Imperial Guard
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- This article discusses the soldiers who guarded Napoleon. For other uses of the term, see Imperial Guard (disambiguation)
The Imperial Guard (French:Garde impériale) was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle.
The Guard had its origin in the Consular Guard (Garde des consuls), created November 28, 1799 by the union of the Guard of the Directory (Garde du Directoire exécutif) and the Grenadiers of the Legislature (Grenadiers près la Représentation nationale). These formations had for principal purpose the security of the executive and legislative branches of the French Republic and gathered a small number of soldiers, about a thousand. One can question their utility, given their non-opposition to Napoléon's 18 Brumaire coup of 1799. The Consular Guard changed its name to the Imperial Guard May 18, 1804.
The Guard was composed of three echelons. The Old Guard comprised some of the finest soldiers in Europe, who had served Napoleon since his earliest campaigns. The Middle Guard was composed of his veterans from the 1806 to 1809 campaigns. The Young Guard consisted of the best of the annual intake of conscripts, and was never considered to be of quite the same calibre of the senior Guards, although its units were still superior to the normal line regiments. In 1804 the Guard numbered eight thousand men. By the time of Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, it had swelled to just under 100,000 men. The Guard had its own artillery, infantry and cavalry components just like a normal Army corps.
| Size Of The Guard Over Time | |
|---|---|
| Year | Number Of Soldiers |
| 1800 | 3,000 |
| 1804 | 9,798 |
| 1805 | 12,187 |
| 1810 | 32,150 |
| 1812 | 112,482 |
| 1813 | 92,472 (Mostly Young Guards) |
| 1814 | 48,500 |
| 1815 | 25,870 |
Napoleon took very good care of his Guard, particularly the Old Guard, and the Old Guard Grenadiers were known to complain in the presence of the Emperor, giving them the nickname les grognards, the grumblers. The Guard received better pay, rations, quarters, and equipment, and all guardsmen ranked one grade higher than all non-Imperial Guard soldiers.
The Guard played a major part in the climax of the Battle of Waterloo. It was thrown into the battle at the last minute to salvage a victory for Napoleon, completely out-numbered, it faced terrible fire from the British lines, and began to retreat. It was the first time the Guard retreated without being ordered to do so. At the sight of this, Napoleon's army lost all hope of victory.
"La Garde meurt et ne se rend pas!" "The Guard dies, it does not surrender!" is attributed to General Cambronne. It has been suggested that this was in fact said by another General of the Imperial Guard, Claude-Etienne Michel, during their last stand at the Battle of Waterloo and it makes a suitable epitaph. (Although it has also been suggested that his actual response was "Merde!" ) This quote is also attributed to the semi-mythical Guard member Nicolas Chauvin. It is also suggested that the quote was ‘invented’ by a French newspaper editor[1].
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Elting, J.R. Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon’s Grande Armée. (Da Capo Press, press ed. 1997. pg.657)
