1st Regiment turned around and tore the 2nd Regiment with it. They fell on our 1st Escadron and messed it up, but the other two Escadrons remained ready for action and attacked the hussars who hadn't expected that. "
6. ^ French Carabiniers and the Colonels Who Led Them 1792-1815
7. ^ Edouard Detaille, Jules Richard (ed.): L'Armée Française: An illustrated history of the French Army, 1790-1885. Translated by Maureen Carlson Reinertsen. Wextel & Hasenauer, New York 1992, p. 130.
8. ^ Edouard Detaille, Jules Richard (ed.): L'Armée Française: An illustrated history of the French Army, 1790-1885. Translated by Maureen Carlson Reinertsen. Wextel & Hasenauer, New York 1992, p. 145.
9. ↑ État militaire de 1802.

literature

• A. Albert, Joseph-Émile Vanson: Le manuscrit des carabiniers. Berger-Levrault, 1894.
• Jean-Pierre Béneytou: Histoire de la Cavalerie française, des origines à nos jours. Lavauzelle, 2010, ISBN 978-2-7025-1517-4 .
• Marcel Dugué Mac Carthy: La cavalerie au temps des chevaux. E / P / A 1989, ISBN 2-85120-313-4 .
• Louis Susane: Histoire de la cavalerie française 1 & 2. J. Hetzel et Cie, 1874.
• Lucien Picard: La cavalerie dans les guerres de la Révolution et de l'Empire 1 & 2. Saumur, S. Milon fils 1896.
• Henri Ortholan: L'armée du Second Empire Soteca. 2010, ISBN 978-2-916385-23-5 .
• René Jasinski: À travers le XVIIe. AG Nizet 1981 (fr.)
• Ronald Pawly: Napoleon's Carabiniers. Osprey Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-84176-709-3 .
• Carlson Édouard & Maureen Reinertsen: L'Armée française: An Illustrated History of the French Army, 1790–1885. Howell Press, 1992, ISBN 0-9632558-0-0 .
• Lucien Mouillard: Les Régiments sous Louis XV. J. Dumaine, Paris 1882.