Red Lancers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Red Lancers (French: Lanciers Rouges) were a private military unit that served France during the reign of Napoleon I.[1][2][3] They were formed in the year 1810, after Holland merged with France, but their original purpose was to serve as hussars of the Dutch Royal Guard.[1][2][3] The units, who were of an elite order, were known for their loyalty and military might, as well as their professionalism in and out of battle.[1]
When the men of the Guard were converted into the new unit of the horse-mounted Red Lancers, they were gifted with a new scarlet-coloured uniform that was responsible for their name, as well as a new set of weapons.[1][2] They also received a new leader - Col. Baron Edouard Colbert - under whom they were known properly as the 2nd Light Horse Lancers of Napoleon's Imperial Guard (2e régiment de chevaux-légers des Lanciers de la Garde Impériale).[2]
However, despite their previous posts in Holland as the Royal Guards, they suffered enormous losses in the first invasion they participated in, which was that of Russia in the year 1812.[1][2] While the devastation for the regiment at that particular conflict almost caused the entire dissolution of the newly-formed unit, they would continue to serve in the military,[1][2] but without many of the original Dutchmen, who were thought of as the pride of the regiment and who would be replaced by French soldiers.[4]
The following year, in 1813, the Red Lancers were a distinguished regiment in a battle in Germany, and once again, in 1814, where they fought in the areas then known as the Low Countries.[1][2]
The next year after that, in 1815, Napoleon returned from his exile.[2] The same year, the Red Lancers fought at Waterloo.[1][2] Even though Dutch-Belgian cavalry commander van Merlen, one of the most highly ranked and celebrated army officers of the regiment, lost his life at Waterloo, some of the original Dutchmen still existed in the ranks, and would serve as Red Lancers long after the 1815 victory.[4]
